Biofilms 2009: New Perspectives at the Heart of Surface-Associated Microbial Communities

Biofilms have a major impact on human health, the environment, and industry.Thus, a better understanding of the mechanisms controlling biofilm formation and activity has the promise to transform the way physicians treat biofilm infections and to help us understand the activities of bacteria in the natural environment.For these reasons, biofilm research is currently an area of intense interest.The 5th ASM Conference on Biofilms brought together scientists from a wide range of scientific disciplines.Biofilms 2009 was held from 15 to 19 November 2009 in Cancun, Mexico.The conference was attended by 441 participants from a number of countries.Representing state and federal agencies, academic institutions, and professional organizations, the participants exchanged information and ideas on biofilm microbiology.Due to the international, multidisciplinary, and multicultural character of the meeting, the attendees had the opportunity to look beyond their own methodologies and praxis to novel technologies and experimental approaches.Most would agree that the meeting stimulated innovative thinking and new collaborations.As in past meetings, keynote speakers were invited to set the stage for three key emerging biofilm-related themes.In addition, the conference program included talks by invited, established researchers, as well as those selected by the scientific organization committee from the poster abstracts.The presenters shared their perspectives from fields as varied as biology, physics, chemistry, engineering, bioinformatics, biotechnology, and medicine.The meeting included three extensive poster sessions where investigators had the opportunity to discuss their research.A new feature of this year's biofilm conference was the presentation of four poster awards.Three of them were awarded in memory and recognition of outstanding scientists whose lifelong dedication to biofilm research made them internationally recognized leaders in the field.