Host vs. pathogen and the molecular arms race

Unraveling the battle between hosts and pathogens is key to unlocking new strategies for combating infectious diseases. The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Annual Meeting new session on host–pathogen interactions will explore the latest breakthroughs in how microbes evade immune defenses, how hosts fight back and how these dynamic interactions shape disease progression and treatment.

Five talks from field experts examine systems such as the pneumonia-causing bacteria Legionella, Toxoplasma parasite, gut microbes and more. Don’t miss this deep dive into the molecular arms race on Sunday, April 13 at 1:50 p.m.

Tamara O'Connor

Tamara O’Connor, an associate professor of biological chemistry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, will lead the symposia and give a talk.

The goal of the session is to highlight the biochemical and molecular events dictating infectious disease outcomes, she said.

Of recent advances in the field, O’Connor highlighted new microscopy techniques that allow scientists to examine host–pathogen interactions in real-time at the single-cell level. This technology also allows researchers to visualize the molecular machinery used by pathogens.

She also noted key challenges that face the field. While single-cell analyses can provide a piece of the puzzle, stochastic variation between cells, the adaptability of pathogens and population heterogeneity mean that a systems-level approach is crucial for understanding the intricacies of host–pathogen interactions.

On the computational side, advancements in large-scale sequencing and computational biology are effectively detecting new phenotypic patterns and functional relationships. However, scientists’ ability to generate large data sets has begun to outpace their ability to validate the results, O’Connor said.

“It's a really exciting time, but we have to be careful we don't get ahead of ourselves,” O’Connor said. “It is now as important as ever to validate the predictions of computational models experimentally.”

Check out the full program schedule to get the most out of #ASBMB25.