Perspectives on the future of host-microbe biology from the Council on Microbial Sciences of the American Society for Microbiology

ABSTRACT Host-microbe biology (HMB) stands on the cusp of redefinition, challenging conventional paradigms to instead embrace a more holistic understanding of the microbial sciences. The American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Council on Microbial Sciences hosted a virtual retreat in 2023 to identify the future of the HMB field and innovations needed to advance the microbial sciences. The retreat presentations and discussions collectively emphasized the interconnectedness of microbes and their profound influence on humans, animals, and environmental health, as well as the need to broaden perspectives to fully embrace the complexity of these interactions. To advance HMB research, microbial scientists would benefit from enhancing interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research to utilize expertise in diverse fields, integrate different disciplines, and promote equity and accessibility within HMB. Data integration will be pivotal in shaping the future of HMB research by bringing together varied scientific perspectives, new and innovative techniques, and ’omics approaches. ASM can empower under-resourced groups with the goal of ensuring that the benefits of cutting-edge research reach every corner of the scientific community. Thus, ASM will be poised to steer HMB toward a future that champions inclusivity, innovation, and accessible scientific progress.

non-pathogenic has become more fluid.Moreover, it is important to take into consider ation how anthropomorphic activities have impacted ecosystems worldwide, including through climate change.These considerations benefit from a One Health perspective that encompasses human, animal, and environmental health.For example, changes in the soil microbiome (14) impact CO 2 levels, nutrient absorption (15), and agroecosystems (16), and the atmospheric microbiome (17) affects not only air quality but also the overall human and animal health.The impact of climate change on the overall human microbiome and health has already been noted (18,19).These examples highlight how a multidisciplinary approach is needed to interrogate the functions of each microbial player in these complex host-microbe interactions.
The American Society for Microbiology (ASM) is one of the oldest scientific organi zations, founded in 1899, that aims to promote and advance the microbial sciences around the world.The mission is accomplished via meetings, conferences, publications, educational and professional development opportunities, and promotion of diversity, equity and inclusion.It enhances laboratory capacity around the globe through ASM's Global Health Programs ASM is the home for >36,000 microbial scientists in academia, industry, and clinical settings from around the globe.The Society supports the vast global network of members, Ambassadors, Branches, and Student Chapters to connect, learn, discover, and harness the microbial sciences to serve humanity via innovation and research.ASM's Council on Microbial Sciences (COMS) is the creative mind of the Society, which identifies the future directions of the microbial sciences and provides recommendations to ASM to catalyze progress in the field.COMS consists of over 90 ASM members who are recognized experts in their respective fields.These members have self-affiliated based on their scientific interests into eight communities, one of which is the Host-Microbe Biology (HMB) Community.Every 4 years, each COMS Community holds a retreat to identify future scientific trends and opportunities.
The COMS HMB Community held a virtual retreat in 2023 to identify the trajectory of HMB, both within the Society and within the discipline of microbial sciences at large.The mission of the COMS-HMB retreat was to understand the challenges and opportunities for the HMB Community with the goal of providing recommendations for consideration across the ASM organization and externally.Over 3 days, visionary experts shared their insights on the future of HMB, which stimulated discussions among the participants for new opportunities in microbial sciences.Here, we present the essence of the retreat, the key ideas discussed, and recommendations that focus on the future of HMB.

RETREAT ORGANIZATION AND DEMOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY
The COMS HMB Community held a 3-day virtual retreat from 30 May to 1 June 2023, with approximately 50 participants attending each day.Over the past 5 years since the last retreat, significant advancements have occurred in the HMB scientific community that brought new challenges and opportunities.

Objectives of the retreat
The premise of the HMB 2023 retreat was to envision the future of the entire HMB field, encompassing a wide range of research and researchers.To achieve this objective, it was important that the participants represented the scientific, demographic, and geographic diversity of the HMB field.We directly invited COMS members who identify as part of the HMB Community and sent an open invitation to at-large HMB members of ASM and the ASM Young Ambassadors.There was near equal representation of career stages across early, mid, and senior levels (Fig. 1).Participants spanned the globe, specialties, and varying types of institutions (Fig. 1).Holding the retreat virtually enabled broad participation, making use of an array of online tools to enhance engagement and feedback.
Each day of the retreat started with a thought-provoking question to engage participants, and the responses were used to create word clouds and collect poll results to set the tone for the remainder of the day.The days continued with talks by two keynote speakers who shared their assessment of the future of the HMB field.All participants then joined small breakout sessions where they discussed specific prompts.Each breakout group was moderated, notes of the discussions were recorded, and then key discussion points were shared with the entire retreat group.Throughout the retreat, participants were empowered to share their input in real-time, whether through speaking up or writing in the chat, or via an asynchronous, shared online document, which was provided to collect conversations and notes during and outside of the retreat itself.
HMB is a scientifically broad field with research encompassing microbial interactions with a myriad of hosts across the domains of life.This leads to HMB researchers having diverse expertise with their science spanning biomedical to environmental microbiol ogy.The microbial sciences have become increasingly interdisciplinary, leading to the generation of more complex data sets.Therefore, there is a need to identify gaps in the approaches used by HMB and opportunities to integrate with non-classical microbiolo gists.To identify potential gaps, we asked participants to share their thoughts on types of scientists and experts who could be untapped collaborators for HMB research.These results were used to create a robust, but by no means comprehensive, word cloud of potential collaborators (Fig. 2).Participants contributed ideas for different scientists and experts along with suggestions for other topics for HMB research.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SPEAKERS
Keynote speakers, invited for their visionary, complementary perspectives, were asked to predict the scientific trends over the next 5-10 years for the field of HMB, including opportunities and challenges.The presentations collectively emphasized the inter connectedness of microbes and their profound influence on humans, animals, and environmental health.

HMB retreat day 1
Day 1 topics focused on frameworks for HMB research and the role of the microbiota.The prompts for the speakers and discussion questions for participants were focused on the missing components that are necessary for success in the future for HMB, including both the innovations and the innovators needed.
Dr. Gary Huffnagle, professor at the University of Michigan, delved into the intri cate connection between humans and microbial physiology, describing a symbiotic relationship that extends beyond our conventional understanding.Dr. Huffnagle began with a perspective on historical progress in bacteriological studies, emphasizing the diversity found in both microbes and their colonization of various microenvironments within the human host.However, despite these advancements, there is a noticea ble oversight in current research priorities, with fundamental explorations into the physiology and molecular biology and functional studies of microbiome communities needed (20,21).
Our collective genomic and bioinformatic knowledge of the microbiome is expand ing, revealing similarities as well as differences among the bacterial microbiomes of healthy individuals.A prevailing assumption in scientific circles suggests that species within a bacterial genus exhibit similar behaviors.However, Dr. Huffnagle, drawing from his expertise as a bacteriologist, challenges this assumption, highlighting the inherent diversity within species.A contributing factor to this incomplete conceptual framework is the predominant focus on commonalities in 'omics and bioinformatics research, often overlooking the unique characteristics that distinguish bacterial taxa.This bias arises from the current experimental setup used in microbiome studies, which focuses on shared features as opposed to exploring for unique genes, which demands a much more deliberate and time-consuming approach involving detailed biochemical and molecular studies.Implicit in this "shared feature" approach is the assumption that genomic differences do not impact the predicted functional similarities, a notion that may not hold true (22)(23)(24).Biomedical and basic science research can prioritize efforts to bridge this gap, thus urging a shift toward more comprehensive investigations into the physiology and molecular biology of these prevalent, yet underexplored, micro bial residents.Closing this gap not only enhances our understanding of the intricate superorganism that is the human-microbiome relationship but also holds the key to unlocking potential insights for future research endeavors.
Dr. Arturo Casadevall, professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, introduced the "damage-response framework" as a contrast to the traditional view of microbes as "friend or foe" (25,26).The damage-response framework is founded on the idea that all microbes can cause infection at high doses, so what differentiates a pathogen from a non-pathogen is the dose required to cause symptoms/pathology or overall disease.Host damage comes from both the microbe and the immune response.This concept considers not only the ability of the microbe to cause disease but also the susceptibility of the host to that pathology, encompassing the host-microbe interaction (22,24,27,28).However, a current major challenge is the lack of methods that can measure damage before it becomes irreversible and leads to death.New tools that can quantify the amount of damage incurred by the host as a function of the immune response are needed.
Following the damage/response framework, predicting the outcome of host-microbe interactions will require knowledge of the dynamics of each participant in the sys tem, which in turn requires new ways to understand whether these are deterministic, stochastic, or chaotic (29) in nature.Dr. Casadevall suggested that quantification and modeling of pathogenic potential are future needs that require collaboration between mathematicians and microbial scientists.Productive collaboration between microbiol ogists and mathematicians will require connections to be forged across traditional disciplinary boundaries and the establishment of mechanisms to enhance the ability of each group to understand and communicate in each other's "scientific languages." The highlights of day 1 included a need for researchers to take a more nuanced view of interactions between microbes and their hosts, as well as among microbes, beyond the lens of pathogenesis.Besides categorizing the microbiota by metagenomics and their participation in various aspects of the host-microbe interface, understanding the functions of these microbes in their native community setting was identified as a research gap.To better understand functions, HMB research will need to build stron ger inter-to transdisciplinary ties to allow researchers from various fields to integrate large data sets beyond genotypic characterization to embrace a more comprehensive functional classification of the biological system.These discussions prompt a redefinition of what a microbiologist is, as many people working in these fields do not consider themselves microbiologists by historical standards, yet they are crucial to the microbi ology research community (30).The word cloud from day 1 highlights the myriad of disciplines that contribute to and benefit from HMB research (Fig. 2).Welcoming these different groups into the microbial sciences community can help advance the HMB field.

HMB retreat day 2
Day 2 speakers focused on the host in HMB.Discussions inspired by the speakers revolved around how the complexity of HMB is heavily influenced by the forces affecting the host.Speakers emphasized that the simplification of the current HMB is flawed and does not consider the nuance of the environment impacting the interactions.
Dr. Margaret McFall-Ngai, senior staff scientist at Carnegie Science, highlighted the deficiencies in accurately capturing the dynamic nature of microbial-host interactions, in part, due to antiquated teaching structures and the use of a flawed lexicon.Incor porating the One Health concept, Dr. McFall-Ngai discussed the need to integrate microbiology into broader biology.Even the subdiscipline of microbiology is siloed between pathogenesis and environment, often resulting in neglecting the intricate connection between microbes, host organisms, and the biosphere.She additionally called for integrating the nuances of host features to consider their role in altering microbial interactions (26,31).In particular, high-throughput sequencing technologies are enabling the exponential growth of the field for years to come.The Human Microbiome Project (32) is revealing the microbial universe that is literally part of us every day.Utilizing metagenomics in conventional host-microbe research settings will help us to identify novel microbes that contribute to environmental, animal, and human health in the One Health framework.
Beyond conventional host-microbe interactions, the field of immunology is already being transformed by new knowledge about the structure and function of host-microbe interactions, such as how the microbiome modulates host immune homeostasis.For example, metabolites from the microbiota skew host responses toward a more proor anti-inflammatory state, which has profound consequences upon exposure to other microbes.A better understanding of the contributions of members of the microbiota to immunology/immune homeostasis will not only facilitate a more mechanistic under standing of the microbiome-immunology connection but can also provide novel avenues for therapeutics and the treatment of some diseases.
Dr. Cheryl Nickerson, professor at Arizona State University, discussed the impact of mechanical forces on host-microbe interactions.Current experimental models of host-microbe encounters are mostly static (cell cultures or organoids) or are performed in animals, with the associated complexities that accompany such studies.Dr. Nickerson advocated for incorporating mechanobiology (33)(34)(35)(36) into microbiology.Mechanobiol ogy is an inter-/transdisciplinary science field that brings together biology, engineering, chemistry, and physics to understand the effects of physical forces and changes in the mechanical properties of cells and tissues on development, cell differentiation, physiology, and disease.Incorporation of mechanobiology (33)(34)(35)(36) into microbiology will lead to more realistic models and predictive outcomes, from both the host and microbe perspective as seen in Dr. Nickerson's pioneering work on the effects of physiological fluid shear forces on microbial virulence (37)(38)(39).Pathogenic and commensal microbes respond dynamically to mechanical forces in their environment (e.g., fluid flow/shear) and alter their behavior in unexpected ways that are directly relevant to disease progression.Dr. Nickerson also highlighted the importance of mimicking the mechanical force microenvironment for the development of 3-D biomimetic tissue models and their application as predictive human surrogates that enable host-microbe studies for health, drug testing, and environmental research in a microenvironment that better reflects in vivo tissues (40,41).Understanding the dynamic interplay between physical forces, cellular biomechanics, and host-microbe systems biology will catalyze the development of more realistic and predictive models to enable next-generation research and drive technological advancements by providing a more comprehensive, integrated under standing of microbial and host cellular adaptations to their environment.The results of these studies can contribute to breakthroughs in diverse scientific and technology domains to benefit life on Earth and potentially in non-Earth habitats.Studies in host-microbe mechanobiology will require microbiologists working closely in interdis ciplinary efforts with a broad range of expertise, including physicists, mathematical modelers, computational biologists, and engineers.
Day 2 discussions emphasized the need for better tools to measure, at different scales, the spatial and abiotic factors that drive host-microbe interactions and to incorporate these factors into models of infection that are relevant to the physiology of the native system.The data emerging from high-throughput sequencing and other large-scale data technologies need to be collected, curated, and placed in a host-relevant frame work.Developing more realistic models for understanding the structure and function of host-microbe interactions will have impacts beyond the microbiology field, including in host-related fields like immunology.However, many HMB researchers are trained as reductionists, and their standard approaches are limited to working in the inherently complex systems of host-microbe and inter-microbe dynamics.The HMB field would benefit from developing host models that integrate spatial, mechanical, and cellular cues to closely mimic the native host environment in a manner that can be experimentally measured, manipulated, and interrogated.

HMB retreat day 3
Day 3 concluded the retreat with a focus on systems biology approaches in HMB.Systems biology approaches rely on data-driven measurements to define the multitude of interactions between host and microbes from subcellular to macro-environmental scales.
Dr. Sean Gibbons, associate professor at the Institute for Systems Biology, discussed computational approaches to build a personalized "gut digital twin" to understand the complex interactions between the microbiome, host physiology, and health.His talk focused on community-scale models to simulate the interaction between various microbes within the microbiome to predict metabolite production and consumption based on a person's microbiome composition and diet.These microbial communityscale metabolic models leverage a century of knowledge on the central metabolism of microorganisms.These models will continue to improve as knowledge expands.
Dr. Gibbons highlighted how artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning can be applied for predictive modeling of metabolism, which is needed to incorporate the large amount of knowledge and data available on microbial metabolic networks (42,43).The complex models arising from systems biology approaches require extensive validation, which can take the form of in vitro, ex vivo, or in vivo experiments, where metabolic fluxes are measured in response to different perturbations (44,45).In Dr. Gibbons' view, the future of HMB is to integrate our vast, interdisciplinary knowledge bases into predictive modeling that enables mechanistically grounded, personalized, preventive, predictive, and participatory healthcare.Microbial community-scale metabolic models will become a crucial component of the future of precision medicine, which can be leveraged to design personalized prebiotic, probiotic, and dietary interventions to prevent and treat a range of acute and chronic diseases.
Dr. Dianne Newman, professor at the California Institute of Technology, highlighted the need to consider the microscale context in microbial environments.Gradients of oxygen and redox-active metabolites are critical for shaping microbial populations and communities; these gradients create microscale local environments that vary over short distances.The spectrum of microscale conditions microbes experience elicits distinct physiological responses, even in different cells from the same microbial species; these responses can be observed directly via recently developed spatial transcriptomic methods.Dr. Newman emphasized the importance of taking microenvironments into consideration when investigating microbes in diverse habitats; key examples are those in biofilms derived from soils or from human tissues.Accurately measuring critical environmental parameters, such as oxygen, remains a challenge and requires collabora tion with chemists to develop better tools (46)(47)(48)(49)(50)(51).Technological innovations in spatial metabolomics will be essential to advance both fundamental science and therapeutic design.Dr. Newman concluded with the "full-circle" concept that at the microscale, host-microbe interactions from seemingly different environmental contexts share key similarities.
Overall, day 3 highlighted that the current emphasis on single-cell analyses needs to be balanced with an understanding of how individual microbial cells and/or species fit into a complex system.Addressing this need will require the development of tools to measure gene expression, protein production, and metabolite production at various scales, along with measuring aligned spatiotemporal, chemical, physical, and mechanical data.Simultaneously, more complex integrative models that can consolidate these data with genetic, biochemical, and imaging/microscopy data would be valuable for mirroring the in vivo environment and can be used to predict outcomes based on changes to any of these parameters.Day 3 discussions reiterated that the future of HMB is interdiscipli nary.

KEY DISCUSSION AND SCIENTIFIC TRENDS
In the rapidly evolving landscape of HMB research, several pivotal trends, limitations, and recommendations have surfaced to collectively shape the trajectory of this interdiscipli nary domain.As the HMB field navigates the trends identified in the retreat, this scientific community could benefit from ASM's support.ASM supports the broader microbial sciences by serving as a unifying society that brings researchers together through strategic advocacy, collaborative platforms, and the promotion of equitable research practices.

Broadening host concepts
An increasingly prominent trend underscores the imperative to broaden the established notions of interactions between hosts and microbes within HMB research.This involves the acknowledgment of distinct capabilities and constraints associated with in vitro, in vivo, and in silico models to capture the complete picture of the intricate host-microbe dynamics at play.Evolving host models will require identifying and understanding external factors, such as the environment and mechanobiology, that influence interac tions.However, the field has observed that experimental methodologies and costs of single-cell or subcellular laboratory analyses have not kept pace with the complexity of host-microbe interactions.In the short term, the HMB field would benefit from efforts aimed at developing integrative tools that combine knowledge from in vitro, animal models, and clinical studies, as well as genomics, proteomics, and phenotypic analyses.The outcomes of integrated research could allow the field to generate groundbreaking results and reframe our understanding of complex host-microbe systems.
A takeaway from the retreat was that the historical paradigm of pathogen-commen sal-symbiont classification does not encompass the complexity inherent in host-microbe relationships.The speakers and participants highlighted the need to revise classifications of host-microbe interactions and develop a unified lexicon to better represent the evolution of understanding and complexity of microbiology.Furthermore, this would provide better tools to convey host-microbe interactions to the next generation of microbial scientists, who are often still taught from the standpoint of microbial pathogenesis.Such advances are needed given that many new researchers in the microbial sciences are entering the field because of their interest in how the microbiota contributes to outcomes in immunology, cancer biology, neuroscience, and more.It is our responsibility as a microbial science community to welcome these researchers into the microbiology field and strive to create a common "scientific language" that promotes communication and collaborations.
The HMB community benefits from, and will continue to benefit, from interdiscipli nary conferences that foster collaborations and networking among scientists studying various microbial frameworks.The annual ASM Microbe conference and regional ASM Branch meetings are examples of platforms that bring together diverse microbial scientists.Furthermore, by the microbial sciences having both regional and international conferences, equity and inclusion are promoted by participation at different scales.
The application of ecological, holobiont, and One Health frameworks can promote an inclusive understanding of the intricate multi-organismal dynamics across various scales.ASM can also encourage the propagation of alternative perspectives such as the damage-response framework through its publications and seminars, ultimately fostering a more nuanced comprehension of HMB.

Building from the microbial science foundation into interdisciplinary team science
The second trend underscores the imperative of creating interdisciplinary collaborations in HMB research, using microbiology as its foundation (Fig. 3).A revolutionary advance ment in the past 5 years has been the ability to perform host-microbe analysis at the single-cell level, from RNA sequencing to proteomics to metabolomics and imaging (52).A major challenge going forward is how to comprehensively integrate these processes to understand how each cell's response affects the overall outcome for that host-microbe interaction.The HMB field can move forward by learning from those who embrace complexity in their studies, such as systems biologists and evolutionary and ecological microbiologists.With the increasing complexity of host-microbe interactions, microbi ologists will need to rely on experts beyond traditional collaborators, including but not limited to engineers, biotechnologists, computational modelers, and environmental researchers.For instance, engineers can build tools to measure chemicals in deeper layers of biofilms (53).Environmental researchers can come together with clinicians, veterinarians, and basic researchers to identify problems and solutions that are under the umbrella of One Health, such as antibiotic resistance (54) and cyanobacterial growth and toxin responses to trace metals (55).Computational modelers can run synthetic experiments that uncover testable hypotheses about host-microbe interactions, in which multiple data types are fed into the system at a mechanistic and broader level; after integration with AI, these results in turn refine the model's accuracy.An obstacle preventing HMB research from moving forward is that microbial scientists can encounter challenges in finding collaborators from within these divergent fields.
This trend brings to light the inadequacy of conventional funding structures to fully encompass the diversity that defines HMB.Historically, HMB researchers have been trained as reductionists, based on Koch's postulates or their molecular adaptation established by Falkow (56,57).However, the complexity of HMB interactions is not yet reflected in existing funding processes that prioritize mechanistic and not "descriptive" studies.What is not well appreciated is that observational multidisciplinary studies are needed to generate the mechanistic hypotheses underpinning HMB research.This type of science should be reciprocal, where mechanistic and observational studies iteratively influence each other.
ASM has the potential to reframe the landscape of HMB by advocating for inno vative funding models that embrace the multidisciplinary nature of HMB research.By establishing connections with other scientific societies, ASM can help facilitate interdisciplinary interactions and the exchange of novel ideas, showcasing the potential for these advances to the greater microbial sciences community.To bridge the gap between divergent fields, ASM could sponsor specialized conferences or workshops geared toward specific interdisciplinary goals, thereby initiating a harmonious blend of knowledge and expertise.These small conferences would facilitate networking, leading to new collaborations and multidisciplinary research.ASM can also unify the microbiol ogy lexicon through its strong portfolio of journals, in which different types of articles can be used to present these and other perspectives on HMB research and examples of successful interdisciplinary research that advances the HMB field.

Integration of 'omics data with functional measurements of host-microbe interactions
Many arenas of the scientific community are finding that an overwhelming volume of 'omics data has become available, yet these data often lack corresponding functional insights.Current 'omics tools lack the capabilities to quantify interactions at the various scales required to fully capture the complexity of host-microbe interactions.
Microbiologists are generally familiar with the diversity of microbes on a targeted experimental scale, demonstrating microbes' plasticity and rapid ability to change and adapt to the surrounding environment via mutations or acquiring/losing genes.
Currently, metagenomics is used to identify the presence or absence of particular microbial participants, and assumptions are then made about those microbes' functional contributions to a system.However, these analyses assume that the microbial species identified by metagenomics are monolithic.Yet we know that not all isolates of a species are identical, and moreover their activities vary depending on their state of interaction with the host and each other.For example, Candida albicans isolates exhibit an isolate-specific capacity for gut colonization (58) and host immune modulation (59).Similarly, selected strains of Fusobacterium nucleatum are associated with colorectal cancer (60), and there is a strain-specific ability of Aspergillus fumigatus to persist in the lungs (61) as well as to drive metabolic shifts that shape the surrounding microbiome (62).Moreover, better tools are needed to define the biogeography of the system under study and to understand the impact of local changes in microbial composition and activities on the microbial constituents and their host.The ongoing enhancement of 'omics tools in intact hosts (e.g., spatial transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolo mics) will help address this knowledge gap.Rather than focusing on what species are present, the complexity of metagenomics can be embraced in order to understand how each inhabitant's uniqueness affects the community, or even more broadly, how the population or community characterized by metagenomics can influence the host.
ASM can advocate for the creation of repositories that house data, strains, models, metadata, and expertise, fostering an environment of transparency and collaboration to harness the full value of 'omics data.By developing open-source tools for genome and 'omics analysis, ASM can empower under-resourced groups to contribute, with the goal of ensuring that the benefits of cutting-edge research reach every corner of the scientific community.ASM could promote funding of research to obtain functional data needed to contextualize the breadth of 'omics data available at the appropriate descriptive scale.They can also support the development and sharing of techniques that need to be created to analyze these data.In addition, ASM can advocate for the integration of AI in advancing 'omics analyses, addressing the myriad challenges associated with the volume and complexity of data.By supporting the utilization of AI, ASM can contribute to the refinement and expansion of 'omics studies, ushering in a new era of insight and discovery (63,64).The host-microbe community can learn from other fields that are already using AI as a discovery generation method (65,66), including the possible use of AI for diagnosis (67) or prognosis (68) of infectious diseases.Finally, ASM can lead discussions to establish a set of parameters for benchmarking the accuracy of computational models for host-microbe interaction studies and for promoting their continued refinement.

Equity and accessibility in HMB research
The challenge of data accessibility and equity casts a shadow on the collective pro gress of HMB research.Existing restrictions disproportionately favor well-resourced and established institutions (e.g., R1 universities and institutions with core facilities equipped with state-of-the-art instrumentation).This limits the scope of "typical" HMB research and stifles the potential of researchers in different research settings (e.g., primarily undergraduate institutions and developing countries) and those seeking new opportuni ties, (e.g., early career professors or researchers).The unequal distribution of resources hinders some research groups from fully leveraging acquired data due to a lack of computational expertise, time, and resources.Conversely, researchers across the globe face limitations in conducting wet-lab experiments at the scales necessary for generat ing extensive data sets.Despite these challenges, there is a shared eagerness among researchers to apply computational training to real-world biological questions.
In alignment with the U.S. government's open data initiative and the National Institutes of Health emphasis on data sharing and management, we propose that sharing of large data sets between differentially resourced research communities has the potential to transform HMB research in myriad ways.These types of collaborations would lead to greater inclusivity in microbial research, expanding the research opportunities for all participants and providing real-world educational examples for data mining.However, these approaches also reveal challenges, like ensuring collaborations across institutions, provide same opportunities across institutions and researchers across the world, and developing the technology for real-time data sharing across institutions and countries.
ASM stands poised to champion equity and accessibility in HMB research, showcasing how valuable contributions to the field can emerge from researchers across varied backgrounds.Taking a leadership role in championing innovation, ASM can spotlight the development of novel techniques through conferences and high-profile publica tions.ASM's commitment to accessibility could extend to the creation of resources supporting the deposition of protocols and both raw and curated data into publicly available repositories.This not only enhances rigor and reproducibility but also propels the scientific enterprise forward.Additionally, ASM could embark on initiatives advocat ing for funding models that prioritize functional data.This strategic approach would provide crucial context to the sea of 'omics information available, ensuring that research efforts are directed toward meaningful outcomes.In essence, ASM has the potential to be a trailblazer in reshaping the landscape of HMB research by simultaneously foster ing inclusivity among diverse disciplines and demographics, promoting innovation for addressing research topics, and supporting resource accessibility.By doing so, ASM would propel scientific progress and contribute to a more equitable and collaborative future in HMB research.

CONCLUSION
In the ever-evolving landscape of the microbial sciences, HMB is forcing a paradigm shift by challenging the established notions of interactions occurring in isolation but instead calling for more comprehensive approaches.By embracing complexity, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, integrating 'omics data with functional insights, and championing equity and accessibility, HMB could redefine microbial research.Discus sions fostered during the COMS-HMB Community Retreat identified priority areas that will shape the future of the microbiological sciences and most likely a larger community of stakeholders (Fig. 4) (69).
Among the priorities is the need for multidisciplinary research and embracing observational studies to promote future mechanistic discoveries.Additionally, the current understanding of host concepts needs to be broadened as hosts are complex.Using simplistic models to ask mechanistic questions relevant to complex systems creates answers that cannot be translated into practical use for understanding the complexity of biological systems.Elucidating the complexity of HMB will also require advancements of tools and innovative techniques for integrating generated from omics and microscopy platforms.
The ASM can play a pivotal role in catalyzing change by advocating for innovative funding models, nurturing cross-disciplinary interactions, and promoting data accessibil ity.By uniting diverse scientific and demographic perspectives and pushing boundaries, ASM stands poised not just to navigate the challenges of today but to pioneer a future where inclusivity, innovation, and accessibility drive the realm of HMB toward ground breaking discoveries.ASM's commitment to advancing microbial sciences and diversity, equity, and inclusion (70) can lay the foundation for a more equitable and collaborative scientific landscape in host-microbe research and the microbial sciences.
The retreat planning committee comprised experts in the HMB field who are part of COMS: Dr. Alison Criss (COMS-HMB Commun ity Leader, At-Large COMS member), Dr. Monica Cartelle-Gestal (incoming COMS-HMB Community Leader, Councilor of the South-Central Branch ASM), Dr. Paul Fidel (Division F. Medical Mycology), Dr. Paula Watnick (Division B. Microbial Pathogens), and Dr.Joseph Zackular (Councilor of the Pennsylvania Branch ASM).The retreat was facilitated by Dr. Beth Oates (ASM Senior Associate-Governance) and Matt Loeb (Optimal Performance Seekers, LLC).ASM and COMS leadership supported the retreat: Dr. Stefano Bertuzzi (ASM Chief Executive Officer), Allen Segal (Chief Advocacy Officer), Dr. Vincent Young (COMS Chair), and Dr. Denise Akob (COMS Vice Chair).

FIG 2
FIG 2Identifying the expertise needed to further innovations in host-microbe biology science.On the second day of the retreat, attendees were asked an opening question "Who are the underutilized or underrecognized stakeholders needed to support the development of the HMB Community?"Participants responded using the Mentimeter.comapplication, which generated a visual word cloud in real time from a total of 59 responses.The larger and bolder the term, the more frequently it appeared in responses.

FIG 3
FIG 3 Components to building interdisciplinary teams.A trend identified in the retreat was the need to create interdisciplinary collaborations to advance host-microbe biology research.Interdisciplinary teams comprised experts in the microbial sciences and beyond can come together to leverage resources and technologies for a myriad of research topics.