Dr. Joshua Lederberg - scientist, Nobel laureate, visionary thinker, and friend of the Forum on Microbial Threats - died on February 2, 2008. It was in his honor that the Institute of Medicine's Forum on Microbial Threats convened a public workshop on May 20-21, 2008, to examine Dr. Lederberg's scientific and policy contributions to the marketplace of ideas in the life sciences, medicine, and public policy. The resulting workshop summary, Microbial Evolution and Co-Adaptation, demonstrates the extent to which conceptual and technological developments have, within a few short years, advanced our collective understanding of the microbiome, microbial genetics, microbial communities, and microbe-host-environment interactions.

Table of Contents


Front Matter
Workshop Overview
1 The Life and Legacies of Joshua Lederberg
2 Microbial Ecology and Ecosystems
3 Pathogen Evolution
4 Antibiotic Resistance: Origins and Countermeasures
5 Infectious Disease Emergence: Past, Present, and Future
Appendix A: Agenda
Appendix B: Acronyms
Appendix C: Glossary
Appendix D: Forum Member Biographies