Dear Colleagues,

It is our pleasure to invite you to the 3^rd edition of the International World of Microbiome Conference, set to take place on 28-30 April, 2022 in Vienna – as a face to face event! Our two prior WoM events have been enthusiastically received, and we hear frequently of collaborations which were forged around our meetings. We look forward to welcoming each and every one of you, and some new faces, in person next spring!

At the 3^rd edition of the World of Microbiome Conference we are introducing a third Zone to our World – in addition to WoM: Pregnancy, Birth & Infancy (PBI) and WoM: Digestive & Metabolic Health (DMH) we are adding WoM: Oral.

The addition of the Oral Zone is a natural extension of our two other events. The links between pregnancy and oral health, and the gut and oral microbiomes, are long-standing and well-established. By bringing in key speakers and honing in on important translational research gaps which potentially connect these communities, we will follow our WoM tradition of innovative, thought provoking, and highly interactive clinical science.

In the PBI Zone, the WoM community will have the opportunity to discuss the new data available from pregnancy to early childhood, the characterization of the microbial interaction between the mother and the newborn, and how to utilize this information in the clinical practice.

In the DMH Zone, the WoM community dialogue will focus on bringing the interface between nutrition, basic research, and clinical care closer together. In addition, we will highlight recent developments suggesting that microbial markers are nearer to reaching clinical practice, both as diagnostic and therapeutic targets in inflammatory and neoplastic diseases.

Join international colleagues across gastroenterology, obstetrics and gynaecology, microbiology, immunology, endocrinology, neonatology, biotechnology, hepatology, dental medicine and industry, as we collectively push forward meaningful research in these three emerging zones of clinically relevant and scientifically important microbiome science. The Conference aims to promote collaboration between researchers, clinicians, and industry in order to overcome knowledge microbial medicine gaps and hurdles which limit disease prevention, diagnosis, and cures.

Whether you are a scientist, clinician, clinical researcher, part of a start-up or an established industry company, WoM 2022 is your opportunity to network, engage in dialogue, and form meaningful collaborations with pioneers in the field. We look forward to you becoming a valued member of our WoM community of clinical scientists.

See you in Vienna! *

On behalf of the Scientific Committee,

* The organizers are closely monitoring the global and local situation in relation to the COVID-19 developments and if necessary, we are going to provide a hybrid or virtual format of the WoM 2022.