This symposium will bring together scientists in biology and chemistry that rarely interact to address common questions. The interdisciplinary collaborations that result will profoundly accelerate basic microbiome research as well as help understand the role of the microbiome in human health and disease. We will emphasize speakers that employ innovative new methods and/or hypothesis-driven research to understand microbial systems at the molecular level. We have invited speakers with innovative paradigm-shifting research programs in chemistry, synthetic biology, genome editing, precision medicine, etc. Meet Danielle Demers in Québec!