Welcome to ISM 2026

It is a great pleasure and honour to welcome you to the International Society of Microbiota 2026. As the new President of ISM, I believe our field is entering an important new phase.

We have learned enormously about the composition of the microbiota and its associations with health and disease. Now we need to go further.

What is really causal?

Which microbial signals and metabolites matter most?

Can microbiome biomarkers become useful in clinical practice?

How can we move from microbiome profiling to prevention and treatment?

What can precision nutrition really achieve?

Can targeting the microbiota contribute to healthy ageing and the prevention of chronic diseases?

And perhaps the most important question:

How do we bring microbiota science into medicine?

These questions will be at the heart of the 13th World Congress on Targeting Microbiota, taking place in Málaga, Spain, on November 4–5, 2026.

Our ambition is to bring together researchers, clinicians, young scientists, innovators, journal editors and industry to exchange ideas, challenge existing concepts and build new collaborations.

ISM should be a place where strong fundamental science meets clinical reality and where new ideas can be openly discussed.

I warmly invite you to join us in Málaga, share your latest research and help us shape the next chapter of microbiota science.

I look forward to welcoming you personally.

Prof. Alain Stintzi
President, International Society of Microbiota
University of Ottawa, Canada