The Gordon Conference on Microbial Adhesion and Signal Transduction is a premier meeting on the behavior of microbes in nature, in association with biotic and abiotic surfaces, and in association with host cells. Distinguished speakers and rising stars in the field meet with a diverse group of participants who share interests spanning bacterial-bacterial interaction and communication; bacterial interaction (both symbiotic and pathogenic) with hosts; gene regulation and regulatory networks differentially regulated in community structures such as in biofilms and GI tract communities, and in colonization and infection of the host; assembly and function of structures for cell adhesion and signal transduction; cell biology, microbial evolution and genome dynamics. Invited speakers are selected to represent a variety of scientific disciplines and include molecular biologists, nano engineers, geneticists, biochemists, immunologists, cell biologists, animal and plant physiologists, chemists, theoreticians, and computer modelers. This diversity, coupled with the intimate setting provided by the GRC, makes an ideal venue for interaction between scientists trained in widely different fields and serves to promote interdisciplinary collaborations.