Diatoms are single-celled photosynthetic eukaryotes found throughout aquatic ecosystems wherever there is sufficient light and nutrients. They are responsible for about twenty percent of global primary production. Diatom research has a rich history dating back to the eighteenth century when they were recognized for their beauty and ubiquity. Currently, diatoms are assuming increasingly important roles in bio-nanotechnology, biofuels, and nutraceuticals. Around twenty years ago, the era of diatom genome sequencing propelled expansion of the diatom scientific community.

As the community of researchers interested in molecular understanding of diatoms continued to expand and diversify, a new conference was initiated, specifically dedicated to the “Molecular Life of Diatoms” or MLD as it has become known. MLD1 was held in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, in 2011. Since then, five biennial meeting have been held in different countries with great success and an increasing number of attendees, reflecting the growing community of diatom researcher and establish scientists from neighboring disciplines such as microbiology and plant sciences.

MLD meetings to date:

MLD1, Atlanta (2011),

MLD2, Paris (2013)

MLD3, Seattle (2015)

MLD4, Kobe, Japan (2017)

MLD5, Norwich, UK (2019)

MLD6, Virtual (San Diego), 2021

MLD7, San Diego, 2023

This year's meeting will include invited and contributed talks and poster sessions on the following topics: Ecology, Molecular Ecophysiology, Evolution, Biotechnology, Synthetic and Systems Biology, Cell Biology, and Biogeochemistry.