Recent advances in the field of nutritional immunology

Every 4 years, researchers in the cross-disciplinary field of nutritional immunology convene for a FASEB-sponsored meeting entitled, "Nutritional Immunology: Role in Health and Disease", which was held this summer in Carefree, AZ, USA. The scope of the conference encompassed a diverse list of research topics, including, but not restricted to, obesity and immune dysfunction, nutrient-gene interactions, mucosal immunity and a discussion of future directions for the field. Here, we summarize some of the findings shared at the conference, specifically focusing on obesity, immunological function of dietary components (n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and flavanoids), gut immunity and the microbiota, and relevant emerging technologies and databases.