Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma continue to be important causes of morbidity,mortality, and health-care costs worldwide. However, the underlying causes of asthma and COPD remain poorly understood, even as the incidence of such diseases continues to increase. Recent discoveries have uncovered strong associations between both lung function and immune responses in early life and the subsequent development of persistent asthma and chronic airway obstruction in **hood. However, to date, no meeting has taken advantage of these recent discoveries. The overall goal of this meeting is to draw together investigators from multiple disciplines doing work relevant to understanding the genetic, epigenetic and environmental factors and mechanisms that affect the development of asthma and COPD. 

      The specific goals of the meeting are to: 

1) explore recent insights into the genetic and epigenetic origins of asthma and COPD; 

2) understand the relationship between early life environmental exposures and impaired lung function throughout life; 

3) understand the relationship between lung infections as well as changes in the intestinal microbiome and the development of chronic lung diseases;

 4) understand the role of newly described innate immune cell populations and pathways in the development of lung inflammation; 

5) understand recent insights into the mechanisms of lung development, repair and remodeling; 

and 6) explore unique pathways of resolution of lung inflammation. 

   By bringing together a critical mass of multidisciplinary researchers, this symposium should provide an ideal forum for exploring novel prevention and treatment strategies for these chronic respiratory diseases based on the identification of the genetic and environmental factors that interactively cause these disorders. Moreover, this meeting will serve to provide an in-depth exposure of junior investigators (graduate students and post-docs) to a fast-moving, fruitful area of medical research, as well as enticing such scientists into the field. Opportunities for interdisciplinary interactions will be significantly enhanced by the concurrent meeting on Type 2 Immunity: Initiation, Maintenance, Homeostasis and Pathology, which will share a keynote address and two plenary sessions with this meeting.