The 2017 Viruses and Cells GRC, the premier conference in the field of virology, will cover seminal topics in virology ranging from viral entry and structure to virus-host interactions, viral replication, immune responses to viral infection, and viral therapeutics. The 2017 meeting will be held at Renaissance Tuscany, Il Ciocco, Lucca (Barga), Italy, from May 14-19, 2017. The conference is an interactive forum which brings together investigators at the forefront of the field, junior investigators launching their independent research careers, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, and investigators from NIH and industry. The conference strives to represent a collegial environment that supports the discussion of novel ideas and fosters new collaborations. Invited speakers will present novel and cutting edge findings in the field of virology. Topics will include: viral structure and entry, the immune response to viral infection, viral evasion of host immunity, viral replication and persistence, viral pathogenesis, virus-host interactions, modulation of cellular pathways by viruses, viruses and cancer, and viral therapeutics. Session chairs who are experts on the topic covered in each session will lead interactive, lively, and open discussions following each presentation. In addition to each of the invited speakers, short talks will be chosen from the abstracts that are submitted to the meeting at the time of registration. Abstracts that highlight the most exciting and new developments in the field of virology will be selected for short talks, and the remainder of the abstracts will be selected as posters. The evening poster sessions are a prominent and important aspect of this conference providing yet another opportunity for participants to interact and discuss their research findings in an informal, friendly atmosphere.