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Programme

Last updated in June 12th 2026. Further updates of the programme based on organizational requirements may be necessary.

July 8th 2026 DAY 1  
9:00 Registration and coffee  
10:20 Welcome and introduction  
---------- Session 6: Vaccinology and Antivirals Chairs: Nicole Tischler and Maria Rosenthal
10:30 Invited speaker: Christian T. Happi, Redeemer's University, Nigeria / Harvard University, USA. Genomic Surveillance and Characterization of Microbial Threats Facilitates Early Detection and Containment of Disease Outbreaks in West Africa.  
11:00 Talks of 12 min each (10 min presentation + 2 min for questions)  
  Deep Learning Affinity Maturation of Oropouche Virus Neutralizing Nanobodies. Shrestha Chakraborty, University of Cambridge, UK.
  Comprehensive Bunyavirus:Human Protein Interaction Mapping Identifies Shared Immune Evasion Strategies and Targets for Pan-Antiviral Therapeutics. Francisco J. Zapatero Belinchon, Gladstone Infectious Disease Institute, USA.
  Targeting the Promoter RNA Binding Sites within Lassa Virus L Protein. Gabriele Diana, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine & Centre for Structural Systems Biology, Germany.
  Vaccination-induced human antibodies protect against Rift Valley fever in mice and marmosets. Paul Wichgers Schreur, Wageningen Bioveterinary Research, the Netherlands.
  Progressing an MVA-Hantavirus vaccine to clinical testing. Karen Buttigieg, UK Health Security Agency, UK.
12:00 Flash presentations Vaccinology and Antivirals (3 min each)
  Ribavirin prevents bunyavirus-induced nuclear disruption and alters the structure of viral replication organelles. Moisés García Serradilla, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain.
  Validation of a Mopeia virus-based drug discovery pipeline suitable for antiviral research against mammarenaviruses. Martin Ferrié, KU Leuven, Belgium.
  Development of a Human Ex Vivo Alveolar Model Suitable For Mammarenavirus Biology Studies and Antiviral Research. Lotte De Haes, KU Leuven, Belgium.
  OrbiSIMS modelling and structural biology approaches reveal potential mechanisms of viral attenuation in recombinant arenaviruses. Alex Childs, University of Nottingham, UK.
  Rift Valley fever virus attenuation by codon deoptimization. Alejandro Brun, Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (INIA-CSIC).
12:30 LUNCH  
---------- Session 2: Virus Entry and Assembly Chairs: Stephanie Monticelli and John Barr
13:30 Invited speaker: Amy Hartman, Center for Vaccine Research, Pittsburgh, USA. Host interactions and implications for tropism and disease.  
14:00 Talks of 12 min each (10 min presentation + 2 min for questions)  
  Phosphatidylserine Receptors Mediate Entry of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus into Host Cells. Ezgi Kasikci, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, USA.
  Unravelling the functional impact of receptor usage on New World Arenavirus infection. Nayeli Aguilar Hernández, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Germany.
  How do bunyaviruses pack it? A structural investigation of the ribonucleoprotein organisation of nairoviruses and phenuiviruses. Samantha Hover, University of Leeds, UK.
  The Rift Valley Fever Virus Envelope Assembles as an Unambiguous Jigsaw Puzzle. Jan Hellert, Centre for Structural Systems Biology, Germany.
  The Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus hijacks the liver lipid metabolic pathway for virion production. Solène Denolly, Centre International de Recherche en Infectiologie, University of Lyon, France.
  Autophagy and Lysosomal Dynamics During Oropouche virus Infection: Potential Mechanisms of Viral Egress. Kristel Gutierrez, University of São Paulo, Brazil.
  Cellular release and transfer of orthohantavirus nucleocapsid protein via a viral assembly-independent mechanism. Nicole D Tischler, Centro Ciencia & Vida, Fundación Ciencia & Vida, Chile.
15:30 Flash presentations Virus Entry and Assembly (3 min each)  
  CCHFV uses phosphatidylserine receptors for cell entry via apoptotic mimicry. Janis A Müller, Philipps University Marburg, Marburg, Germany.
  Functional and structural insights into Bunyavirus glycoproteins under K+ treatment. Moisés Rojas Rechy, Instituto Biofisika, CSIC-UPV/EHU, Spain.
  Endosomal pathways as therapeutic targets for Oropouche Virus infection. Pierina Lorencini Parise, University of Campinas, Brazil.
15:40 Flash presentations Evolution, Epidemiology and Diagnostics (3 min each)  
  Seroprevalence and associated risk factors of Rift Valley Fever in humans from three ecological zones of Senegal. Elisabeth Thérèse Faye, Institut Pasteur de Dakar Dakar, Senegal.
  Recombinant virology toolkit for Erve virus. Igor Starinskij, MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, UK.
  Performance Update on Rapid Diagnostic Test Kits for Detecting Lassa Fever in Nigeria. Faith Unuabonah, Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo-state, Nigeria.
  Formulation of reference reagents for nucleic acid amplification testing for Toscana Virus. Daniel A Yara, Science and Research, Diagnostics, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, UK.
  Development of a Novel Antigen Detection System for Rapid and Accurate Diagnosis of Rift Valley Fever Virus. Mark Mawer, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, UK.
16:00 BREAK  
16:30 Poster session 1: Evolution, Epidemiology and Diagnostics / Virus Entry and Assembly / Vaccinology and Antivirals  
18:30 DINNER  
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July 9th DAY 2  
---------- Session 3: Virus replication Chairs: Natasha Tilston and Solene Denolly
9:00 Talks of 12 min each (10 min presentation + 2 min for questions)  
  Spatiotemporal Dissection of LCMV Infection Reveals Dynamic Viral Structures Essential for Virus Propagation. Kate Emily Gilroy, University of Leeds, UK.
  Characterization of Arenavirus Protein Phosphorylation and its Impact on the Viral Life Cycle. Marine-Noel Klamke, Institute of Molecular Virology and Cell Biology, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Germany.
  Bunyaviruses Reprogram Host Translation via 5' TOP mRNAs. Karyme Paez, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, USA.
  Understanding the regulation of stress granules formation during bunyaviruses infection. Nicolas Locker, The Pirbright Institute, UK.
  Multi-omics analysis of host-virus interactions during Bunyaviricetes infection. Lara Rheinemann, Technical University of Munich, Germany.
  A Mosquito Cell-Based Rift Valley Fever Virus Minigenome System for Studying Viral Replication. Qilin Xin, University of York, UK.
  Structural and functional characterization of Rice Hoja Blanca virus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. Itona Tarillon, Université Grenoble Alpes, France.
10:30 Flash presentations Virus replication (3 min)  
  Developing a Split GFP System to Illuminate Nairovirus Trafficking and Replication. Sophia Qais, University of Leeds, UK.
  Molecular characterization of arenavirus defective viral genomes reveals sequence features associated with their formation. Thomas Hoenen, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Germany.
  The mechanism of RNA synthesis inhibition by the Z protein in Lassa virus. Annika Rammelt, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine & Centre for Structural Systems Biology, Germany.
  Rift Valley fever virus NSs drives genome wide changes in host mRNA splicing. Kiriaki Kouti, Justus-Liebig-University of Giessen, Germany.
  Identifying Determinants of Orthobunyavirus Reassortment. James M. Bowen, Indiana University School of Medicine, USA.
  The dynamics of OROV structural proteins during the viral replication cycle in HeLa cells. Igor Valencio Medeiros, University of São Paulo, Brazil.
11:00 COFFEE BREAK  
---------- Session 4: Antiviral Immunity and Pathogenesis Chairs: Toshana Foster and Maria Rosenthal
11:30 Talks of 12 min each (10 min presentation + 2 min for questions)  
  Towards the mechanistic basis of GP38-triggered vascular leak during Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus infection. Stephanie Monticelli, U. S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, USA.
  Orthobunyavirus-host interactions determine susceptibility to neuroinvasive disease. Alyssa Evans, Montana State University, USA.
  Antibody breadth against diverse hantaviruses emerges following Puumala virus infection. Jordan Clark, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, USA.
  Non-neutralizing Functions of Anti-LASV IgGs in Lassa Fever Survivors from Edo State, Nigeria. Solvej Oberhof, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Germany.
  Impacts of Oropouche virus infection of trophoblast cells on host and viral microRNA regulation. Juliano Souza, University of São Paulo, Brazil.
  Visualisation of RVFV-Induced Cellular Remodelling and NSs Filaments. Märit-Runa Jönsson, Centre for Structural Systems Biology, Germany.
  The antiviral response of skin-associated muscle to La Crosse virus infection is age-dependent. Emily Kirby, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, NIAID, NIH, USA.
13:00 Flash presentations Antiviral Immunity and Pathogenesis (3 min each)  
  Host responses in human Lassa Fever patients. Lisa Oestereich, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Germany.
  Development of a Single-Domain Antibody-Fc Therapeutic for Broad Protection Against Lassa Virus. Taylor Powell, U. S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, USA.
  Oropouche Virus-induced Congenital Disease and Its Prevention by 4′-Fluorouridine. Maïlis Darmuzey, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, NIAID, NIH, USA.
  Vector saliva reprograms dermal fibroblasts to create a permissive niche for Bunyaviruses infections. Yonca Keskek Turk, University of Leeds, UK.
  The anti-apoptotic Rift Valley fever virus NSm protein interferes with Bax pro-apoptotic protein. Charlotte Romanet, Institut Pasteur, France.
  Comparative study of experimental infection by Oropouche virus lacking nonstructural proteins NSm or NSs in mice. Eurico Aruda, University of São Paulo, Brazil.
13:30 LUNCH  
14:30 Poster session 2: Virus replication / Antiviral Immunity and Pathogenesis  
16:15 Group picture  
16:30 Walk to Guggenheim  
17:00 Guided tours Guggenheim museum  
20:00 GALA DINNER  
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July 10th DAY 3  
---------- Session 5: Vector Biology Chair: Benjamin Brennan
9:00 Talks of 12 min each (10 min presentation + 2 min for questions)  
  Segment-specific virus-derived DNA biogenesis regulates Batai virus replication in Aedes albopictus. Marléne Cavaleiro Pinto, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden.
  Genomic determinants of La Crosse virus vector competence in the primary vector Aedes triseriatus. Briana Marsico, Colorado State University, USA.
  Decoding the Hyalomma anatolicum proteome to understand Orthonairovirus cross-species adaptation. Harry Taylor, University of Surrey, UK.
  Synthesis of vDNA forms upon acute and persistent Tahyna virus infection in mosquito cells. Davide Sogliani, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell’Emilia-Romagna, Italy.
9:50 COFFEE BREAK + Poster session 3 (extra time for posters)  
---------- Session 1: Evolution, Epidemiology and Diagnostics Chairs: Juan Fontana and Lisa Oestereich
11:00 Invited speaker: Elisabeth Fichet-Calvet, BNITM, Germany. The complex ecology of Lassa virus in West Africa.  
11:30 Talks of 12 min each (10 min presentation + 2 min for questions)  
  Genetic divergence in fetal Schmallenberg virus isolates compromises vector competence. Kerstin Wernike, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Germany.
  Genetic and Phenotypic Changes of Multi-host Viruses LaCrosse and Jamestown Canyon Virus After Adaption to A Single Host. Kishana Taylor, Towson University, USA.
  Investigating the Role of Temperature in Reassortment Potential of Orthobunyaviruses in Insect Cells. Samm Clark, Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine, USA.
  Protein-based tools for the detection and characterisation of Oropouche virus infection. Stephen Graham, University of Cambridge, UK.
  A Rapid, Point-of-Care Diagnostic Test for Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever. Rachel Owen, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK.
12:30 Poster prizes  
12:45 Closing remarks  
13:00 FINISH  

For Posters: Please note that poster boards will be 150 cm tall x 120 cm wide. Thumbtacks will be provided. Please use portrait format.