Infectious Diseases

Dr.Diane Williamson is a Dstl Fellow in Immunology, based at Porton Down. She has worked in R&D (starting in veterinary vaccinology and moving to human vaccines and therapies for serious pathogens) for 30 years. She has published extensively, on the theme of prophylaxis and therapy of serious human diseases for biodefence and emerging pathogens and has worked in the R& D pipeline from discovery to translation to the clinic. Additionally she is currently a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology and of the Royal College of Pathology and has served as a Trustee and national Education secretary of the British Society for Immunology.

Antibiotic Resistance, soil bacteria

Peter Timms is Professor of Microbiology at the University of Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. He is a nationally and internationally renowned microbiologist with specific expertise in the area of Chlamydia. His laboratory is acknowledged as the leading Australian laboratory and one of the leading groups internationally working on all aspects of chlamydial infections. His research group of 12 staff and students is developing vaccines and new diagnostics for chlamydial diseases in humans and animals as well as an improved understanding of chlamydial genomics, cell biology and pathogenicity. The group is widely acknowledged for its major contributions to chlamydial infections in koalas and other wildlife, including the development of a vaccine for koalas. He has published over 250 papers, reviews and book chapters in peer-reviewed international scientific journals.

Chlamydial Infections, Cell biology, Pathogenicity

Professor Paul Van Buynder is a Public Health physician on the Gold Coast and holds an appointment as a Professor in the School of Public Health at Griffith University in Queensland. He is the Immediate pat president of the Australian Immunisation Coalition. He has held previous senior public health positions in a number of Australian states, at the Centre for Infections in the United Kingdom and in two Canadian provinces. He has held personal appointments on the Influenza sub-committees of National Advisory committees in three continents.

vaccine effectiveness studies, and the evaluation of programs and marketing to maximise vaccine coverage

Epidemology, S. pneumoniae

Hanadi Salman Al-Salmi Recently holds the position of Assistant Director of Infection Control and Hospital in Epidemiology at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, and a member of the Makkah Region HealthCare Council, Team Leader PCI Standard for Joint Commission Accreditation. At the same time she has done 5 publications in collaboration with different departments and personnel such as: Risk Factors for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Infection among Healthcare Personnel, CDC, EID Journal, Volume 22, November 2016, Risk Factors for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Infection Among Healthcare Personnel" to the New England Journal of Medicine,Itemizing the Bundle: Achieving and Maintaining “ZERO” Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infection For Over A Year in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Saudi Arabia, AJIC and Taking Compliance in Hand – Hand Hygiene and Importance of Education, EMH Magazine UK.

Infectious diseases

Professor Timms is Professor of Microbiology at the University of Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. He is a nationally and internationally renowned microbiologist with specific expertise in the area of Chlamydia. His laboratory is acknowledged as the leading Australian laboratory and one of the leading groups internationally working on all aspects of chlamydial infections. His research group of 12 staff and students is developing vaccines and new diagnostics for chlamydial diseases in humans and animals as well as an improved understanding of chlamydial genomics, cell biology and pathogenicity. The group is widely acknowledged for its major contributions to chlamydial infections in koalas and other wildlife, including the development of a vaccine for koalas. He has published over 250 papers, reviews and book chapters in peer-reviewed international scientific journals.

Chlamydial infections and diagnosis

Luis Ulloa is Associate Professor of Rutgers - New Jersey Medical School, USA. His study focuses on innate immune responses to septic and aseptic conditions and their regulation by the nervous system in experimental models of sepsis and hemorrhage/Resuscitation.

Molecular mechanisms of neuronal modulation of the immune system, Bioelectronic immunology,

Dr. Rubén Bueno-Marí finished his Ph.D. in 2010 in the University of Valencia (Spain) and obtained the Special Doctorate Award in the field of Natural Sciences two years later. He is an active member of several scientific associations at national and international level, highlighting his role as current President Elect of the European Mosquito Control Association (EMCA). He is an expert advisor of the Iberoamerican Society of Scientific Information (SIIC) and has published more than 60 scientific publications in journals related with the fields of medical and veterinary entomology, applied zoology, parasitology and public health. He currently cooperates with several universities and other academic institution in superior teaching issues related with his field of expertise (medical entomology, vector control and vector-borne diseases) and is the head of the Department of Research and Development (R+D) of a leading company in environmental health called Laboratories Lokímica.

Vector-borne Diseases, Arbovirus, Zoonoses, Medical Entomology

Yousef Nazzal completed his Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences at the M.S.University of Baroda /India. He went on to establish and lead the efforts of Environmental sciences associations and academic programs in Public Sectors and Academic Institutions in the Middle East and North America. For the past 30 years, he served in different academic and administrative positions in Yarmouk University, King Saud University, Salalah Education College, Abu Dhabi University, Zayed University and University of Ontario Institute of Technology. He is the author or inventor on more than 120 papers and patents. Presently the Chair, Dept. of Life and Environmental Sciences/Zayed University in UAE.

environmental and hydrology

Giulio Tarro graduated from Medicine School, Naples University (1962). Research Associate, Division of Virology and Cancer Research, Children’s Hospital (1965-1968), Assistant Professor of Research Pediatrics, College Medicine (1968-1969), Cincinnati University, Ohio. Oncological Virology Professor, Naples University (1972-1985). Chief Division Virology (1973-2003), Head Department Diagnostic Laboratories, (2003-2006). D. Cotugno Hospital for Infectious Diseases, Naples; Emeritus, 2006 -. Since 2007 Chairman Committee of Biotechnologies and VirusSphere, World Academy Biomedical Technologies, UNESCO, Adjunct Professor Department Biology, Temple University, College of Science and Technology, Philadelphia, recipient of the Sbarro Health Research Organization lifetime achievement award (2010). His researches have been concerned with the characterization of specific virus-induced tumour antigens, which were the "finger-prints" left behind in human cancer. Achievements include patents in field; discovery of Respiratory Syncytial Virus in infant deaths in Naples and of tumor liberated protein as a tumor associated antigen, 55 kilodalton protein overexpressed in lung tumors and other epithelial adenocarcinomas.

Clinical and laboratory applied, Virology basic and diagnostic, Viral Oncology, Immunology clinical practice,Vaccines.

Graduated from Medicine School, Sassari University, Italy (1980) and Specialized in Infectious Diseases (1983), Allergology and Clinical Immunology (1986), “La Sapienza University”, Rome, Italy. Researcher at the Department of Infectious Diseases, “La Sapienza University”, Rome (1981-1992) and Associated Professor of Infectious Diseases at University of Ferrara, Italy (1992-2004). Education at Department de Pathologie Exotique et Maladies Tropicales, Université Claude Bernard, Lyon, France (1988-1996), Groupe Immunité des Muqueuses et Agents Pathogenes, Université Jacques Lisfrang, Saint-Etienne, France (1998-2000), Department de Biotechnologies (1989-1995), Laboratoire des Mycoplasmas and des Chlamydiae, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France (1996-2005); Department of Biological Sciences (Pneumocystis jiroveci Unit, University of Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, 2001. Since 2005 is Full Professor and Chairman of Infectious Diseases, Chief of the Unit of Infectious Diseases and Dermatology at Department of Medical Sciences of the University of Ferrara and Director of the School of Specialization in Infectious and Tropical Diseases. He teaches at the PhD of Molecular Medicine and Pharmacology of the University of Ferrara. Main research interests Diagnosis and therapy of infectious diseases, AIDS-related opportunistic infections, Leishmania infantum, polyomavirus SV-40, Chlamydia and Mycoplasma infections, HBV and HCV infections, Tuberculosis. He has filed an International Patent: Use of terbinafine for the therapeutic treatment of pneumocystosis (United Stated Patent; Application US19950525526 on 1995-09-12; Publication: 1998-02-17) and has contributed to the preparation of molecular diagnostic kits for Chlamydia trachomatis (REALQUALITY RS-CHLAM T, code RQ-S33: Kit for identification and quantification of Chlamydia trachomatis, AB Analytica Advanced Medicine). Scientific activity Carlo Contini has published more than 320 scientific papers and various chapters of Infectious and Tropical Diseases in Italian and international treatises. He has organized a number of Italian and International Conferences of Infectious and Tropical Diseases

Diagnosis and therapy of infectious diseases,AIDS-related opportunistic infections,Leishmania infantum,HBV and HCV infections,Tuberculosis.

Director of Infectious Diseases Unit at "Annunziata" Hospital, Cosenza, Italy

HIV infection & STDs, Bacterial and Fungal Infections,Antibiotics and Antifungal therapy.

Paul B. Fisher is Professor & Chairman, Department of Human and Molecular Genetics and Director, VCU Institute of molecular Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University School Of medicine ,Richmond , Virginia, Research focuses on three broad areas; cancer, neurodegeneration & infectious diseases. A primary aim is to move discoveries made in the laboratory into the clinic, the concept of “bench-to-bedside”. He is among the top 5% of NIH funded investigators over the past 25 years, published over 400 primary papers and review articles, serves on many US government and private review panels and has over 55 issued US and numerous international patents.

Innovative approaches to discovery and molecular characterization of genes involved in susceptibility to cancer, neurodegeneration and infectious diseases.

Pei-Yong Shi, PhD, is I.H. Kempner Professor of Human Genetics, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston Texas, USA. He is also adjunct Professor of Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School in Singapore and Honorary Professor at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He received his Ph.D. in virology in 1996 from Georgia State University. After postdoctoral training at Yale University, he joined Bristol-Myers Squibb as a Principal Scientist to develop HIV and HCV therapeutics from 1998 to 2000. He then moved to the Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, to study West Nile virus. From 2008 to 2015, he served as Dengue Unit Head and Executive Director to lead drug discovery at Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases. His group developed the first infectious clone of the epidemic strain of West Nile virus, discovered two RNA cap methylation activities of flavivirus NS5 protein, identified essential RNA elements for flavivirus replication, established various platforms for flavivirus vaccine and drug discovery, and pioneered therapeutics development for dengue virus. He has published over 190 peer-reviewed articles and served as Editor (ACS Infectious Diseases, Journal of General Virology, and Nature Vaccine) and Editorial Board member (Journal of Virology, Virology, and Antiviral Research). He is internationally recognized for his scholar and administrative accomplishments at leading research institution, public health sector, and pharmaceutical industry.

Flaviviral infection, Human Diseases, Drug disovery and vaccines for Viral Infections

Dr Ross is a tenured Professor and Chair of Tropical Medicine & Infectious Diseases with Griffith University, Australia, and a Physician Scientist with Menzies Health Institute Queensland. His expertise and research interests lie in the realm of global health, tropical infectious diseases, medical microbiology, disease control, and vaccination. Professor Ross completed a Bachelor of Science in Biology (B.Sc., 1990) and a Masters of Science (M.Sc., 1994) in Human Biology in Canada before proceeding to Brisbane, Australia where he completed a Doctorate in Tropical Health (Ph.D., 1998) with Distinction, and a Doctorate of Medicine (M.D., 2010) through the University of Queensland. He is the author or co-author on over 100 international peer-reviewed publications, reviews and book chapters on various aspects of global health, infectious disease control and vaccine development. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathology in the United Kingdom (F.R.C.Path), Fellow of the Australian College of Tropical Medicine (F.A.C.T.M.) and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Public Health in the United Kingdom (F.R.S.P.H.).

Tropical Medicines, Infectious Diseases

Associate Director of Clinical Proteomics Core Dept. of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine University of California Health System USA

Disease Biomarkers for Studies on Tuberculosis (TB)

Jintao Li, female, Professor, Director and Principle Investigator, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Third Military Medical University(TMMU). She got her master degree in molecular biology from Biotechnology Centre, Southwest University in 1996 and then became a faculty in Genetics Department, TMMU and got her Ph.D degree in Immunology Institute, PLA, TMMU in 2000 and became associate professor and then professor later since then till to 2013. From 2011-2012, she worked in Canada as a visiting scientist for one year. Now she has published more than 100 academic papers such as Science Translational Medicine, J.I, E.J.I, etc. and got 5 items of awards. Awards and group menberships 2010 Chongqing Natural Science Prize “Antigen immune response regulation” 2009 First class of Chinese medical award “Antigen protein antigenic properties and Engineering Research” 2005 Chongqing natural science prize “Relationship with the immune response to a protein antigen characteristic” 2003 Excellent graduate doctor in TMMU 1993~1996 University first grade Scholarship 1989~1993 University second grade Scholarship

Tropical Pathogens and Epidemiology, Immunology, Biotechnology & Molecular Biology