Center for Tropical Diseases (CTD)

2023-2024 Infectious Diseases & Immunity Colloquium

The Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases (CBEID), the Center for Tropical Diseases ( CTD), and the Departments of Microbiology & Immunology (M&I) and Pathology at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas, sponsor this colloquium each year. This colloquium was created to benefit students and faculty, among others who are interested in hearing different speakers from the U.S. and around the world present their research related to infectious diseases and immunity. These seminars are held every Tuesday from 12-1 between September, 2021 - May, 2022. Currently, due to COVID-19, these are held virtually but when we are able to meet in person again, they will be held in 2.212 Basic Science Auditorium. We encourage you to join us for these insightful topics.

If you have any questions regarding one of the upcoming seminars, please contact the hosting Center/Department: Angela Culler (CBEID), and Tina Brasher (M&I).

2021

SEPTEMBER

7 - CBEID
"The Long Road to COVID-19 Recovery: UTMB Post-COVID Recovery Clinic Research Updates"
Rachel Deer, PhD
Assistant Professor, Division of Rehabilitation Sciences
 The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB)
Galveston, TX
Website
 Presentation


14 - M&I
"Investigating the Tripartite Interactions Between Aedes, its Microbiome and Zika Virus Under Increased Temperatures"
Maria G. Onyango, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences
 Texas Tech University
Lubbock, TX
Website

21 - CTD
"How to thrive in the inflamed gut: lessons from Salmonella-induced gastroenteritis"
Mariana X. Byndloss, DVM, PhD
Asst.  Prof., Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology
Assoc. Dir., Vanderbilt Microbiome Initiative
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Nashville, Tenn.
Website

28 - CBEID
"RNA helicases and immunity: how fundamental research led us to study Ebola virus (and a program project)"
Mariano Garcia-Blanco, MD, PhD
Professor and Chair, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
 Mildred Hajek Vacek and John Roman Vacek Distinguished Chair in Honor of President
 Truman G. Blocker, Jr.
 Adjunct Professor of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore
 The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB)
 Galveston, TX
Website
Presentation

OCTOBER

5 - M&I
"Have Vector Will Travel: Spillover, Spillback and Spread of Vector-Borne Viruses"
Kathryn A. Hanley, PhD
 Regents Professor, Biology
 New Mexico State University
Las Cruces, NM
Website

12 - CTD
"Arboviruses, Aerovirology, and Virus Discoveries: Some Recent Findings"
John A. Lednicky, Ph.D.
 Research Professor
 Environmental and Global Health
College of Public Health and Health Professions
 University of Florida – Gainesville
Gainesville, FL
Website
Presentation

19 - CBEID
NO SPEAKER SCHEDULED

26 - M&I
NO SPEAKER SCHEDULED

NOVEMBER

2 
NO SPEAKER SCHEDULED

9 - CTD
NO SPEAKER SCHEDULED

16 - ASTMH ANNUAL MEETING

23 - THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY

30 - CBEID
"Progress in Vaccines and Treatments Against Hemorrhagic Fever Viruses"
Thomas W. Geisbert, PhD
Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology
 The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB)
Galveston, TX
Zoom Link
Website

DECEMBER

7 - M&I
"Nutritional immunity in the inflamed gut"
Manuela Raffatellu, MD
 Professor, Department of Pediatrics
 University of California San Diego
La Jolla, CA
Zoom link
Website

14 - CTD
"Modeling to Mitigate COVID-19 in a Large US City"
Lauren Ancel Meyers
Cooley Professor of Integrative Biology and Statistics & Data Science
Dir., UT COVID-19 Modeling Consortium
The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX
Zoom link
Website

21 - WINTER HOLIDAY

28 - WINTER HOLIDAY

2022

JANUARY

4 - WINTER HOLIDAY

11 - CTD
NO SPEAKER SCHEDULED

19 - M&I
NO SPEAKER SCHEDULED

25 - CBEID
"Sequencing the Pandemic: The Houston Methodist Experience with SARS-CoV-2”
Scott Wesley Long, MD, PhD
Medical Director of Diagnostic Microbiology
Medical Director of Pathology Informatics
Associate Professor of Pathology and Genomic Medicine, Academic Institute
Associate Clinical Member, Research Institute
Houston Methodist
Weill Cornell Medical College
Houston, TX
 Presentation
Website

FEBRUARY

1 - CBEID
NO SPEAKER SCHEDULED

8 - MARDI GRAS
NO SPEAKER SCHEDULED

15 - MARDI GRAS
NO SPEAKER SCHEDULED

22 - M&I
NO SPEAKER SCHEDULED

MARCH

1 - CTD
NO SPEAKER SCHEDULED

8 - CBEID
NO SPEAKER SCHEDULED

15 - SPRING BREAK
NO SPEAKER SCHEDULED

22 - M&I
NO SPEAKER SCHEDULED

29 - CTD
NO SPEAKER SCHEDULED

APRIL

5 - CBEID
"Mechanisms underlying differential disease outcomes of primate immunodeficiency lentiviral infections"
Jason M. Brenchley, PhD
 Senior Investigator, Barrier Immunity Section
 LVD, NIAID, DIR, NIH
NIAID (National Institute of Allery and Infectious Diseases)
 Bethesda, MD
Website

12 - CBEID
SPEAKER CANCELLED

19 - CTD
"Broadly Protective Influenza and Other Respiratory Virus Vaccines, a Human Challenge"
Matthew J. Memoli, M.D., M.S.
Director, LID Clinical Studies Unit
Laboratory of Infectious Diseases
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
National Institutes of Health
Bethesda, MD
Website
Recording

26 - M&I
NO SPEAKER SCHEDULED

MAY

3 - M&I
NO SPEAKER SCHEDULED

10 - M&I
"Epigenetic Control of HPV Transcription and Genome Replication"
Cheng-Ming Chiang, PhD
Professor, Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center
Department of Pharmacology and Department of Biochemistry
UT Southwestern Medical Center
Dallas, TX
Website

17 - CANCELED

24 - CANCELED

31 - CTD
"The Fasciola hepatica Research Program in Peru: Building a One-Health Model for Control "
Miguel Cabada, MD, MSc
Associate Professor,
Internal Medicine – Infectious Diseases
UTMB
Galveston, TX
Zoom link

JUNE

21 - CTD
Juneteenth Speaker
“Development of a novel system to study Chikungunya virus pathogenesis”
St Patrick Reid, PhD
Assistant Professor,
Department of Pathology and Microbiology
University of Nebraska Medical Center
Omaha, NE
Website
Zoom link