Highlights from 2025 Symposium

Keynote Speakers

Tony Schountz, PhD

Professor, Microbiology, Immunology, & Pathology (Colorado State University)

"Jamaican fruit bats for virology and immunology research"

Albert Ko, MD

Professor of Public Health, Epidemiology, & Medicine (Yale)

"Building a Sustainable International Research Program"

Anna Durbin, MD

Professor, International Health & Director, Center for Immunization Research (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health)

"Vaccines for Vector-Borne Viruses"

David Brett-Major, MD, MPH

Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Infectious Diseases (University of Nebraska Medical Center)

"Diagnostic Test Design Considerations for Surveillance, Case Management, and Discovery"

Sten Vermund, MD, PhD

Senior Associate Vice President & Dean, USF Health College of Public Health (University of South Florida)

"Planetary Warming and Implications for Subtropical Gulf Infectious Diseases"

Trainee Presentation Award Winners

S. Gabrielle Cody, MS

PhD Candidate, UTMB

"Developing Mouse Models of Postnatal Neurocognitive Sequelae Following Congenital Infection with Zika Virus"

Ruby Escobedo

PhD Candidate, Texas Biomedical Research Institute

"Broadly Neutralizing IVIG for Protection Against Cattle-Origin H5N1 Influenza"

Cristina Salas

MD/MPH Candidate, UTMB

"Leveraging Drone Imagery for Environmental Mapping of Schistosomiasis Risk Zones: A Pilot Study in Ogun State, Nigeria"

Rakesh Kathiresan

MD Candidate, UT Health

"Schistosomiasis Control from a One-Health Perspective (SCOPE) Study: Efficacy of a Novel Ultra-Low Cost Toolkit for Community-Based Diagnostics"

Simon Birk

MD Candidate, UT Health

"Schistosomiasis Control from a One-Health Perspective (SCOPE) Study: Efficacy of a Novel Ultra-Low Cost Toolkit for Community-Based Diagnostics"

Trainee Poster Award Winners

Leroy Versteeg, PhD

Postdoctoral Researcher, Baylor College of Medicine

"mRNA Vaccines Coupled with Immunopeptidomics-Powered Vaccine Target Identification: A Promising Approach for Vaccine Development against Intracellular Parasites"

Declan Pigeaud, PhD

Postdoctoral Researcher, UTMB

"A Cross Protective rVSV Vaccine for Nipah and Hendra Viruses"

Nicole Mendell