Registration & Agenda
The Deans’ Forum on Infectious Diseases, the fourth in a series of forums in support of the
implementation of the University Strategic Plan, will be held on September 28-29, 2008.
The forum will showcase the university’s latest research, activity, and expertise in the area of
infectious diseases.
Forum Registration
- Please register for the forum by completing the online registration form.
- The deadline for registration is Friday, September 19, 2008 at 5:00 p.m.
- Please note: Only the principal author on poster abstracts submitted by the August 15 deadline
is registered to attend the symposium. Co-authors of the abstracts MUST register separately.
Forum Agenda
Download the full forum agenda (PDF) for printing.
Lonnie J. King, DVM, is the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s senior veterinarian and the director of the newly
formed National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne, and
Enteric Diseases (ZVED).
Before the establishment of NCZVED, Dr. King served as CDC’s first director of the Office of Strategy and Innovation. Before coming to CDC, he was dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Michigan State University for 10 years. His training and background is in veterinary medicine, but he also has experience in food safety and security, emerging diseases, new zoonoses, and bioterrorism, and is trained in epidemiology with expertise in disease transmission and ecosystems. King has worked on national animal disease eradication campaigns as well as national and global emergencies. He dedicated 19 years of his career to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), which culminated in his serving as the agency’s administrator for 4 years. During that period, he also served as the country’s chief veterinary officer for 5 years and worked extensively in global trade agreements and protecting the nation’s plant and animal resources.
| Monday, September 29, 2008 The Inn at Virginia Tech |
|
| 7:00-8:00 am | Registration and Coffee |
| 8:00-8:30 am | Welcome and Introductory Remarks Dean Lay Nam Chang, College of Science Dean Gerhardt Schurig, Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine |
| 8:30-9:30 am | Session 1: Molecular Pathogenesis E. coli Biofilms, Bottlenecks and Host Responses in Urinary Tract Infections Scott Hultgren, PhD, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri |
| 9:30-9:50 am | Bacterial Spores and Disease: The Goal of Blocking Anthrax Infection David Popham, PhD, College of Science, Virginia Tech |
| 9:50-10:10 am | Audacity to Dream of the Eradication of Chronic Infectious Diseases: Nanomedicine Nammalwar Sriranganathan, DVM, PhD, Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech |
| 10:10-10:30 am | Coffee Break |
| 10:30-11:30 am | Session 2: Host Pathogen Interaction Pathogenicity of Pandemic Influenza Viruses Peter Palese, PhD, Department of Microbiology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY |
| 11:30-11:50 am | Inferring Genetic Regulatory Networks in Host-Pathogen Interactions Brett Tyler, PhD, Virginia Bioinformatics Institute, Virginia Tech |
| 11:50-12:10 pm | The Omnipresence and Ever-expanding Host Range of Hepatitis E Virus: Implications for
Zoonosis and Food Safety? X. J. Meng, MD, PhD, Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech |
| 12:10-1:30 pm | Lunch / Poster Sessions |
| 1:30-2:30 pm | Session 3: Infectious Disease Ecology and Epidemiology Ecologic Change and Disease Emergence: Humans as a Reservoir of Disease for Free Ranging Wildlife Kathleen Alexander, DVM, PhD, College of Natural Resources, Virginia Tech |
| 2:30-2:50 pm | Ecology and Evolution of an Emerging Disease, Mycoplasmal Conjunctivitis, in a Songbird
Host Dana Hawley, PhD, College of Science, Virginia Tech |
| 2:50-3:10 pm | Infectious Diseases and Environmental Epidemiology in Virginia Michele M. Monti, MS, MPH, Director, Division of Environmental Epidemiology, Virginia Department of Health |
| 3:10-3:30 pm | Coffee Break |
| 3:30-4:30 pm | Session 4: Prevention/ Control Engineering Pathogen Resistance in Vector Mosquitoes Anthony James, PhD, Department of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry, School of Medicine, University of California Irvine, CA |
| 4:30-4:50 pm | Development of Anopheles gambiae-selective Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitors
for Deployment on Insecticide Treated Nets Paul Carlier, PhD, College of Science, Virginia Tech |
| 4:50-5:10 pm | Alphavirus Derived Small RNAs Modulate Pathogenesis in Disease Vector Mosquitoes Kevin Myles, PhD, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Virginia Tech |
| 5:10-5:30 pm | Closing Remarks |
| 5:30-7:30 pm | Poster Session |
Plenary Speakers
- Molecular Pathogenesis
Dr.
Scott J. Hultgren, Helen L. Stoever Professor of Molecular Microbiology,
Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri.
The main research goal in the Hultgren lab is to understand urinary tract infections (UTI) so that they may develop improved treatments for this common disease. They use a blend of many techniques, including microbial genetics; molecular biology; biochemistry; protein crystallography; immunology; animal models of pathogenesis; proteomics; and functional genomics to study UTIs. Three focal areas are:
- Pathogenic cascade of E. coli UTI
- Host responses to E. coli UTI
- Enterococcal UTI pathogenesis
- Host-Pathogen Interaction
Dr.
Peter Palese, Professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Professor and Chair of Microbiology,
Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY
The Palese Laboratory is interested in fundamental questions concerning the genetic make-up and the biology of viruses. The group uses molecular biological techniques to understand how viruses replicate and how they interact with cells to cause disease in their hosts. Emphasis is on the study of RNA viruses, including influenza, paramyxo and corona (SARS) viruses.
- Infectious Disease Ecology and Epidemiology
Dr. Kathleen Alexander,
Associate Professor, College of Natural Resources, Virginia Tech.
Dr. Alexander's main research deals with the human – biodiversity interface at the individual as well as population and landscape levels. She is using a multidisciplinary approach to increase our ability to manage and maintain healthy ecosystems that support both biodiversity and human populations. The focal areas of her research are the human biodiversity interface as related to either infectious diseases or ecosystem management. She is examining changes in human health in Africa as related to emerging infectious diseases with the goal of understanding pathogens and processes of change in multi-host ecosystems. In addition, she is identifying the spatial and temporal dynamics of human-wildlife conflict at the landscape level using remote sensing and modeling to identify the predicative determinants and processes that shape species distribution and conflict incidence. Learn more
- Vector/Disease Prevention & Control
Dr. Anthony
A. James, Distinguished Professor, Microbiology & Molecular Genetics and Molecular
Biology & Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine.
Dengue fever and its more serious form, dengue hemorrhagic fever, are caused by dengue viruses. The disease is most prevalent in equatorial regions of the developing world where mosquito and human populations are dense. Between 50-100 million cases occur every year. There is no vaccine available yet to prevent this disease.
The challenge of the Genetic Strategies for Control of Dengue Virus Transmission Program is to use genetic techniques to develop novel methods for controlling the transmission of dengue viruses. This can be achieved by reducing mosquito population densities or eliminating the ability of the mosquito to spread the virus. To achieve this, we have brought together a team of researchers who are at the forefront of the fields of mosquito genetics, virology, computer modeling and ethics/culture/social considerations.
Questions?
If you have questions about the forum agenda or registration, please e-mail idforum@vt.edu.
