Dr. Brent E. Korba is working as Research Professor at the Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Georgetown University Medical Centre. He completed his Ph. D in the University of Maryland Baltimore County in the year 1981. He is working in Georgetown University Medical Center since 1984. Currently he is having lab for both PhD students and Post-Doctoral Fellows. The laboratory is focused on antiviral therapies against hepatitis B and C viruses using a variety of cell culture and enzyme-based technologies. Investigations examine a wide range of parameters (DNA, RNA, proteins), both viral and cellular utilizing a variety of molecular biology-based techniques. Studies extend from basic screening (e.g. drug discovery) to mechanisms of action.

Antiviral therapies against hepatitis B and C viruses

Thomas Bosch studied Biology at the Univboschersity of Munich and Swansea University College in the UK from 1976 to 1983. He earned his doctorate from the University of Munich in 1986. From 1986 to 1988, Bosch held a postdoctoral position at the University of California, Irvine, USA. After a position as research associate at the University of Munich, he was appointed to professorship for Zoology at the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena in 1997. Since 2000 Bosch is Professor of General Zoology at Kiel University. From 2010 to 2013 he served as Vice-President of Kiel University and was responsible for Kiel University’s institutional strategy and international relations. Since November 2013 Bosch is heading the interdisciplinary research center “Kiel Life Science” (KLS) at Kiel University. Bosch is spokesperson of the Collaborative Research Center (CRC/SFB 1182) “Origin and Function of Metaorganisms” (2016-2019) which addresses the relatively newly recognized role of multi-organismic interactions for health and disease. Bosch also is Editor-in-Chief of “Zoology”. He currently (2016/2017) is President of the German Society of Developmental Biology (GfE) and a member of several national and international Academic Committees and Boards. In 2015/2016 he will also serve as Deputy President of the German Zoological Society / Deutsche Zoologische Gesellschaft e.V. (DZG). His awards include a Dr. honoris causa degree from St. Petersburg State University, Russia (2004).

evolutionary developmental biology

Chit Laa Poh completed her PhD Monash University(Australia) in 1980 and conducted short periods of postdoctoral training at the Pasteur Institute, Cambridge University and the University College London (UCL). She is a Distinguished Professor in the Vice Chancellor’s Office(VCO), Sunway University and has been appointed as the Head of the new Research Centre for Biomedical Sciences. She has previously worked in the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine , National University of Singapore (NUS) for 25 years. She has a H-index of 33 She has published more than 85 papers in reputable journals and has been serving as an editorial board member of Journal of Biosceince and Bioengineering (Japan), Austin Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygeine (USA), Journal of Virology and Emerging Diseases (USA). She has successfully supervised and graduated PhD and MSc students from NUS, Swinburne University of Technology, University of Malaya and Sunway University.

Her research interests are focused on the development of antiviral agents and novel vaccines against Enterovirus 71(EV-A71) which causes hand, foot and mouth disease(HFMD). Currently, there are no FDA approved antivirals or vaccines that can be applied or treat EV-A71 infections. She is interested in gaining an understanding of the molecular determinants of neurovirulence which may explain the differences between virulent and non-virulent EV-A71. Her group is committed to develop effective antiviral agents such as antiviral peptides and morpholino oligomers as anti-sense agents, live-attenuated vaccine strains carrying multiple site specific mutations and viral strains bearing specific microRNAs as novel vaccines.

I joined bioMérieux in 2007, my current position is EU R&D Microbiology Director at bioMérieux in charge of all microbiology products developments for bacterial culture (conventional media culture, chromogenic media (ChromIDTM…), identification (API® system, mass spectrometry (VITEK® MS)… ) and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing: Etest®, VITEK®2 expert system, RAPIDEC ® Carba, ATB® sytem…) I received my Pharm D from the University of Lyon. After an Internship in medical biology in the Lyon area and obtaining an MSc in French National Reference Center for Staphylococci, I completed my residency in Clinical biology at the Hospices Civils de Lyon, France where I earned my PhD.

I conducted my research work at the French National Reference Center of Staphylococci. My research was focused on Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) mainly on typing and virulence factors. I described a new emerging MRSA clone (Durand et al, Detection of New Methicilllin-Resistant-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Clones Containing the Toxic Shock Sydrome Toxin-1 Gene responsible for Hospital-and community–acquired Infections in France, J. Clin. Microbiol 2006;44:847-853). This clone is now well known as “Geraldine’s clone”. As the leader of the bioMérieux Europe R&D microbiology group in recent years my research was directed on rapid microbiology (Van Belkum et al, Ann Lab Med.2013;(33(1):14-27, on mass spectrometry (Spinali et al, J Clin Microbiol.2015;53(3):760-5, and also on laboratory automation, mainly driven on the medical value brought by imaging technologies for bacterial culture (24th ECCMID, O075; 25th ECCMID, S097). My latest research covers S. aureus characterization through whole genome sequencing (EpiSEqTM service).

Haifaa Altalhi, Head of Infection Control Department in King Saud University Medical City (KSUMC), Co-chairman of Infection Control Committee of KSUMC. Haifaa is a Medical Technologist, Microbiologist and Board certified infection control expert. She has a special interest in engaging the community in infection prevention and control the transmission of infections both in healthcare facility as well as the public. She is extensively involved in Education of Microbiology and infection prevention and control, she is best known for being highly energetic and motivated leader. She participated in creating a system to monitor surgical site infections, participated in the infection control awareness and education group during Hajj of 2009, in year 2015 and 2016 led a group of volunteers and hospital employees to execute a country wide influenza awareness and vaccination campaign.

Infection diseases, Public Health, Microbiology, Vaccines, Infection Control

Dr. Anju Kaushal obtained her Bachelor and Master in Microbiology from Central Research Institute, Kasauli affiliated with H.P. University, Shimla, India and her PhD in Microbiology from Panjab University, Chandigarh, India in 2003. She’s awarded as Senior Research Fellow at Mycology Lab ( Centre for Advanced Research in Medical Mycology and Reference Laboratory for National Culture Collection), Microbiology Department, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research ( PGIMER), Chandigarh, sponsored from Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), New Delhi in 1995. After that she joined Microbiology Department, Panjab University in a project sponsored by Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Sciences, New Delhi in 1997. She also worked in Private Industrial Sector for few years.

Anju mainly worked on Rabies, Invasive Aspergillosis, Antifungal- susceptibility for non-albicans for Candida sps. , pathogenic Cryptococcus sp. isolation from environment, Fermentation technology & downstream processing, Enzymes characterization, HIV- virus & its diagnostics. Her main competences are in Diagnostics (Microbiology/ Virology/ Biotechnology), R&Ds, Quality Control/Assurance for Biologicals/ Immunobiologicals and Process validation.