Scientific programme
Europneumo Liverpool will bring together renowned academic and clinical scientists, including both early career researchers and established research leaders, to discuss the most recent and upcoming developments in the field of pneumococcal research.
Scientific programme
Our scientific programme will be composed of five sessions, one plenary speaker per session, intercalated with lunches, coffee breaks, poster sessions and networking events.
Tuesday 31st May 2022
Opening Ceremony
Venue: The Liverpool Town Hall
|
15:30 |
Delegates arrival & registration |
|
16:00 |
Welcome drinks |
|
17:00 |
Welcome speech, Prof Aras Kadioglu |
|
17:15 |
Keynote Lecture What survives? Selection of pneumococci by vaccines and other things. Prof William Hanage, Harvard University, USA |
|
18:30 |
Liverpool Lord Mayor welcome speech |
|
18:30 |
Drinks & canapes in Liverpool Town Hall Large Ballroom |
|
21:00 |
Opening Ceremony concludes |
Wednesday 01st June 2022
Venue: The Museum of Liverpool, Pier Head
08.30-09.00 On-site registration
Scientific Session 1: Genes and Systems
|
Chairs: Dr Daniel Neill, University of Liverpool & Dr Raquel Sa Leao, Universidade Nova De Lisboa |
|
|
9.00- 9.10 |
Welcome/Introduction |
|
9.10- 10.00 |
Plenary Lecture: Understanding the genetic conflicts shaping pneumococcal population structures and dynamics. Dr Nicholas Croucher, Imperial College London, UK |
|
10.00-10.15 |
Whole genome profiling reveals genes essential for penicillin tolerance in Streptococcus pneumoniae. Dr Andrew Fenton, University of Sheffield, UK |
|
10.15-10.30 |
Rapid, reproducible, and consistent nomenclature for pneumococcal strains with PopPUNK: methods for defining Global Pneumococcal Sequencing Clusters (GPSCs). Dr John Lees, EMBL-EBI, UK |
|
10.30-10.45 |
Emergence of multidrug resistant serotype 16F lineages in infants in South Africa. Dr Jolynne Mokaya, Wellcome Sanger Institute, UK |
|
10.45-11.00 |
Moonlighting proteins activate transformation in multidrug-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae epigenetic phase variants. Dr Min Jung Kwun, Imperial College London, London, UK |
|
11.00- 11.30 |
Coffee break |
|
11.30-11.45 |
PneumoWiki - a repository of the pneumococcal research and annotation community. Prof Sven Hammerschmidt, University of Greifswald, Germany |
|
11.45-12.00 |
Within-host evolution of Streptococcus pneumoniae in immunocompetent healthy adults. Mr João Borralho, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal. |
|
12.00- 12.15 |
BlpC-mediated selfish program leads to rapid loss of Streptococcus pneumoniae clonal diversity during infection. Dr Surya D Aggarwal, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, USA |
|
12.15-12.30 |
Identifying essential genes important in competence and transformation in Streptococcus pneumoniae through a genome-wide CRISPRi screen. Dr Absalom Janssen, University of Lausanne, Switzerland |
|
12.30- 12.45 |
Group photo |
|
12:45- 14:00 |
Lunch break |
Session 2: Virulence and Pathogenesis
|
Chairs: Dr Marie Yang, University of Liverpool & Dr Mario Ramirez, Universidade De Lisboa |
|
|
14.00-14.10 |
Welcome/Introduction |
|
14.10-15.00 |
Plenary Lecture: Pneumococcal-host interactions affecting carriage and transmission. Prof Jeffrey Weiser, New York University Lagon Health, USA |
|
15.00-15.15 |
Bacterial lipoproteins modulate pneumococcal microinvasion of nasopharyngeal epithelial cells. Dr Elizabeth Chan, University College London, UK |
|
15.15-15.30 |
Intra-species interactions among pneumococci. Dr Carina Valente, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal |
|
15.30-15.45 |
Isogenic pneumococcal capsule mutants highlight the impact of the capsule on epithelial binding and complement deposition. Ms Esther Woudenbergh, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, The Netherlands |
|
15.45-16.00 |
Systemic virulence of Streptococcus pneumoniae is dependent on the proline synthesis pathway. Prof Jeremy Brown, University College London, UK. |
|
16.00-17.00 |
Coffee and Poster session |
|
17.00-17.15 |
Molecular mechanisms of neuronal damage caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae infection. Dr Federico Iovino, Karolinska Institute, Sweden |
|
17.15-17.30 |
A single nucleotide insertion in the promoter region of the nanB operon fine-tunes neuraminidase activity for nasopharyngeal colonisation. Mr Thomas Barton, University of Liverpool, UK |
|
17.30-17.45 |
Pneumococcal and staphylococcal pore forming toxins impair platelet function via different modes of action. Ms Kristin Jahn, University of Greifswald, Germany |
|
17.45-18.00 |
Dual role of the PptAB/Eep complex in pneumococcal cell-cell communication. Mrs Karina Mueller Brown, Carnegie Mellon University, USA |
|
19:00-00-00 |
Gala Dinner Venue: Oh Me Oh My, West Africa House |
Thursday 02nd June 2022
Venue: The Museum of Liverpool, Pier Head
Scientific Session 3: Structure-Function
|
Chairs: Prof Sven Hammerschmidt, University of Greifswald & Prof Birgitta Henriques-Normark, Karolinska Institutet |
|
|
9.00- 9.10 |
Welcome/Introduction |
|
9.10- 10.00 |
Plenary Lecture: The role of MapZ phosphorylation in modulating the cell cycle of Streptococcus pneumoniae. Prof Christophe Grangeasse, CNRS Université de Lyon, France |
|
10.00-10.15 |
Membrane particles evoke a serotype-independent cross-protection against pneumococcal infection that is dependent on two conserved lipoproteins. Dr Ana Rita Narciso, Karolinska Institute, Sweden |
|
10.15-10.30 |
Insights into pneumococcal teichoic acids recognition and StkP-mediated regulation by LytB Dr Juan Antonio Hermoso, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Spain |
|
10.30-10.45 |
Loss of cyclic di-AMP phosphodiesterase function as a steppingstone to β-lactam resistance in Streptococcus pneumoniae. Dr Carolin Kobras, University of Sheffield, UK |
|
10.45-11.00 |
Dissecting the LytB catalytic mechanism in Streptococcus pneumoniae cell division. Dr Rafael Molina, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Spain
|
|
11.00- 11.30 |
Coffee break |
|
11.30-11.45 |
Choline-binding modules: spring-like polypeptides with chamaleonic properties. Dr Jesús M. Sanz, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Spain |
|
11.45-12.00 |
The RecA-directed recombination pathway of natural transformation initiates at chromosomal replication forks in Streptococcus pneumoniae. Dr Calum Johnston, Université Paul Sabatier (Toulouse III), France |
|
12.00- 12.15 |
Multi-omics analysis reveals the NAD+ biosynthesis pathway as a new defense mechanism against Streptococcus pneumoniae infection. Mr Björn Klabunde, Philipps-University Marburg, Germany |
|
12.15-12.30 |
Structural characterization of the surface protein Spr1875. Dr Vega Miguel-Ruano, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Spain |
|
12:30- 14:00 |
Lunch break |
Session 4: Immunology and Vaccines
|
Chairs: Dr Emma Wall, Francis Crick Institute & Prof Aras Kadioglu, University of Liverpool |
|
|
14.00-14.10 |
Welcome /Introduction |
|
14.10-15.00 |
Plenary Lecture: Pneumococcal vaccines: how do we improve on major success? Prof Neil French, University of Liverpool, UK |
|
15.00-15.15 |
Persistence of pneumococcal carriage among older adults in the community despite COVID-19 mitigation measures. Dr Anne Wyllie, Yale School of Public Health, USA |
|
15.15-15.30 |
TNFR2+ regulatory T cells protect against bacteraemic pneumococcal pneumonia by suppressing IL-17A-producing γδ T cells in the lung. Dr Rong Xu, University of Liverpool, UK |
|
15.30-15.45 |
Emergence of a multidrug resistant and virulent Streptococcus pneumoniae lineage GPSC10/CC230 mediates serotype replacement after PCV13. Dr Stephanie Lo, The Wellcome Sanger Institute, UK |
|
15.45-16.00 |
Intradermal vaccination with a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine is inferior to intramuscular administration in inducing polysaccharide-specific antibodies. Dr Jeroen Langereis, Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, The Netherlands |
|
16.00-17.00 |
Coffee and Poster session |
|
17.00-17.15 |
Streptococcus pneumoniae affects human dendritic cell function in a pneumolysin dependent manner. Ms Antje Paulikat, University of Greifswald, Germany |
|
17.15-17.30 |
Pneumococci and serotype 3 remain important causes of complicated pneumonias despite six-years of near universal coverage of PCV13. Dr Mario Ramirez, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal. |
|
17.30-17.45 |
Evolution of anti-protein antibody response after Streptococcus pneumoniae nasopharyngeal colonisation of mice. Dr Giuseppe Ercoli, University College London, UK |
|
17:45- 18:00 |
Streptococcus pneumoniae infection in the human spleen. Prof Marco Oggioni, Universita di Bologna, Italy |
|
19:00 - 21.00 |
River Mersey Ferry Tour |
Friday 3rd June 2022
Venue: The Museum of Liverpool, Pier Head
Session 5: New Horizons - Climate, Transmission, Epigenetics
|
Chairs: Prof Jeremy Brown, University College London & Prof Marco Rinaldo Oggioni, Universita di Bologna |
|
|
9.00- 9.10 |
Welcome/Introduction |
|
9.10- 10.00 |
Plenary Lecture: Streptococcus pneumoniae fine tunes host responses for maintaining homeostasis or driving infection. Prof Melanie Hamon, Institut Pasteur de Paris, France |
|
10.00- 10.15 |
Hypervirulent Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 1 (ST217) displays high levels of shedding and transmission. Dr Murielle Baltazar, University of Liverpool, UK |
|
10.15- 10.30 |
The longitudinal impact of Streptococcus pneumoniae carriage on SARS-CoV-2 infections in households with SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Mr Willem Miellet, University Medical Center Utrecht (UMCU), The Netherlands |
|
10.30- 10.45 |
Mini-bioreactors for the study of pneumococcal cell-cell communication. Dr Corine Jackman Burden, Carnegie Mellon University, USA |
|
10.45- 11.00 |
High throughput generation of capsule switched variants using magnetic bead-based separation (MBS). Dr Anna York, Yale School of Public Health, USA |
|
11.00- 11.30 |
Coffee break |
|
11.30- 11.45 |
Influence of sex, season, and environmental air quality on experimental human pneumococcal carriage acquisition: a retrospective cohort analysis, Dr Katerina Cheliotis, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK |
|
11.45- 12.00 |
Elucidating the spatiotemporal dynamics of Streptococcus pneumoniae in South Africa using genetic and human mobility data. Ms Sophie Belman, University of Cambridge, UK/Wellcome Sanger Institute, UK |
|
12.00- 12.15 |
The upper respiratory tract microbiota of healthy adults is affected by Streptococcus pneumoniae carriage, smoking habits and contact with children. Mr João Lança, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal. |
|
12.15- 12.30 |
Immune constraints on antibiotic resistance evolution in Streptococcus pneumoniae Dr Jason Rosch, St Jude Children's Research Hospital, USA |
|
12.30-12.45 |
Best Posters/Talk Prizes |
|
12.45-13.00 |
Closing remarks |
|
13.00-14.00 |
Lunch |
End of Europneumo2022 meeting.
Europneumo2022 main venue, The Museum of Liverpool
The Museum of Liverpool is a purpose-built landmark building on Liverpool's famous waterfront. Opened on 19 July 2011, it is the largest National Museum to be built in the UK in over 100 years, and is situated on a UNESCO World Heritage Site next to Liverpool's famous 'Three Graces'. The building features huge projecting windows at either end, one facing the city centre and the other out across the River Mersey. The limestone panels that surrounds its facade are shaped as zig-zagging diamonds, creating the illusion that the building has been stretched. Inside the building, a large staircase spirals up through an atrium at the heart of the museum, leading to three floors of galleries that exhibit Liverpool's social history and popular culture.
Networking events
Opening ceremony at the Liverpool Town Hall - Tuesday 31st May 2022
We will welcome our Europneumo2022 delegates at the prestigious Liverpool town Hall, home of The Lord Mayor of Liverpool. Built in 1749 and designed by John Wood, this Grade 1 listed building is recognised as one of the finest surviving town halls of the 18th century and a masterful example of Georgian architecture.
Gala dinner at the Oh Me Oh My Restaurant - Wednesday 01 June 2022
Oh Me Oh My is located in the West Africa House, opposite the city’s iconic Three Graces, at the heart of historic downtown Liverpool. Built in the 1920s by Briggs, Wolstenholme and Thorley, the building was home to the former bank of West Africa. With its beautiful roof garden, located on the 8th floor of the building, Oh Me Oh My will host Europneumo2022’s gala dinner. Dress code: business casual.
River Explorer Cruse on the Mersey River - Thursday 02 June 2022
Our Europneumo2022 delegates will be invited to experience a 90-minute sightseeing cruise and learn about the fascinating history of the River Mersey while sailing along Liverpool’s UNESCO World Heritage Waterfront from the deck of the world-famous Mersey ferry.