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.

europneumo conference logo

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.

 

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