VALIDATE Annual Meeting 2024 - Report
The VALIDATE Network held its 6th Annual Meeting from 15th to 19th July 2024 in Bangkok, Thailand. The event, hosted at the Avani+ Riverside Hotel, provided an invaluable opportunity for members to engage with a global community of researchers exploring the latest advancements in vaccine research for VALIDATE’s focus pathogens: Mycobacteria, Leishmaniasis, and Melioidosis.
Early Career Researcher Workshop: Monday, 15 July 2024
The meeting kicked off with an exclusive Early Career Researcher (ECR) Workshop on 15th July. Held in the Air Room of the Avani+ Riverside Hotel, this highly interactive grant writing course provided early-career researchers with essential skills to craft effective research proposals and secure funding. Hosted by Scriptoria, a provider of training for international organisations and research centres, the workshop covered the nuances of the proposal review process and proposal writing skills. Participants were guided through the proposal evaluation process, learning how to draft compelling abstracts and write convincingly about research impact. The morning sessions focused on crafting executive and lay summaries, writing statements of need, and understanding funding opportunities with talks from notable funders, including Dr Alison Kraigsley from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Dr Mariana Delfino-Machin from the Medical Research Council, and Mrs Samantha Vermaak from VALIDATE. The afternoon sessions detailed the methods of work-planning, linking outputs to outcomes, planning budgets, and the professional writing and editing cycle. Participants also engaged in practical exercises to refine their ideas and writing for a broader audience. Feedback from the workshop was overwhelmingly positive, with participants praising the practical exercises and the trainer's interactive approach. The day concluded with a workshop dinner in the Sky Room, providing further networking opportunities for delegates.
Day One: Tuesday, 16 July 2024
The first day of the main Annual Meeting commenced with a closed Network Management Board (NMB) & Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) meeting, followed by the official welcoming session with outgoing VALIDATE Network Director Professor Helen McShane from the University of Oxford and Thai host Professor Narisara Chantratita from Mahidol University setting the stage for a series of enlightening presentations. VALIDATE Co-Investigator and Executive Manager Samantha Vermaak then provided an update of VALIDATE’s activities over the last year and our exciting plans for the future.
The research talks opened with a Keynote Address from one of our Thai hosts, Prof Narisara Chantratita, who discussed the clinical epidemiology of melioidosis.
Dr Nastassja Kriel from Stellenbosch University then discussed her VALIDATE Fellowship project, identifying persister Mycobacterium tuberculosis biosignatures. This was followed by Fellow Dr Cristian Segura-Cerda from CIATEJ, Mexico, who presented his research on the efficacy of BCGΔBCG1419c vaccination with EsxG/EsxH-derived peptides in tuberculosis prevention. We then heard our first investigator talk when Prof Mary Burtnick from the University of Nevada delved into the role of adjuvants in melioidosis subunit vaccine development.
After lunch, we resumed with talks updating delegates about VALIDATE Pump Priming Projects, starting with a discussion of TB vaccine binding and translocation presented by Dr Diane Lee from the University of Surrey, an exploration of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection control strategies by Dr Munyaradzi Musvosvi from the University of Cape Town, and and evaluation of BCGΔBCG1419cESAT6-PE25SS in immunocompetent Mouse Models by Dr Ana Maria Valencia-Hernandez. VALIDATE Investigator Dr Suraj Parihar from the University of Cape Town gave the final research talk of the day, discussing the deletion of Interleukin-4 receptor alpha (IL-4Rα) signalling on T cells.
Your Change to Meet Fellow VALIDATE Members
After a break, delegates then took part in a lively networking session designed to foster connections among VALIDATE members. Over the course of six sessions, each lasting eight minutes, attendees rotated through groups of six to seven people. This format allowed everyone to meet a diverse range of colleagues from different backgrounds. Each participant delivered a one-minute introduction, sharing their career, research focus, and what they hoped to gain from the meeting. This activity was an excellent opportunity for members to make new connections and set the stage for further discussions throughout the conference.
Poster Reception and Annual Meeting Dinner
The day continued with the Poster Reception, where 28 presenters had the opportunity to showcase their research to all delegates while enjoying drinks and refreshments. You can find all abstract for the Posters here.
Day One concluded with the Annual Meeting Dinner, providing a relaxed atmosphere for further networking and discussion.
Day Two: Wednesday, 17 July 2024
Day two opened with a Keynote talk from Prof Ganjana Lertmemongkolchai on lessons learned in BP vs NTM research. We then heard more updates from researchers leading VALIDATE-funded projects including Dr Dr Thao-Thy Pham on Leishmania vaccine candidates, and Dr Elena Stylianou's exploration of BCG-priming's effects on subunit vaccine boosting. We then heard from Investigator Prof Michele Miller from Stellenbosch University, who discussed her work on animal and human TB.
Later sessions focused on innovative diagnostics and vaccination strategies. Contributions included Prof Mitali Chatterjee from IPGMER on PKDL/leprosy diagnostics, Dr Paula Niewold from Leiden University Medical Centre on peripheral biomarkers for TB and Dr Andy Tran from St Georges University on mucosal vaccination and immune response, and Dr Laura Sibley on cytokine characterisation in BCG-vaccinated primates.
The afternoon included discussions on therapeutic strategies and vaccine development, highlighted by talks from Dr Maria Adelaida Gomez from CIDEIM discussing her work on vaccine development for human Leishmaniasis, Dr Daniela Pagliara from Federal University of Minas Gerais on adjuvant protection against visceral Leishmaniasis, Dr Paula Niewold for her second talk on peripheral biomarkers for TB and Dr Happy Tshivhula's discussing her work probing extreme phenotypes to determine correlates of Risk for TB.
For the final session we conldued the Annual Meeting talks with presentations from Investigators with Prof Paul Brett discussing melioidosis immunity and Honorary Professor Allan Saul discussing his 20 years of experience in vaccine trial planning.
Our new Network Director Prof Samantha Sampson closed the meeting and awarded the best talks to Dr Andy Tran and best poster to co winners Dr Naomi Daniels and Dr Suzie Madaki.
Summary
The VALIDATE 6th Annual Meeting was a success, offering a vibrant platform for knowledge exchange and collaboration. Participants expressed overwhelmingly positive feedback, indicating that they gained valuable insights into vaccine research for our focus pathogens. Notably, 85% of respondents to our feedback form reported establishing potential future collaborations, highlighting the event's effectiveness in fostering meaningful connections among researchers.
VALIDATE looks forward to meeting even more of you in VALIDATE Annual Meeting 2025!
