Annual Meeting 2025 - Online

1000 – 1005    Welcome
Prof Samantha Sampson, VALIDATE Network Director, University of Stellenbosch

1005 – 1025    VALIDATE Update

Mrs Samantha Vermaak, Co-Investigator & Executive Manager, University of Oxford, UK

1025 – 1110    Keynote Talk: The future of tuberculosis research in the context of transforming global health

Prof Ntobeko Ntusi, South African Medical Research Council

1110 – 1130    Establishing the Immunogenicity of the First Naturally Presented Leishmania Epitope Vaccine Candidates in Ethiopian Cutaneous Leishmaniasis

Dr Thao-Thy Pham Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp, Belgium

1130 – 1150    Probing Extreme Phenotypes to Determine Correlates of Risk for Recurrent TB: A Step Towards Optimised Vaccine Development

Dr Happy Tshivhula Stellenbosch University, South Africa

1150 – 1210    Determining the Metabolic Impact of BCG Vaccination

Dr MrinalDas, University of Leicester, United Kingdom

1210 – 1310    Lunch

1310 – 1340    From Concept to Clinic Advancing TB mRNA Vaccine Development and Manufacturing in South Africa

Dr Pia Steigler, Afrigen Biologics PTY Ltd, South Africa

1340 – 1400    Assessing the Immunogenicity and Protective Efficacy of a Telomerase Deficient Leishmania major

Dr Mark Shiburah, CSIR, Ghana

1400 – 1420  Accelerating BCG Efficacy: Targeting Dendritic Cell Migration in Tuberculosis Immunization

Dr Luciana Balboa, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y Sida (INBIRS), Argentina

1420 – 1440    The Annual Meeting Online will take a short break

1440 – 1510    Vaccination or Treatment Against TB Modify the Phenotype and Transcriptome of Pulmonary Granulomas in NHPs

Dr F Javier Salguero Bodes UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), UK

1510 – 1540    Afternoon Break

1540 – 1655    Your Chance to Meet Other VALIDATE Members

Attendees will get the chance to meet other VALIDATE members in this high-energy, quick-fire activity aimed at fostering community building and networking.

1655 – 1700    Wrap-up Session

1700 – 1830    Drinks & Poster session

Take a look at the posters that will be presented by our members during this session.

1830 – 2100    The Annual Meeting Dinner

 0900 – 0945    Keynote Talk - Details TBC

0945 – 1005    Elucidating the Microbicidal and Regulatory Functions of Bovine Neutrophils During a Natural Mycobacterium bovis Infection

Dr Susana Flores Villalva Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales Agrícolas y Pecuarias INIFAP Mexico

1005 – 1025    Evaluation of a Recombinant Chimeric Protein Vaccine with Adjuvant for the Protection Against Visceral Leishmaniasis

Dr Daniela Pagliara Lage Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil

1025  – 1045    Defining the Mechanism of BCG-Priming and its Impact on Subunit Vaccine Boosting

Dr Elena Stylianou University of Oxford, UK

1045 – 1105    Translating Protective Immune Signatures in the Lung to Peripheral Biomarkers for TB

Dr Paula Niewold Leiden University Medical Center, Netherlands

1105 – 1135    Morning Break

1135 – 1150    Innovative Diagnosis for PKDL/Leprosy Project Update 

Madhurima Roy, Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education & Research (IPGME&R), Kolkata, India

1150 – 1210    Profiling the Mycobacterial Immune Response in Human Lung Tissue to Inform Novel TB Vaccine Design

Assistant Professor Alba Llibre Serradell, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom

1210 – 1230    Immune Signatures of Chronic Tuberculosis and Cutaneous Leishmaniasis

Dr Menberework Chanyalew Negatue, Armauer Hansen Research Institute (AHRI), Ethiopia

1230 – 1240    Boosting BCG Vaccine Efficacy through Metabolic modulation of T Memory Stem Cells: Implications for Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Protection

Dr Mariano Maio, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y Sida (INBIRS), Argentina

1240 – 1250    VALIDATE Vaccines for Skin NTDs Workshop - Update & Outcomes

Mrs Samantha Vermaak, Co-Investigator & Executive Manager, University of Oxford, UK

1250 – 1400    Lunch

1400 – 1430    Adjuvants for the next generation of subunit TB vaccines

Prof Angelo Izzo, Centenary Institute, Australia

1430 – 1440    Preclinical evaluation of a novel recombinant chimeric vaccine for protection against tegumentary leishmaniasis
Dr Camila Freitas, Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Brazil

1440 – 1450    Evaluating the Immunogenicity and Efficacy of Curdlan-PLGA Nanoparticles Encapsulating Mycobacterium tuberculosis Antigens

Dr Zimvo Obasa, Stellenbosch University, South Africa

1450 – 1510    The Annual Meeting Online will take a short break

1510 – 1520    Pilot study to investigate tissue-based immunological profiles associated with TB with single-cell spatial resolution in human lymph nodes
Dr Monika Looney, South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative (SATVI) & University of Cape Town (UCT), South Africa 

1520 – 1550    Afternoon Break

1550 – 1600    Measuring the immunogenicity and efficacy of a novel DNA launched therapeutic for tuberculosis in both murine and human models

Dr Robert Krause, Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI), South Africa

1600 – 1620    Development of Versatile and Cost-Effective Next-Generation Vaccines through Multivalent Approaches

Dr Julen Tomás Cortázar, University College Dublin, Ireland

1620 – 1640    Comparative Testing of Ag85 isoforms and Consensus Sequence Optimisation for Next-gen TB Vaccines

Dr Andy Tran, St George’s, University of London, United Kingdom

1640 – 1700    Annual Meeting Awards and Farewell