The latest research on pneumonic plague, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and other life-threatening infections will be discussed during a Symposium on Infection and Immunity April 11 at the Vanderbilt Student Life Center.
Keynote speakers and their topics are:
• William Goldman, Ph.D., chair of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill, “The progression of pneumonic plague.”
• Kevin Kain, M.D., senior scientist at the Toronto General Research Institute (part of the University Health Network), “Endothelial-based biomarkers and interventions for life-threatening infections.”
• Miriam Braunstein, Ph.D., professor of Microbiology and Immunology at UNC Chapel Hill, “The role of the specialized SecA2-dependent secretion pathway in Mycobacterium tuberculosis.”
• Christopher Hunter, Ph.D., chair of Pathobiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, “Imaging immunity to infection.”
Vanderbilt speakers are:
• Holly Algood, Ph.D., and Wonder Drake, M.D., assistant and associate professor, respectively, of Medicine and of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology (PMI).
• Kathryn Edwards, M.D., Sarah H. Sell and Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Pediatrics, and director, Vanderbilt Vaccine Research Program.
• Maria Hadjifrangiskou, Ph.D., and Eric Sebzda, Ph.D., assistant professors of PMI.
• Fernando Polack, M.D., Cesar Milstein Professor of Pediatrics.
The symposium, which begins at 9 a.m., is sponsored by PMI’s Division of Host-Pathogen Interactions and the Infectious Diseases divisions of the departments of Medicine and Pediatrics.