International Conference
Our center hosts the annual International Conference on Gram-Positive Pathogens, bringing together our research community and providing a unique meeting entirely devoted to Gram-positive pathogens.
This conference emerged from a collaboration among several investigators in America's midwest who study various Gram-positive pathogens. Through this collaboration, we found there is an incredible amount to be learned from each other.
The considerable overlap of systems within these different Gram-positive pathogens is such that the study of one organism provides a new and insightful perspective into several others. Thus, the result of these interactions has been the generation of new research ideas and the development of several new collaborative projects.
This conference is an attempt to extend this concept to the rest of the Gram-positive community, focusing on all aspects of Gram-positive pathogens, from physiology to pathogenesis.
We strongly encourage the participation of graduate students and postdoctoral trainees in the conference.
8th Annual International Conference
The 2024 International Conference on Gram-Positive Pathogens was held Oct. 13-16 in Omaha at a venue chosen to maximize learning potential and the exchange of ideas. Students and post-doctoral scientists had opportunities to present data and interact with internationally recognized leaders of the Gram-positive research field.
2024 Featured Speakers
Jodi Lindsay, PhD
A professor of microbiology at St George’s University of London, Dr. Lindsay is recognized as an international leader on Staphylococcus aureus research and in particular the study of bacterial population structure and evolution, horizontal gene transfer and antimicrobial resistance. Her research has impacted bacterial diagnostics and antimicrobial stewardship and revealed mechanisms of host-adaptation, selection, transmission and epidemiology.
Kumaran Ramamurthi, PhD
A senior investigator in the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health, USA., Dr. Ramamurthi's research was among the first to establish a geometric cue model for protein localization, whereby certain “shape-sensing” proteins localize to specific subcellular sites by recognizing membrane curvature. More recently, his lab has translated their understanding of fundamental cellular processes to construct synthetic bacterial spores that can be used as drug delivery vehicles.
JD Sauer, PhD
An associate professor of medical microbiology and immunology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, Dr. Sauer’s research primarily focuses on the mechanisms by which the foodborne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes survives and thrives in the cytosol of host cells, and in turn how the host innate immune system recognizes and responds to infection by cytosolic bacteria.
Bas Surewaard, PhD
Dr. Surewaard holds a Tier 2 Canada research chair in wild microbiome and infections and is an assistant professor of microbiology, immunology and infectious diseases. His overall research objectives are to understand host-pathogen interactions during bloodstream infections, including the early immune response to infection and to identify the critical molecular mechanisms mediating bacterial pathogenesis.
Committees
Organizing Committee
- Jeffrey L Bose, PhD, co-chair, University of Kansas Medical Center
- Shonna McBride, PhD, co-chair, Emory University
- Francis Alonzo, PhD, University of Illinois Chicago
- Rita Tamayo, PhD, University of North Carolina
- Kelly Doran, PhD, University of Colorado School of Medicine
- Craig Ellermeier, PhD, University of Iowa
- Paul Fey, PhD, University of Nebraska Medical Center
Scientific Committee
- Neal Hammer, PhD, Michigan State University
- Kim Kline, PhD, University of Geneva
- Michelle Reniere, PhD, University of Washington
- Wilmara Salgado-Pabon, PhD, University of Wisconsin – Madison
- Sarah Rowe-Conlon, PhD, University of North Carolina
