Annual Conference 2023

Discovery, engineering & application of multi-functional biocatalysts

Nick Turner (University of Manchester, UK)

Offered talk: C1-based optimisation of Streptomyces fermentation and downstream processing conditions for protein-based nano-coating and nano-adhesive applications

Geertje van Keulen (Swansea University, UK)

Sustainable fermentation of chemicals and material building blocks

Harald Ruijssenaars (Corbion, Netherlands)

Break

Developing algal solutions for a sustainable future

Alison Smith (University of Cambridge, UK)

Digestate as a sustainable source of nutrients for large-scale algal cultivation

Marcella Fernandes de Souza (Ghent University, Belgium)

Offered paper: Differential immune modulation by high-risk human papillomavirus types 16 & 18

Jack Ferguson (University of Birmingham, UK)

Offered paper: A role of FBXO22 in antiviral immunity and its antagonism by the orthopoxviruses

Preetum Parija (Univeristy of Surrey, UK)

Offered paper: Investigating the function of HSV-1 pUL55, a novel immune evasion protein

Navneet Jandu (University of Cambridge, UK)

Offered paper: Characterisation of the mechanism and function of DMXL1 degradation by HCMV

Hanqi Li (Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, UK)

Offered paper: Human TRIM5α-mediated restriction of vaccinia virus

Qi Zhong (University of Cambridge, UK)

Offered paper: Localised topical microwaving reverses human papillomavirus (HPV) induced proliferation and immortalization in vitro in HPV-positive 3D epithelial raft tissues

Anna Kirk (University of Glasgow, UK)

Break

Offered paper: HDAC5 is a positive regulater of IRF3 activation and is targeted for degradation by vaccinia, monkeypox and variola viruses

Yongxu Lu (University of Cambridge, UK)

Offered paper: Activation of cytosolic DNA sensing during Orthopoxvirus uncoating and replication

Sian Lant (University of Surrey, UK)

Offered paper: Innate immune sensing of viral DNA by DNA-PK in multiple species

Brian Ferguson (University of Cambridge, UK)

Offered paper: The humoral immune repertoire observed in HCMV glycoprotein B vaccine recipients includes a protective response to an antigenic domain conserved across human herpesviruses

Anastasia Lankina (University College London, UK)

Offered paper: The pro-proliferative effects of the Hippo pathway effector TAZ in HPV18+ cervical cancer cells are mediated by the novel oncogene TOGARAM2

Molly Patterson (University of Leeds, UK)

Offered talk: Peptidoglycan in obligate intracellular bacteria

Sharanjeet Atwal (Rutgers, USA)

Offered talk: Spatiotemporal Localisation of Surface Layer Biosynthesis

Matthew Herdman (University of Oxford, UK)

Offered talk: Characterisation of TslA, a novel ‘reverse’ toxin of the Staphylococcus aureus Type VII Secretion System

Stephen Garrett (Newcastle University, UK)

Offered talk: Regulation of the essential cell wall component lipoteichoic acid by a small membrane protein in Staphylococcus aureus

Dora Bonini (University of Bristol, UK)

Break

Offered talk: Unravelling the molecular mechanism of autoinhibition by Pseudomonas aeruginosa aminopeptidase leads to the development of a potent antibiofilm cyclic peptide

Christopher Harding (University of St Andrew's, UK)

Offered talk: The global gene expression profile of community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in response to copper

Sean Brennan (University of Leicester, UK)

Offered talk: Autolysis triggered by LL-37 leads to accumulation of protective cell debris

Madeleine Humphrey (Newcastle University, UK)

Offered paper: FISHtoFigure: A Single Molecule Fluorescent In Situ Hybridisation (smFISH) Analysis Tool For The Detection Of Transcriptional Activity In Tissues

Calum Bentley-Abbot (MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research,UK)

Offered paper: Studying the role of viral and host factors in influenza virus RNA synthesis in vitro using virion-derived ribonucleoprotein complexes

Zihan Zhu (University of Oxford, UK)

Offered paper: Analysis of accessory gene products expressed by rotavirus segment 1

Ola Diebold (The Roslin Institute, UK)

Offered paper: Filament formation creates influenza A virions with distinct compositions and structural features

Swetha Vijayakrishan (MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, UK)

Offered paper: The outcomes of bluetongue virus coinfections

Rhiannon Moody (The Pirbright Institute, UK)

Offered paper: Pandemic influenza A virus PB1 genes of avian origin and their effects on viral polymerase activity and pathogenicity

Stephanie Williams (Oxford University; NIH, Bethesda, USA)

Break

Offered paper: Identification of cellular tropism for arthropod-borne bunyavirales in skin at insect bites

Yonca Keskek Turk (Leeds University, UK)

Offered paper: A Genome-Wide CRISPR Screen Identifies Novel Host Dependency Factors that Support hPIV3 Infection

Chloe Jones (St Andrews University, UK)

Offered paper: The differential sensitivity of Parainfluenza virus 5 (PIV5) genes to IFIT1

Jack Hankinson (St George's University, London; University of Cambridge, UK)

Offered paper: Finding DRiPs, UFOs and potential accessory proteins in influenza A virus

Hui Min Lee (The Roslin Institute, UK)

Offered paper: Intersegmental RNA:RNA interactions can positively and negatively mediate genome packaging of live attenuated influenza vaccine viruses

Sameer Ayaz (AstraZeneca,UK)

Offered talk: Disruption of the s2m RNA structure in the avian coronavirus infectious bronchitis virus results in reduced clinical disease during in vivo infection

Katalin Foldes (The Pirbright Institute, UK)

Offered talk: Structural similarity of flavivirus NS4A provides insights into NF-KB inhibition in insects

Yin Cheung (The University of Surrey, UK)

Offered talk: Alternative Splicing of an IFITM Gene Generates Broader Antiviral Coverage in Horseshoe Bat – Reservoir of SARS Coronaviruses

Nelly Mak (University of Edinburgh, UK)

Offered talk: Primate interferon stimulated genes encode potent foot-and-mouth disease virus restriction factors

Soumendu Chakravarti (The Pirbright Institute, UK)

Offered talk: A potential universal method of attenuation for avian coronavirus

Sarah Keep (The Pirbright Institute, UK)

Offered talk: Barriers against zoonosis: Defining species-specific restriction factors against coronaviruses

Long Fung Chau ( University of Edinburgh, UK)

Offered talk: Enhanced Hepatitis E virus infection and replication in polarised cell models

Hannah M Brown (University College Dublin, Ireland)

Break

Offered talk: Human microglia mediate type I interferon dependent protection of other CNS cell types to Zika virus infection

Christopher Duncan (Newcastle University, UK)

Offered talk: Understanding the role of dynamic secondary RNA replication elements within the replication cycle of chikungunya virus using cryo-EM

Francesca Appadoo (University of Leeds, UK)

Offered talk: USUV persistence in the UK and its transmission networks

Mirjam Schilling (Animal and Plant Health Agency, UK)

Offered talk: Potassium channel inhibitors potentially disrupt viral RNA synthesis to attenuate Semliki Forest virus replication

Tristan Russell (University College Dublin, Ireland)

Offered talk: Viral diversity in the genus Fusarium

Alexander Allman (University of Greenwich, UK)

Innovative Teaching in Clinical Microbiology: The Pandemic & Beyond

Tina Joshi (University of Plymouth, UK)

Flash talk: Peer group interactions within a blended learning space, how students use social media to support their learning and student experience

Mel Lacey (sheffield Hallam University, UK)

Flash talk: Problem Based Learning in undergraduate immunology teaching

Bridget Kelly (Dundalk Institute of Technology, Ireland)

Flash talk: Student Perspectives on the Co-creation of Virtual Reality Simulations for Teaching and Learning in the Molecular Sciences

Jerry Reen (University College Cork, Ireland)

Using unique questions to provide robust and authentic online open book assessments

Nicholas Harmer University of Exeter, UK)

Break

Offered talk: Covid in the Time of Cholera: motivating students through development of authentic assessments in epidemiology (when everyone already knows what the R number means!)

Alison Cottell (University of Surrey, UK)

Using technology to develop commercial awareness and digital interview skills for Life Sciences Students

Gemma Wattret (University of Liverpool, UK)

Flash talk: Student-generated board game to promote understanding of the antibiotic development pipeline

David Negus (Nottingham Trent University, UK)

Flash talk: Art and Science Case Study: Increasing public engagement in a non-science space and the impact on the audience demographic with students as presenters

Kelly Capper-Parkin (Sheffield Hallam University, UK)

Flash talk: Pedagogy Collection: An Innovative Teaching and Outreach Toolkit for Microbiology Educators

Georgios Efthimiou (Hull York Medical School, UK)

Ecology and evolution of multidrug-resistant M. tuberculosis

Sébastien Gagneux (Swiss TPH, Switzerland)

Offered talk: Use of a rapid bacteriophage-based assay to detect low level, bacteraemia associated with TB infections in immuno-competent patients

Cath Rees (University of Nottingham, UK)

Offered talk: Local immune response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis in pulmonary granulomas from experimentally infected rhesus macaques

Laura Hunter (UK-HSA, UK)

Offered talk: A Galleria mellonella-Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv infection model for virulence gene and anti-tuberculosis drug screening

Masanori Asai (Imperial College London, UK)

Break

Modelling Mycobacterial Membranes: Anyone for PIMS?

Chelsea Brown (University of Warwick, UK)

Offered talk: Friend and foe? Novel cell wall hydrolases in mycobacterial physiology

Sam Benedict (University of Birmingham, UK)

Offered talk: N-acetylglucosamine-6-phosphate deacetylase (nagA) is essential for peptidoglycan derived amino sugar recycling in mycobacteria

Charlotte Cooper (University of Warwick, UK)

Host Cell environments and antibiotic efficacy

Maximiliano Gutierrez (The Crick Institute, UK)

Introduction to the Members Panel

Edward Cunningham-Oakes (University of Liverpool, UK) and Kevin Maringer (The Pirbright Institute, UK)

Microbiology is my profession; the ins and outs of an inclusive journey

Sharon Brookes (Animal and Plant Health Agency, UK)

Break

Panel discussion with audience Q&A

Confirmed panellists: Sharon Brookes (Animal and Plant Health Agency, UK), Daniel Gonçalves-Carneiro (Imperial College London, UK), Rebekah Penrice-Randal (University of Liverpool, UK), Bruno Francesco Rodrigues de Oliveira (Fluminense Federal University, Brazil), Charlotte Roughton (Newcastle University, UK) and Nazia Thakur (The Pirbright Institute, UK)

Offered talk: Yeast fermentation for the upcycling of PET monomers

Vittorio Giorgio Senatore (University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy)

Reprogramming Penicillium chrysogenum to produce the cholesterol lowering drug pravastatin

Kirsty McLean (University of Huddersfield, UK )

Offered talk: Biocompatible chemistry enables terephthalate-dependent cell growth and biosynthesis

Stephen Wallace (University of Edinburgh, UK)

Break

Reinventing Chemical Manufacturing Using Biotechnology: Manus Bio Approach

Jason Donald (Manus Bio, USA)

Offered talk: Identification of novel catabolic pathways for lignin fragment degradation in Pseudomonas putida KT2440 and Paenibacillus sp

Christos Fanitsios (University of Warwick, UK)

Beer and Whisky: more complicated than you thought!

Dawn Maskell (Heriot-Watt University, UK)

Crash course – understanding and navigating parliament: how to influence the development and scrutiny of science policy

Stephen Holden Bates (University of Birmingham, UK)

Crash course - why researchers need to engage in policy development both nationally and internationally

Michael Corley (British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, UK)

Q&A

Break

Case study 1: Raising awareness of AMR in UK Parliament

Paul-Enguerrand Fady (House of Lords, UK)

Case study 2: Working with policymakers to provide AMR education to healthcare professiionals

Thiru Vanniasinkam (Charles Sturt University, Australia)

Case study 3: Working with policy stakeholders on the surveillance of AMR

Isobel Stanton (Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, UK)

Panel discussion

Offered paper: Hypoxia induces reactivation of latent human cytomegalovirus

Ben Krishna (University of Cambridge, UK)

Offered paper: The human cytomegalovirus pp65 protein targets the nucleosome acidic pocket to promote the establishment of viral latency

Jason Corbett (St Andrews, UK)

Offered paper: How BKPyV remodels Endoplasmic reticulum membrane contact sites during virus egress

Natalia Barbosa (University of Cambridge, UK)

Offered paper: Repression of CADM1 transcription by oncogenic HPV18 is induced by three-dimensional rearrangement of promoter-enhancer interactions

Christy Varghese (University of Birmingham, UK)

Offered paper: Comparative analysis of six alphaherpesvirus homologues of the HSV1 endoribonuclease protein, vhs

Lucy Eke (University of Surrey, UK)

Offered paper: Strain-Dependent Restriction of Human Cytomegalovirus by Zinc Finger Antiviral Protein

Blair Strang (St Georges, UK)

Break

Offered paper: Remodelling of the human proteome during cell infection with modified vaccinia Ankara, the mpox vaccine

Jonas Dutra Albarnaz (University of Cambridge, UK)

Offered paper: Atomic structure of a nudivirus occlusion body protein determined from a 70-year-old virus crystals

Jeremy Keown (University of Oxford, UK)

Offered paper: The role of myotubularins in vaccinia virus egress

Ana Gali (Univerity of Cambridge, UK)

Offered paper: Whole-genome CRISPR screens have identified druggable targets important for BKPyV replication

Laura Caller (University of Cambridge, UK)

Offered paper: Stabilization of Focal Adhesions by HSV-1 pUL7:pUL51

Henry Barrow (University of Cambridge, UK)

Offered talk: Dissection of BAM complex accessory subunit function in Escherichia coli

Jack Bryant (University of Birmingham, UK)

Offered talk: Characterization of a DNA-damage induced, SOS-dependent checkpoint that regulates sporulation in Streptomyces

Kathryn Stratton (John Innes Centre, UK)

Offered talk: Confirmation of transcriptional landscape of Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum

Linda Grillova (Wellcome Sanger Institute, UK)

Offered talk: Pyochelin biotransformation by Staphylococcus aureus shapes bacterial competition with Pseudomonas aeruginosa in polymicrobial infections

Christian Jenul (University of Leicester, UK)

Break

Offered talk: Regulation of genetic flux by restriction modification systems in group A Streptococcus

Nicola Lynskey (University of Edinburgh, UK)

Offered talk: Peptidoglycan hydrolase SagA is critical for growth of a commensal Enterococcus faecium strain, and facilitates antitumor activity through immune activation

Steven Klupt (Scripps Research, USA)

Offered talk: Stringent response-mediated control of GTP homeostasis is required for long-term viability of Staphylococcus aureus

Laura Carrilero (university of Sheffield, UK)

Offered paper: Rift Valley fever virus outbreak preparedness: comparison and optimisation of pseudotyping systems as a safer alternative to live virus for neutralisation assays.

Federica Marchesin (NIBSC, UK)

Offered paper: Exploring the molecular interactions underpinning bunyavirus replication in a cell line derived from Ixodes scapularis.

Alexandra Wilson (MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, UK)

Offered paper: Computational analysis of secondary structure evolution in pandemic and emerging RNA virus genomes.

Charlotte Rigby (Cambridge University, UK)

Offered paper: Clade 2.3.4.4b H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) from the 2021/22 epizootic is highly duck adapted and poorly adapted to chickens

Joe James (APHA, USA)

Offered paper: Functional characterisation of the Tilapia Lake Virus (TiLV) proteome

Nunticha Pankaew (The Roslin Institute, UK)

Offered paper: Lightsheet microscopy provides insights into spatial restrictions on within-host influenza virus interactions

Anna Sims (MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, UK)

Break

Offered paper: A unique immunotherapy combining uv-inactivated reovirus and the targeted agent sorafenib for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma

Russell Hughes (Leeds University, UK)

Offered paper: The IFN-inducible short isoform of NcoA7 promotes arenavirus infection

Robert Stott-Marshall (Nottingham University, UK)

Offered paper: Cellular dynamics of the tick-borne Dabie bandavirus infection in tick Rhipicephalus microplus cells

Marine Petit (MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, UK)

Offered paper: Investigation of the Immune Response in Experimental and Natural Infection in Calves with Bovine Respiratory Disease Associated Viruses

Sara Louise Cosby (Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute; Queen's University, Belfast, Northern Ireland)

Offered paper: An N-terminally extended NP arising from an upstream alternative AUG codon determines temperature sensitivity and pathogenicity of the 2009 pandemic Influenza A virus

Rute Pinto (The Roslin Institute, UK)

Offered talk: The N-terminal domain of the astrovirus polyprotein is essential for the membrane retention and functional integrity of replication complexes

Hashim Ali (University of Cambridge, UK)

Offered talk: Eeny, meeny, miny, moe: The remarkable plasticity of enterovirus genomes and their many sites of translation initiation

Rhian O'Connor (University of Cambridge, UK)

Offered talk: RNA packaging signals and the poly-C tract facilitate foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) packaging

Chris Neil (The Pirbright Institute, UK)

Offered talk: Determining the architecture of the Hepatitis C virus (HCV) replication complex

Upasana sykora (University of Leeds, UK)

Offered talk: Two cellular AAA+ ATPases associate with rhinovirus non-structural proteins and are essential for the replication of rhinovirus species A and C

Matthew James (Queen's University Belfast, UK)

Offered talk: A novel role of the tRNA Ligase complex in the translation of viral RNA

Natasha Palmalux (University of Glasgow, UK)

Offered talk: The association between assembled virions and sites of replication in Foot-and-mouth disease virus infected cells

Stephen Berryman (The Pirbright Institute, UK)

Break

Offered talk: The Second Open Reading Frame of the Nucleocapsid Gene of Coronaviruses is a Reservoir of Potential Accessory Proteins

Federico De Angelis (University of Edinburgh, UK)

Offered talk: The encephalomyocarditis virus frameshift protein 2B* temporally regulates lytic virus release

Samantha Nguyen (University of Cambridge, UK)

Offered talk: N6-methyladenosine modification is not a general trait of RNA viral genomes

Belinda Baquero (Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain)

Offered talk: Hepatitis C virus genotype 3: Understanding the role of non-structural protein 5A (NS5A) in the unique disease phenotype and drug resistance

Grace Roberts (University of Leeds, UK)

Offered talk: Functional profiling of the Hepatitis E Virus pORF1 by transposon mutagenesis

Frazer Buchanan (University of Leeds, UK)

Bridging Art and Science for Creative Learning in Microbiology

Briony Thomas and Morgan Herod (University of Leeds, UK)

Engaging young people, students, and healthcare professionals to tackle antimicrobial resistance – initiatives, challenges, and successes

Diane Ashiru-Oredope (UK Health Security Agency, UK)

Break

Offered talk: How to Primary School Science in a post-pandemic world

Linda Oyama (Queen's University Belfast, UK)

Flash talk: Escape Lab: Bringing the investigative approach of antiviral drug discovery to the public in an escape room activity

Maitreyi Shivkumar (De Montfort University, UK)

Offered talk: HandsOnBiofilm! Citizen Science and Biofilm Literacy using Kombucha Pellicles

Joanna Verran ( Manchester Metropolitan University, UK)

Offered talk: MicroCosmic: An Immersive SciArt Installation to Inspire Conversations with Young People About Bacteriophages as Microbial Puppet Masters

Chloe James (University of Salford, UK)

Round up

Metabolism in single mycobacterial cells

Hesper Rego (Yale, USA)

Offered talk: Metabolites tune the antibiotic susceptibility of Mycbacterium tuberculosis

Jordan Pascoe (University of Surrey, UK)

Offered talk: The repression of efpA in M. tuberculosis reduces viability and prevents regrowth following isoniazid exposure

Adam Roberts (UK-HSA, UK)

Break

The Aldehyde Hypothesis

Heran Darwin (New York University, USA)

ADP-ribosylation of DNA in Mycobacterium tuberculosis – from "how" to "why?"

Rachel Butler (University of Surrey, UK)

Regulation and biogenesis of Fe-S clusters coordinate the persistence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Amit Singh (Indian Institute of Science, India)

Environmental and applied microbiology forum

Positive strand RNA viruses workshop

DNA viruses workshop

Negative strand and double strand RNA virus workshop

Tuberculosis: The forgotten pandemic

Antimicrobial resistance: from molecules to clinic, where are we now

Teaching Symposium

Microbial physiology, metabolism and molecular biology forum

A greener future: sustainable and scalable solutions in industrial microbiology and green pharma