Speakers
Keynote speakers
Title: TBC
Senior Lecturer in Bacterial Pathogenesis at the University of Cambridge and Director of Studies in Veterinary Sciences at Jesus College.
Andrew Grant's research focuses on host–pathogen interactions and the molecular basis of bacterial virulence, particularly in food borne pathogens. He uses a multidisciplinary approach, combining molecular biology, proteomics, genomics, microscopy, and mathematical modelling to understand infection dynamics and immune responses. Andrew is also involved in BBSRC-funded research on antimicrobial resistance and pathogen transmission within the food chain.
University of Cambridge | Jesus College, Cambridge | ORCiD | Scholar
Title: TBC
Emeritus Professor of Microbial Physiology at the University of Sheffield
Dave Kelly earned his PhD from the University of Warwick in 1982, then progressed through roles as Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Reader, and finally Professor from 1999 onwards. His research centres on the physiology, biochemistry, and molecular microbiology of Campylobacter jejuni, with particular focus on its atypical respiratory chains and energy conservation mechanisms. He has mentored numerous microbiologists and remains an active collaborator across institutions.
Title: TBC
Associate Professor at Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia | Visiting Scholar at the University of Virginia
Francesca Schiaffino is a veterinarian and Associate Professor at Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (Lima, Peru) and a Visiting Scholar at the University of Virginia (Charlottesville, USA). She holds a PhD in Global Disease Epidemiology and Control from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where she began investigating the genomic epidemiology of campylobacteriosis in the Peruvian Amazon. Her research focuses on characterising persistent Campylobacter infections in undernourished children, identifying genomic factors associated with more severe disease episodes, and genomically comparing Campylobacter strains from household-reared versus industrially raised poultry in the hyperendemic setting of the Peruvian Amazon of Peru.
Impact of the Campylobacter glycome on intestinal persistence and disease
Professor and Associate Department Head | Department of Microbiology
Complex Carbohydrate Research Center University of Georgia
Christine Szymanski first began working with Campylobacter jejuni during her Ph.D. in the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. She then joined the Enteric Disease Vaccine Program at the US Naval Medical Research Center in Silver Spring, Maryland for her postdoctoral studies prior to starting her own independent research career first at the National Research Council in Ottawa, Canada and then back at the University of Alberta. It was in Edmonton where she formed her first company, VaxAlta Inc. with a focus on carbohydrate-based vaccines for livestock. Christine then joined the University of Georgia where she continues to: 1) characterise a wide range of bacterial glycoconjugate pathways, 2) exploit bacteriophage recognition proteins that bind these structures, and 3) understand the protective benefits of host milk oligosaccharides with a broader goal to develop novel therapeutics and vaccines for the prevention of diarrhoeal diseases and post-infectious neuropathies such as Guillain-Barré Syndrome. She is a University of Georgia Distinguished Research Professor, fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors.
Taming Campylobacter: From Molecular Insights to Real-World Interventions
Lecturer of Microbiology at the University of Reading in the School of Biological Sciences
Aidan’s research focusses on the molecular physiology of Campylobacter jejuni, with a particular interest in nutrient acquisition and regulation. Research specialities include continuous culture and comparative transcriptomics. Aidan is a frequent collaborator with the Oxford groups, harnessing the cross-disciplinary approach of bioinformatics and wet lab work to achieve transformative outcomes. Aidan is a recent recipient of the Academy of Medical Sciences Springboard award, in collaboration with the Grant group at Cambridge, and is the Admissions Tutor for Microbiology programs at Reading.
Aidan Taylor | University of Reading | Scholar | ORCiD
