Speakers

• Dr Noel Tordo Director, Institut Pasteur of Guinea 2004-present Head of Unit “Stratégies Antivirales”, IP, Virology Dept, Paris 2006-present Head of Unit “Biologie des Infections Virales Emergentes”, Institut Pasteur (IP), Virology Dept, Lyon 2008-present Head of the Natl Reference Centre for Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers, IP, Lyon 2008-present Head of the WHO Collaborative Centre for Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers and Arboviruses, IP, Lyon-Paris 2008-present Member of the OIE Reference Lab (RVFV & CCHFV), IP Paris-Lyon (Head Dr; Michèle Bouloy) 2015-present Director, Institut Pasteur de Guinee, Conakry, Guinea. PREVIOUS POSITIONS 1981-1982 Master (Inst. Mol & Cell Biology, University Strabourg 1 1982-1993 PhD then Investigator (Assistant/Chargé de Recherche), Unit “Rabies”, IP, Virology Dept, Paris 1993-2002 Head of Laboratory “Lyssavirus”, IP, Virology Dept, Paris FIVE REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS (from a total of 130 peer-reviewed papers/reviews): 1. Poch O., I. Sauvaget, M. Delarue & N. Tordo (1989) Identification of four conserved motifs among the RNA-dependent polymerase encoding elements. EMBO J. 8:3867-74. 2. Eugène-Ruellan G., F. Freymuth, C. Bahloul, H. Badrane, A. Vabret & N. Tordo (1998) Detection of respiratory syncytial viruses A and B and parainfluenza 3 sequences in respiratory tract of infants by a single polymerase chain reaction in L polymerase gene and differential hybridization. J. Clin. Microbiol. 36:796-801 3. Badrane H & N. Tordo (2001) Host-switching in lyssavirus history from chiroptera to carnivora orders, J. Virol 75:8096-104. 4. Castel G, Chtéoui M, Caignard G, Préhaud C, Méhouas S, Réal E, Jallet C, Jacob Y, Ruigrok RW, Tordo N. (2009) Peptides that mimick the amino terminal end of the rabies virus phosphoprotein have antiviral activity., J Virol 83:10808-20. 5. Carnec X, Baize S, Reynard S, Diancourt L, Caro V, Tordo N, Bouloy M (2011) Lassa virus nucleoprotein mutants generated by reverse genetics induce a robust type I interferon response in human dendritic cells and macrophages. J Virol 85:12093-12097. SYNERGISTIC ACTIVITIES (selection) Committees, Administrative Services and Related Scholarly Activities 2005-present INRA: Member of the Scientific Committee of the Animal Health Dept 2005-present ANSES: Member of the Scientific Committee, of the Board of evaluation 2005-present ICTV: Chair/Member of the Taxonomy Committee on Rhabdoviridae. 2005-present International Consortium for Antiviral: Member of the Board 2005-present French-Shanghai « genomic center » : Member of the Scietific Committee 2007-present Pole de compétitivité “Lyon Biopole”: Member of the Scientific Committee 2009-present European Society for Virology: Member of the Executive Board 2005-present (Co-)organizer of International/National Conferences “European Meeting on Viral Zoonosis, every 2 years; “Journées Françaises de Virologie”, yearly, IP-Paris; “Rabies in Eurasia”, OIE Conference every 3 years in Kiev, Paris, Seoul; “PASTEUR/NHRI/CDC Symposium on re-emerging virus infections », Tainan, Taiwan, 1-3 Sept 2006, etc. Research Seminars, Invited Lectures (over 100 since 1982) Teaching 1995-2015 Director, Fundamental Virology Course, IP, Paris, France. 2004-present Director, HKU-Pasteur Virology Course, HKU-Pasteur Research Centre, Hong Kong SAR. 2010-present Director, Zoonosis Course, IP, Paris, France. 1993-present Co-Organizer of Virology courses in France, Portugal, Finland, Sweden, Brazil, Bulgaria, Morocco
• Professor Leo Poon Professor, University of Hong Kong Prof Leo Poon received his doctoral training in Sir William Dunn School of Pathology in University of Oxford (1996-1999). After his graduation, he returned to Hong Kong and worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the Chinese University of Hong Kong (1999-2001). He joined The University of Hong Kong in 2001. Prof Poon has strong interests that are related to emerging viruses, ranging from studying basic biology of RNA viruses to developing molecular diagnostic tools for infectious diseases. His work primarily focuses on influenza virus and coronavirus. He published over 170 peer-reviewed articles, and he is an ISI top 1 % most cited scientist (Total number of citations: 14945; H-index: 59). He was named as one of the "Highly Cited Researchers" in 2015 and 2016 by Thomson Reuters. He was awarded the prestigious Senior Research Fellowship by the Croucher Foundation in 2017. In 2003, Prof Poon involved in the discovery of a novel coronavirus as the aetiological cause of SARS. He is one of the firsts who decoded the first SARS coronavirus sequence. These findings allowed him to develop several useful molecular tests for the diagnosis of SARS. The identification of SARS coronavirus in humans and animals also prompted him to hunt for novel viruses in wildlife and this leaded to the discovery of the first and many others coronaviruses in bats. Prof Poon involves in influenza research for over 20 years. He studied the replication and pathogenesis of this virus. He developed several molecular tests for emerging avian influenza viruses (e.g. H5N1, pandemic H1N1/2009 and H7N9). In 2009, he played an active role in the H1N1 pandemic and identified the first reassortant of pandemic H1N1/2009 virus in pigs. Currently, he focuses on researching the viral replication and vaccinology of influenza virus. Prof Poon serves as a virology expert in several international organizations. He is a committee member in the Coronavirus Study Group under the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (2006-now) and he is also an expert in the Influenza Molecular Diagnosis Working Group, World Health Organization (2009-now). He previously served as an ad hoc consultant in the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2013-2014) and in the World Organization for Animal Health (2014) for MERS. He is an editor Virus Evolution (2014-now).
• Dr Chris Mok Research Assistant Professor, University of Hong Kong Dr. Chris Mok obtained his PhD from HKU in 2009 and was promoted to Research Assistant Professor in 2013. His works focuses on understanding the behavior and pathogenicity of emerging viruses by combining clinical and experimental studies that span the areas of serology, epidemiology and molecular biology. http://www.hkupasteur.hku.hk/index.php/research/chris_kp_mok
• Professor Ben Cowling Professor, University of Hong Kong Prof Cowling joined the School of Public Health at HKU in 2004. Prior to moving to Hong Kong, he graduated with a PhD in medical statistics at the University of Warwick (UK) in 2003, and spent a year as a postdoc at Imperial College London (UK). Prof Cowling has been the Head of the Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics since 2013, he is responsible for teaching introductory modules in epidemiology and biostatistics on the MPH curriculum, and his primary research focus is in infectious disease epidemiology. Prof Cowling is a member of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Control at HKU SPH. In 2015 he was awarded a Croucher Senior Research Fellowship for his work on influenza virus epidemiology. http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ywWh3ycAAAAJ&hl=en
• Dr Hui-Ling Yen Assistant Professor, University of Hong Kong Dr. Hui-Ling Yen received her Ph.D. in Epidemiological Science in 2005 from The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor followed by her postdoctoral training at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN. Her research interests focus on understanding the mechanism facilitating the transmission of influenza A virus among and between different reservoirs, exploring the potential virus-host interactions that affect viral pathogenicity and the host clinical outcome, and examining the molecular determinants that confer antiviral resistance. http://sph.hku.hk/en/about-us/faculty-and-staff/academic-staff/yen,-hui-ling
• Dr Simon Cauchemez Director of Research, Institute Pasteur Simon Cauchemez joined Institut Pasteur in 2013 to head the new Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases Unit. The main research objective of his unit is to develop state-of-the-art statistical and mathematical methods to address these challenges, with the aim to increase the understanding of how pathogens spread in human populations as well as the impact of interventions, to support policy making and optimize control strategies. His approach is therefore highly multidisciplinary, looking at infectious diseases through multiple perspectives (statistics, modelling, epidemiology, surveillance, Public Health, policy making, microbiology), multiple scales and multiple data streams. Before joining Institut Pasteur, Simon Cauchemez was working in the Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at Imperial College London. https://research.pasteur.fr/en/team/mathematical-modelling-of-infectious-diseases/
• Professor Felix Rey Professor, Institute Pasteur Felix Rey is a structural biologist who graduated in theoretical physics in Argentina and later obtained his PhD in biochemistry at the South Paris University in France (in 1988). He then spent 7-years as post-doctoral fellow at Harvard university, until 1995, where he specialized in the structure of viruses. In 1995 he returned to France as Junior PI working at CNRS in Gif-sur-Yvette (Paris area), where in 1999 he became Director of the CNRS Laboratory of Structural and Molecular Virology. In 2004, he joined Institut Pasteur in Paris as Head of the Virology Department (which he directed until 2012), and in parallel he created the Structural Virology Unit, which he still directs today. His research focus has included the 3D structures of viral polymerases (like the hepatitis C virus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase) and the nucleoprotein template of replication for negative stranded RNA viruses such as the respiratory syncytial virus. But his main focus has been the study of viral envelope proteins, how they induce fusion, and how they are recognized by potently neutralizing antibodies. His studies in this area have very important implications in reverse vaccinology, opening the way for epitope-focused vaccine design for viruses such as dengue and Zika. Felix Rey is an EMBO member since 2005 and a member of the French Academy of Sciences since 2010. https://research.pasteur.fr/en/team/structural-virology/
• Dr Marco Vignuzzi Director of Research, Institute Pasteur Marco Vignuzzi studies the molecular and genetic basis driving RNA virus evolution. He obtained a PhD in Microbiology from the University of Paris VII with work at the Institut Pasteur. After a postdoctoral fellowship at UCS he came back to the Institut Pasteur as Group Leader in 2008. His team is focusing on the viral evolution of arboviruses. Global warming induced climate change is a factor in the spread of infectious diseases like Chikungunya. Warmer temperatures have clearly facilitated the spread of viral vectors to temperate climes such as those found in Western Europe. A case in point is the vector of Chikungunya and dengue, the tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus), which is now present across large swathes of southern Europe. He received the Junior Sanofi-Institut Pasteur award in 2015. http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=L2VhU1YAAAAJ&hl=en
• Dr Serge Morand Director of Research, University of Montpellier Serge Morand is interested in evolutionary ecology of host-parasite interactions and population ecology of parasites and pathogens. He is concerned at the role of biodiversity in zoonotic emerging infectious diseases. He is conducting several projects on the impacts of global changes on the links between biodiversity and health in Southeast Asia, using rodent-borne diseases as a model. http://scholar.google.fr/citations?user=WEtn3xUAAAAJ&hl=en
• Dr Sandra Junglen Group Leader, Charite Berlin Sandra Junglen is a virologist and has recently moved to the Institute of Virology at the University hospital Charité in Berlin. She was previously heading a research group at the Institute of Virology at the University of Bonn Medical Centre in Bonn for seven years. Her research focuses on the ecology and evolution of arthropod-associated viruses. She is particularly interested in the genetic diversity of arthropod-associated viruses and in ecological mechanisms that influence the geographic spread and emergence of arboviruses. She and her team have characterized numerous novel viruses including the discovery of four novel RNA virus families. http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=8tTfea8sgQIC&hl=en
• Professor Yee Sin Leo Professor, National University of Singapore Professor Leo currently heads the Institute of Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology (IIDE) of Tan Tock Seng Hospital. She holds a concurrent appointment as the Clinical Director of Communicable Disease Centre, Singapore. Professor Leo is an Infectious Diseases clinician with keen interest in Public Health. She led her team battling through multiple episodes of outbreak in Singapore in recent years; the Nipah (1999), SARS (2003), Chikungunya (2008), the Pandemic Influenza outbreaks in 2009, dengue (2013) and Zika (2016). https://www.ttsh.com.sg/patient-guide/find-care/specialists/page.aspx?spid=186
• Professor Emily Gurley Professor, Johns Hopkins University Dr. Gurley is an infectious disease epidemiologist and currently Visiting Associate Scientist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She has worked in infectious disease research in Bangladesh for more than a decade and currently leads studies on Nipah virus, Japanese encephalitis virus, hepatitis E virus, dengue, Chikungunya, rotavirus, and hospital acquired infections. Her academic interests include improving the communication and collaboration between field epidemiologists and infectious disease modelers and development of novel surveillance strategies. Her research adopts a One Health approach to the study and prevention of infectious disease, taking into account the ecological context in which human disease occurs. http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=I41xfZAAAAAJ&hl=en
• Professor Mark von Itzstein Director, Institute for Glycomics, Griffith University Mark von Itzstein is a Professor of Chemical Biology and Director of the Institute for Glycomics (Griffith University), which he established in 2000. He is an international leader in glycoscience, particularly in the study of host glycan–pathogen interactions, and anti-infective drug discovery. His group has contributed to the discovery of novel anti-microbial drugs, including novel anti-viral drugs and anti-cancer drugs based on carbohydrate-related pathways and the outcomes of these programs. https://www.remarkablegriffith.com.au/professor-mark-von-itzstein/
• Dr Moritz Kraemer Research Associate, Harvard Medical School Dr. Kraemer is a graduate of Oxford University and currently a Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School. He studies the spatial dynamics of infectious diseases and their vectors. He is especially interested in new methods to model population movement and how the movement affects the spread and evolution of disease. He applies and develops mechanistic stochastic modelling frameworks in order to understand their invasion process. He is also interested in measures of uncertainty and risk and how to build models that capture and visualize them in a way to better inform decision makers. http://scholar.google.com.hk/citations?user=XncPLOQAAAAJ&hl=en
• Dr Anubis Vega Rua Institute Pasteur Institut Pasteur of Guadeloupe (French est Indies). Head of Medical Entomology Laboratory
• Roberto Bruzzone Professor Roberto BRUZZONE was born in Italy and studied medicine at University “La Sapienza” in Rome.  After work at the University of Geneva and Harvard Medical School, he joined Institut Pasteur in 1995.  Roberto is a cell biologist widely recognized for his work on direct cell-cell communication through connexins and their associated human diseases.  In October 2006, Roberto was appointed as Visiting Professor in the Li Ka Shi Faculty of Medicine and served as the CEO of the HKU-Pasteur Research Pole.  Since coming to Hong Kong he has held positions of scientific and administrative leadership in teaching programs and major international networks to combat infectious diseases.  He was decorated in 2012 as Knight of the National Order of Merit in France for his prominent contribution to the advancement of biomedical research in infectious diseases, and for his commitment to fostering the exchange and dialogue in research and teaching between France and Hong Kong.  He joined the School of Public Health in November 2012.
• Malik Peiris Professor Malik PEIRIS, Fellow of the Royal Society, Légion d’Honneur and Silver Bauhinia Star was born in Sri Lanka and studied medicine at the University of Ceylon. This was followed by the award of a PhD at the William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, U.K., where he made significant discoveries on the mechanism of dengue virus pathogenesis. After further work in the U.K. and Sri Lanka, he joined the University of Hong Kong in 1995 and developed a multi-disciplinary research program with strong international collaboration that made a major impact in understanding the ecology, epidemiology, pathogenesis and control of animal and human influenza viruses. Since 2007, he serves as the Scientific Director of HKU-PRP.
• Christian Drosten Charite Berlin