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All participants are advised to arrive for the meeting by the Sunday prior to conference start if they plan to attend the optional workshops on Monday.

2023 Keynote Address

Tom Chiller, Chief, Mycotic Diseases Division, Centers for Disease Control, USA. 

Eliminating Deaths from Cryptococcal Meningitis: Dream vs Reality

2023 Schedule (as of January 9, 2023)

Monday, January 9, 2023 – Where we’ve been and where we’re going

 

Note: The Genetics and Genomics Workshop was rescheduled to 1-2pm on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Lunch, Poolside Tent noon – 1pm

Clinical Management of Cryptococcal Meningitis Workshop, Victoria Ballroom 1pm – 4pm

Coordinators – Eltas Dziwani, Jane Gakuru, Tshepo Leeme, Kyla Comins and David Lawrence

  • Epidemiology and the latest evidence

  • Reconstitution and safe administration of the AMBITION-cm regimen

  • Toxicity Management

  • Prescribing Exercise

  • Complex Case Discussions

Welcome Address, Victoria Ballroom 4:30 – 5pm

David Meya

Keynote Address, Victoria Ballroom 5 – 6pm

Introduction: David Boulware

Tom Chiller, Chief, Mycotic Diseases Division, Centers for Disease Control, USA

“Eliminating Deaths from Cryptococcal Meningitis: Dream vs Reality”

 

Welcome Reception, MCLR Poolside 6:30 – 8pm (beverages and appetizers served)

Tuesday, January 10, 2022

Announcements, Victoria Ballroom 8 – 8:30

Concurrent Sessions 8:30am – noon

Session 1A –  Species and Phenotypes, Basic Science Track, Majestic Hall

Moderator: Liliane Mukaremera

  • Joseph Heitman - Genomic insights on the Cryptococcus species complex (8:30 – 8:50)

  • Poppy Sephton-Clark (Cuomo Lab) - Leveraging population diversity to identify genomic signatures of clinical isolates (9 – 9:20)

  • Bettina Fries - Replicative aging in Cryptococcus neoformans (9:30 – 9:50)

  • Break (10:00 – 10:30)

  • Blake Billmyre - High-throughput genetics, essential gene discovery, and antifungal resistance in Cryptococcus neoformans (10:30 – 10:50)

  • Carolina Firacative - Low genetic diversity among Cryptococcus neoformans isolates recovered from HIV positive patients from Lima, Peru with recurrent and multiple infections (11 – 11:20)

  • Jianping Xu - Analyses of the global multilocus genotypes of the human pathogenic yeast Cryptococcus neoformans species complex (11:30 – 11:50)

Session 1B – CrAg Screening, Clinical Science Track, Victoria Ballroom

Moderator: Radha Rajasingham

  • Radha Rajasingham - Cryptococcal antigen screening: new preemptive treatment strategies (8:30 8:45)

  • Panel and Audience Discussion on Optimizing Preemptive Therapy: Role of enhanced therapy, customized care, and LPs (8:45 10)

Moderators: Tom Harrison and David Boulware

Panel Members: 

▪    Síle Molloy – EFFECT Trial

▪    Radha Rajasingham – ACACIA Trial 

▪    Elizabeth Nalintya – ENCORE Trial

▪    Tshiama Miriam Mwamba – NICD, South Africa

  • Break (10 10:30)

  • Nelesh Govender - Effectiveness of a national reflex laboratory cryptococcal antigen screening programme for people with advanced HIV disease in South Africa: a nationwide sampled cohort study (10:3010:45)

  • Panel and Audience Discussion of Programmatic and Implementation Issues on CrAg Screening (10:45 noon)

Moderators: Tom Chiller and David Meya

Panel Members:

▪    Nelesh Govender – South Africa

▪    Elizabeth Nalintya – Uganda

▪    Master Chisale – Malawi

▪    Boniface Ocora – Lira, Uganda

▪    Tafese Beyene Tufa – Ethiopia

Lunch, Stables Restaurant noon – 2pm

Optional Networking Session 1 –  2pm (CrAg Screening Working Group; Genetics/Genomics Workshop)

Plenary Session 2 – Treatment Strategies, Victoria Ballroom, 2pm – 5pm

Moderator: Kirsten Nielsen

  • Michael Boucher - Functional genomic screens in Cryptococcus neoformans uncover a novel virulence determinant required for proliferation in the mammalian host (2 2:20)

  • Jessica Brown - Exploiting synergistic and antagonistic interactions with antifungal drugs to treat systemic infections (2:30 2:50)

  • Mucunguzi Atukunda - Oral encochleated Amphotericin EnACT Phase 2 Trial (3 3:20)

  • Break (3:30 4)

  • Daniel Assis Santos - Cryptococcus-host interactions during coinfections (4:00 – 4:20)

  • Methee Chayakulkeeree - Effectiveness of 1-week versus 2-week induction therapy: A Multicenter Randomized Trial in Thailand (4:20 4:40)

  • Julia Palmucci - A ketogenic diet enhances fluconazole efficacy in models of systemic fungal infection (4:40 – 5)

 

Poster Flash Talks, Victoria Ballroom 56pm

Poster Session, Exhibition Space 6 7:15pm

Dinner, on the Mango Green 7:15 – 8:30pm

Wednesday, January 11, 2023

Concurrent Sessions 8:30am – noon

Session 3A – Cell Biology and Development, Basic Science Track, Victoria Ballroom

Moderator: Bettina Fries

  • Kaustuv Sanyal - Mechanism of chromosome segregation in Cryptococcus neoformans (8:30 – 8:50)

  • Nalu Teixera de Aguiar Peres - Cryptococcus neoformans transcriptional signatures of cellular remodeling in vivo and in vitro (9 – 9:20)

  • Lukasz Kozubowski - Defining the role of septin proteins in stress response and virulence in C. neoformans (9:30 – 9:50)

  • Break (10-10:30)

  • Muse Davis - Roles for microglia and neurovascular cells in cryptococcal brain dissemination (10:30 – 10:50)

  • Rajendra Upadhya - Breaking the shield: Chitosan deficiency in Cryptococcus alters cell wall architecture, affecting host immune response and fungal virulence (11 – 11:20)

  • Kevin Hardwick - Mitotic regulation and aneuploidy in Cryptococcus: spindle assembly checkpoint mutants and Titan (11:30 – 11:50)

 

Session 3B – Disease Manifestations, Clinical Science Track, Majestic Hall

Moderator: Lilian Tugume

  • Caleb Skipper - CMV and Cryptococcosis (8:30 – 8:50)

  • Minna Ding - Characterization of CD4 T-cell dysfunction and control of latent C. neoformans infection (9 – 9:20)

  • Jessica Hargarten - Characterization of MTOR signaling pathway variants in previously healthy patients with non-HIV cryptococcal meningoencephalitis. (9:30 – 9:50)

  • Break (10 – 10:30)

  • Peter Williamson - Riding the wild west of inflammatory syndromes: Intrathecal immunologic markers of disease (10:30 – 10:50)

  • Panel and Audience Discussion on HIV Negative Cryptococcal Meningitis (11 – noon)

Moderators: Olivier Lortholary

Panel Members:

▪    John Perfect (USA)

▪    Olivier Paccoud (France)

Lunch, Stables Restaurant noon – 2pm

Optional Networking Session 1 – 2pm (HIV-negative working group; Genetics/Genomics Workshop)

 

Plenary Session 4: Understanding and Treating Disease, Victoria Ballroom, 2pm – 5pm  

Moderator: Caleb Skipper 

  • Michal Olszewski - Finding, the right balance! Immunity and inflammation in the brain (2 – 2:20)

  • Asiya Gusa - Exploring recurrent cryptococcal meningitis: Do transposable elements contribute to disease persistence? (2:30 – 2:50)

  • Nathan Bahr - Recurrence of symptoms following cryptococcal meningitis – characterizing a diagnostic conundrum (3 – 3:20)

  • Break (3:30 – 4)

  • Liesbeth Vanherp - Non-invasive imaging as a tool for in vivo comparison of disease manifestation and virulence in murine models infected with clinical C. neoformans isolates (4 – 4:15)

  • Gustavo José Cota de Freitas - Antimalarials combined with amphotericin B are new options to treat cryptococcosis (4:20 – 4:35)

  • Elizabeth Okafor - Cytotoxic Cells in the CNS of Subjects with Cryptococcal Meningitis and Advanced HIV (4:40 – 4:55)

Poster Flash Talks, Victoria Ballroom 5 – 6pm

Poster Session, Exhibition Space 6 – 7:15pm

Dinner, on the Mango Green 7:15 – 8:30pm

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Thursday, January 12, 2023

Plenary Session 5: Drug Development and Clinical Trials, Victoria Ballroom, 8am – noon

Moderator: David Meya

  • Vote for 2026 Venue (8 – 8:30am)

  • John Perfect - Crypto guidelines, Crypto guidelines everywhere nor any grade to link (8:30 – 8:50)

  • Tadesse Mekonen - DNDi: Sustained Release Formulations of 5FC and 5FU (9 – 9:20)

  • Hyun ah Yoon - Antibody Immunity in Cryptococcus (9:30 – 9:50)

  • Break (10 – 10:30)

  • David Lawrence / Joe Jarvis - Evidence supporting widespread implementation of the AMBITION-CM regimen and Beyond (10:30 – 11)

  • Katharine Stott - Population Pharmacokinetics from the AMBITION-CM Trial (11:10 – 11:25)

  • Magali Ayala - Molecular mechanisms of synergistic interactions between antifungals and commonly prescribed small molecules for the treatment of cryptococcosis (11:30 – 11:45)

 

Lunch, Stables Restaurant noon – 2pm

Optional Networking Session 1 – 2pm (Career Development)

 

Concurrent Sessions 2pm – 5pm

Session 6A – Genetics and Reproduction, Basic Science Track, Majestic Hall

Moderator: Blake Billmyre

  • Megan McKeon (Hull Lab) - Maturation and Germination of Cryptococcus Spores (2 –2:20)

  • Hiten Madhani - Molecular mechanisms of cryptococcal pathogenesis (2:30 – 2:50)

  • Volker Rickerts - Core Genome MLST for molecular typing of C. neoformans var. neoformans isolated in Germany (3 – 3:20)

  • Break (3:30 – 4)

  • Alicia Piffer - Extracellular vesicle production regulates fluconazole resistance in Cryptococcus neoformans (4 – 4:20)

  • Diana Kabbale Kisakye - Establishing the landscape of structural variations in Cryptococcus neoformans isolates from Ugandan cryptococcal meningitis patients using long read sequencing (4:30 – 4:50)

 

Session 6B – Ancillary Treatment Strategies, Clinical Science Track, Victoria Ballroom

Moderator: Abdu Musubire

  • Laura Nsangi - Risk Factors for Neurocognitive Impairment (2 – 2:20)

  • Mahsa Abassi - Improving Outcomes in Altered Mental Status (2:30 – 2:50)

  • Audience Discussion on Altered Mental Status (3 – 3:30)

Moderator: Mahsa Abassi

Goal: Determine Clinical Best Practices and Research Agendas

  • Break (3:30 – 4)

  • Enock Kagimu - Overview of Data on Therapeutic LPs (4 – 4:15)

  • Panel Discussion: Scheduled Therapeutic LPs (4:15 – 5pm)

Moderator: Mahsa Abassi

Panel Members:

▪    David Meya (Uganda)

▪    Methee Chayakulkeeree (Thailand)

▪    David Lawrence (UK)

 

Closing Reception, Olympic Poolside 6:30 – 10pm

Friday, January 13, 2023

Concurrent Sessions 9:00am – noon

Session 7A – Antifungal Drugs and Virulence Mechanisms, Basic Science Track, Victoria Ballroom

Moderator: Asiya Gusa

  • Evelyne Deplazes (Carter Lab) - Characterising the mechanism of Lactofungin: a novel antifungal synergent of amphotericin B (9 – 9:20)

  • Liliane Mukaremera - Cryptococcus cell wall modifications during antifungal drug treatment (9:30 – 9:50)

  • Break (10 – 10:30)

  • Samantha Avina (Xue Lab) - Ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis in Cryptococcus pathogenesis and vaccine development (10:30 – 10:50)

  • Luis R. Martinez - Unraveling Cryptococcus neoformans mechanisms of brain invasion and colonization (11 – 11:20)

  • Katrina Jackson - Unraveling the genetic determinants of virulence in Cryptococcus neoformans (11:30 – 11:50)

 

Session 7B – Immunology and Pathogenesis, Clinical Science Track, Majestic Hall

Moderator: Michael Olszewski

  • Andre Moraes Nicola - Melanin-independent roles of cryptococcal laccase in immune evasion (8:30 – 8:50)

  • Simon Johnston - The biology of the macrophage Cryptococcus interface: From smooth to rough (9 – 9:20)

  • Carolina Coelho - Innate immune cell metabolism during C. neoformans infection (9:30 – 9:50)

  • Break (10 – 10:30)

  • Lena Heung - Monocytes and the host response to Cryptococcus (10:30 – 10:50)

  • Alexandre Alanio - Interplay between macrophages and C. neoformans VBNC cells (11 – 11:20)

  • Uju Onyishi (May Lab) - Reciprocal regulation of TLR4, TLR3 and Scavenger Receptor A1 (SR-A1) regulates unopsonised phagocytosis of the fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans (11:30 – 11:50)

 

ICCC Adjournment noon

Lunch, Stables Restaurant noon – 2pm

Optional Networking Session 1 – 2pm (Scientific Committee Meeting)

Working groups may additionally continue to meet in the afternoon

Friday dinner will be held in Nyanja Restaurant in the main building, available from 6:30 – 10:30pm

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