The GVN 11th International Meeting in Barcelona

Join Us For the GVN 11th International Meeting

June 9-12, 2019 in Barcelona

Researchers and virologists from around the globe will gather for the 11th International Meeting of the Global Virus Network (GVN) on June 9-12, 2019 in Barcelona, Spain. Organized jointly with the Spanish Society of Virology (Sociedad Espanola de Virologia or SEV), the meeting will focus on latest developments and innovations in the field. These annual meetings allow GVN’s dispersed, international network of virologists to better connect, plan and collaborate, and hear more about each other’s work and research.

Joaquim Segales, DVM, PhD, Chair of the XV Congress of the SEV and 11th International GVN Meeting, Director of the Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CReSA), and Associate Professor at the Veterinary School of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, says he is excited that the SEV and GVN are co-hosting the 11th International Meeting. “We see it as an opportunity for both the SEC and the GVN to learn from each other,” says Segales. “Plus, Barcelona is a magnificent city. We’re excited to share it with our colleagues.”

“Barcelona will provide us with the chance to meet and collaborate with our colleagues from Spain and around the world, says Dr. Christian Brechot, MD, PhD, president of the GVN. “We are very thankful to Joaquim Segales and the SEV for hosting this event and welcoming us to their beautiful city.”

The SEV, which is especially known for its work on viruses and animal health, has been a GVN Center of Excellence since 2015. “The GVN is not very well known in Spain,” says Segales. “But it will be after this meeting.” The SEV is one of two GVN Centers of Excellence in Spain; the other is the Severo Ochoa Center for Molecular Biology (CBMSO) in Madrid.

Experts will speak on range of topics

Experts will speak on a range of topics related to medical, veterinary, and even plant virology. Other subjects will include immunology and vaccines, anti-virals, virus-host interaction, diagnostic virology and epidemiology, morphogenesis and structural biology, emerging and re-emerging viruses, and the use of viruses in biotechnology.

Attendees will come from all over, says Segales. Among the speakers are:

  • Robert Gallo, MD, Co-founder and International Scientific Advisor of the GVN, the Homer & Martha Gudelsky Distinguished Professor in Medicine and director of the Institute of Human Virology (IHV) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, a GVN Center of Excellence, who will present on the topic of retroviruses;
  • Albert Osterhaus, DVM, PhD, director of the Research Center for Emerging Infections and Zoonosis, professor at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Hannover, Germany, a GVN Center of Excellence, and CEO of Artemis One Health Foundation, who will present on one world-one health: the animal side;
  • Jordi Figuerola Borras, PhD, Professor, Department of Wetland Ecology, EstaciĂłn BiolĂłgica de Doñana (CSIC), Seville, Spain, who will present on one world-one health: the environment side; and
  • Masao Matsuoka, MD, PhD, Professor and Director of the Institute for Virus Research at Kyoto University, Japan, who will present on the GVN’s HTLV-1 Task Force.

“The ultimate goal is to really bring all of us together, so we can share our experiences and expertise and plan our next steps together,” says Dr. Brechot. “That’s what the GVN is all about. We hope to see you there.”