Dr. Isabella Eckerle’s research interests are the laboratory-based risk assessment of emerging viruses. This includes the development of cell culture models from reservoir hosts such as bats and rodents, the assessment of viral diversity and virus discovery in both humans and animals and the epidemiology of novel emerging viruses with a focus on coronaviruses. Further research interests in the field of clinical virology include novel and improved diagnostics for emerging viruses. Since the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, her research focusses on clinical virology, studies on the role of children and risk assessment of novel SARS-CoV-2 variants.

Kathryn M. Edwards, MD, the Sarah H. Sell and Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN USA, has led many of the pivotal clinical trials of vaccines licensed in the past several decades and has played a major role in their implementation. She graduated from the University of Iowa College of Medicine and completed her pediatric residency and infectious disease fellowship at Northwestern University and her postdoctoral training in Immunology at Rush Medical School in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Dr. Edwards joined the Vanderbilt Vaccine Program in 1980 and directed it for many years. She has served on multiple CDC, NIH, FDA, WHO, and IDSA committees. In 2006, she received the IDSA Mentor Award for her exceptional mentoring and in 2014 received the Maureen Andrews Mentoring Award from the Society for Pediatric Research. In 2008 she was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, in 2018 she was awarded the Maxwell Finland award for Scientific Accomplishments, in 2019 she received the Frank Morriss Leadership Award in Pediatrics, and in 2020 she was awarded the Howland Award for her accomplishments in Pediatrics by the American Pediatric Society. She is currently active in assessing the safety and effectiveness of COVID vaccines and monoclonal antibodies.

After studying medicine at the University of Basel (MD 1998 - 2004, PhD thesis 2006 - 2008) at the University of Basel, I went abroad for a Clinical Fellowship “Transplant Infectious Disease” as well as a Post-doctoral fellowship, Li Ka Shing Institute for Virology (2010 - 2011), both at the University of Alberta, Canada. Back in Switzerland, I became a fellow in Clinical Microbiolgy (FAMH) (2012 - 2015) at the University Hospital of Basel. During the same time (11/2014 - to date) I became Research Group Leader Applied Microbiology Research” Laboratory in theDepartment of Biomedicine of the University of Basel From September 2015 up to the present time, I am holding the position as Head of Department, Clinical Microbiology at the University Hospital of Basel. The following activities and topics focus my main interest and drive me forward constantly: The rapid detection of pathogens is an important first step in the work-up of a pathogen. Pathogen evolution is dependent on a series of complex factors such as host and bacterial factors. The recent technological advances allow rapid identification based on molecular and protein profiles e.g. via PCR or mass-spectrometry. In addition, sequencing of the whole genome of pathogens and metagenomic approaches at the highest resolution allows us to explore this fascinating complexity. My main aims are: (i) to develop new diagnostic for rapid detection of multidrug resistant and virulent pathogens; (ii) to explore novel typing technologies such as whole genome sequencing (including long reads e.g. Pacbio, Minion) and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry for clinical applications; (iii) to combine phylogenetic tree structures on single bacterial colony levels from culture but also metagenomic approaches directly from patient samples using computational models; (iv) to understand pathogens evolution within the host (e.g. during antibiotic treatment); (v) to finally understand pathogen evolution in the broad context of the host/pathogen/environment interaction. This could lead to the identification of the most critical factors for pathogenicity and resistance development. Such information will allow the generation of novel intervention strategies to impact disease outcomes for a single patient but also the population burden of infections.

Omaima El Tahir was born Amsterdam, the Netherlands on the 17th of May 1991. She attended her secondary school at Bernard Nieuwentijt College (Damstede) in Amsterdam and graduated in 2009. After her graduation she started a BSc in Biomedical Sciences at VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam. One year later, in 2010, she was admitted to VUmc School of medical Sciences and continued her BSc in Biomedical Sciences. During her studies Omaima became interested in Pediatrics, Infectious diseases and Immunology. In 2014 she started a research internship on “integrating host genetic factors in a clinical prediction model for hearing loss after childhood bacterial meningitis” at the department of Pediatric infectious diseases (supervised by prof. dr. A. M. van Furth) and the Laboratory for Immunogenetics (supervised by prof. dr. S. A. Morré). After graduating in December 2016, Omaima continued her research on bacterial meningitis as PhD student under supervision of prof. dr. A. M. van Furth and prof. dr. S. A. Morré in January 2017. She started a new project on long-term outcome in adolescent and young adult survivors of childhood bacterial meningitis which forms the greater part of this thesis.

Pediatrician. PID fellow and Clinical Researcher at the 2nd Department of Pediatrics (Professor Maria Tsolia) National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Special interest in respiratory infections, antimicrobial resistance and diagnostics.

Senior Director, Global Medical Lead, TBE Vaccine, Pfizer

M.D., Pediatric Infectious Diseases Fellow at Marmara University School of Medicine

MD, PhD student interested in bronchiolitis, rhinovirus, and asthma.

Professor Esposito is Full Professor of Pediatrics, Director of Specialty School of Pediatrics at the School of Medicine and Director of the Pediatric Clinic of the University of Parma. She is President of the World Association for Infectious Diseases and Immunological Disorders (WAidid) (since 2014) and a member of the Steering Committee on Vaccination of the Italian Society of Pediatrics (since 2016). She was Chair of the Vaccine Study Group of the European Society for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (2013–2021) and President of the Italian Society of Pediatric Infectious diseases from 2011– 2015. She won several postgraduate awards; she has been International Editor of The Paediatric Infectious Disease Journal (since 2005), Associate Editor of BMC Infectious Diseases (since 2009), Associate Editor of Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics (since 2010), Associate Editor of Journal of Clinical Virology (since 2012) and Editorial Board Member of PLOS One (since 2013). Professor Esposito’s research has focused on vaccines, respiratory tract infections, antiinfective therapy and emerging infections. Her research activities have led to the publication of more than 500 articles in international journals