On 28 November 2023, ERA4TB held its first virtual symposium which brought together the internal ERA4TB consortium with a series of expert external speakers to encourage scientific discussion on the topics of immunological approaches, antimicrobial peptides, TB vaccines and the therapeutic benefits of mycobacteriophages.
The five external speakers were:
- Matthias Wabl, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California, San Francisco and Chairman & CSO of Austrianni Ges.m.b.H.
- César de la Fuente, Presidential Assistant Professor, University of Pennsylvania
- Ann Ginsberg, Deputy Director TB Vaccines, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
- Carlos Martín, Professor of Microbiology, Universidad de Zaragoza
- Graham Hatfull, Professor of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh
The symposium provided the consortium with the chance to hear about innovative approaches and techniques to TB research, and to find out more how this can complement and connect with the research taking place with the project.
ERA4TB member, Alfonso Mendoza, from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid moderated two of the symposium sessions and reflects on the learnings and impact:
“A clear takeaway from the symposium is that any future TB treatment must be a combination of at least three new drugs. The innovative approaches shown today could form part of new regimens, contributing to more effective and shorter-lasting treatments than the use of drugs alone.”