SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE

        Pr Birgitta AGERBERTH

Clinical Microbiology, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University, Sweden

Prof. Birgitta Agerberth was one of the principle researchers in the discovery of the human antimicrobial peptide LL-37 of the cathelicidin family on cDNA level, isolation of the mature active peptide from granulocytes and characterization of the gene structure. We have also found that LL-37 exhibits chemotactic activity to CD4+ T cells, thus contributing to the link between the innate and adaptive immune system. Prof. Agerberth has also been involved in pioneering work on host microbe interaction, human infections and inflammatory diseases with respect to LL-37.

Pr Jean-Marc BERJEAUD

Ecologie & Biologie des Interactions (CNRS UMR7267), Université de Poitiers, France

Dr Eefjan J BREUKINK

Membrane Biochemistry & Biophysics, Utrecht University, The Netherlands

Eefjan Breukink received his PhD (in 1994) at Utrecht University. After post-doctoral research at Oxford University with Prof. A. Watts, he returned to Utrecht University, and joined the Department of Biochemistry of membranes of the Utrecht University faculty of Chemistry first as post-doc and since 2003 as faculty member where he became an associated professor in 2013. His research focuses on the bacterial cell wall synthesis pathway, determination of the mode of action of antibiotics and on the discovery of novel antibiotics in fungal extracts. He has been involved in a young start-up company QVQ that focuses on development and marketing of lama antibody fragments (VHHs) for imaging and research purposes as CTO and briefly as CEO. He has participated in EU-Networks, and (co-)authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications. In 2014 he became an honorary Professor of the Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Food Microbiotechnology Research of China. In February 2014 he became the Director of Education and Director of the Bachelor Chemistry program in Utrecht.

Dr Philippe BULET

Analytical Immunology of Chronic Pathologies (INSERM U823)? Universit2 de Grenoble, France

Dr Paul COTTER

Department, Food Biosciences Principal Research , Teagasc Food Research Centre Moorepark, Ireland

Dr. Paul Cotter is a Principal Research Officer and Head of Food Biosciences at Teagasc Food Research Centre, Ireland where he also runs the Teagasc Next Gen DNA Sequencing Centre. In addition, he is an Investigator within the APC Microbiome Institute. Paul’s research focuses primarily on the microbiology of food, the food chain and the human microbiome and the modulation thereof, including through the use of bacteriocins and bacteriocin-producing strains.

Dr Delphine DESTOUMIEUX-GARZON

Interactions Hosts-Pathogens-Environments (CNRS UMR 5244) Université de Montpellier, France

Dr Julien DIANA

Institut Necker-Enfants Malades (INSERM U1151-CNRS UMR8253)-Université Paris Descartes, France

My research interests are focused on innate immunity in the context of autoimmunity. After defending my PhD in Immunology and Parasitology at the University Claude Bernard (Lyon, France),  I worked as a post-doctoral follow at the cochin institute (Paris, France). We demonstrated the protective mechanism of viral infection against autoimmune diabetes. In 2011, appointed as permanent researcher at the INSERM, I initiated a project on the role of innate immune cells in autoimmune diabetes and we revealed the role of neutrophils in the initiation of the disease. In 2013, after moving to the Institut Necker Enfants Malades (Paris, France), we started  to study the role of antimicrobial peptides in autoimmune diabetes and we demonstrated that pancreatic endocrine cells under the control of the gut microbiota, expressed antimicrobial peptide able to maintain the immune tolerance in the pancreas. We continue to explore the crosstalk between gut microbiota, innate immune system and non-immune cells in the context of autoimmunity and how antimicrobial peptides may serve as  messengers in this crosstalk.

Pr Djamel DRIDER

Laboratoire ProBioGEM, Institut Charles Violette, Université de Lille 1, France

Pr. Alain DUFOUR

Laboratoire de Biotechnologie et Chimie Marines, Université de Bretagne-Sud, Lorient, France

Dr Abdelaziz HEDDI

INSA, Lyon, France

Professor Aziz Heddi has defended his thesis on insect symbiosis at INSA-Lyon on 1990 under the supervision of Pr Paul Nardon. He has then experienced postdoctoral fellowships with Dr Patrick Lestienne and Dr Georges Stepien at the CHR of Angers, and with Pr Douglas Wallace at the Emory university school of medicine in Atlanta, where he entered new research area on human genetic diseases. He joined on 1994 the BF2i Lab (UMR INRA/INSA de Lyon 203). He established on 1998 a new team on ‘Symbiosis & Immune Signaling’ dealing with host-symbiont molecular dialogue, and he is leading the BF2i Lab (INSA-Lyon/INRA Lab) since 2012.

Pr Joshy JACOB

Emory University, Atlanta USA

Dr. Joshy Jacob  received his Phd training as a cellular immunologist in Dr. Garnett Kelsoe’s laboratory at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore. He then did post-doctoral training in molecular immunology with Dr. David Baltimore at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He  joined Emory University as a faculty in 1999 and is currently a tenured Associate Professor. His research focuses on humoral immune responses to drifted influenza viruses and harnessing innate immune mediators to combat modern day pathogens.

Dr Anne-Christine LALMANACH

Infectiologie et Sante publique (INRA UMR 1282), Université François Rabelais, Tours, France

Dr Isabelle LANNELUC 

LIttoral ENvironnement et Sociétés (CNRS UMR 7266), Université de La Rochelle, France

Pr Olivier LESOUHAITIER 

Laboratoire de Microbiologie Signaux et Microenvironnement (EA 4312), Université de Rouen, France

Research interests

Role of communication, environmental and host factors on bacterial adaptation and virulence.

My research field is dedicated to the effect of host-derived mediators, such as hormones or neurotransmitters on bacteria virulence and biofilm formation. Pseudomonas fitness in his environment, Bacteria-eukaryotic cell interactions, Sensors and membrane proteins in communication

Pr Sylvie REBUFFAT

Molécules de Communication et Adaptation des Microorganismes, MNHN, Paris, France

 Pr Konstantin SEVERINOV

Institute of Molecular Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

I am a professor of Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology and of Rutgers university. My interests in the AMP field are concerned with bioinformatics predictions and functional validation of novel post-translationally modified microcins and using their biosynthesis enzymes to create non-natural bioactive peptides. We mostly concentrate oin peptide-nucleotides, heterocycle-containing peptides, and lasso-peptides.

  Pr Roderich D SÜSSMUTH,

Institut für Chemie, Technische Universität Berlin, Germany

Screening and structure elucidation of (antiinfective) natural products; investigations on the enzymatic biosynthetic mechanisms of natural products, natural product and peptide synthesis; development of new-to-nature-agents against bacteria, fungi, helminths and viruses.

Pr Wilfred A VAN DER DONK,

Department of Chemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois, USA

Wilfred van der Donk was born in the Netherlands and moved to the USA in 1989 to pursue his Ph.D. at Rice University. After postdoctoral work at MIT with JoAnne Stubbe, he joined the faculty at the University of Illinois in 1997. Since 2008, he is an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Research in his laboratory focuses on gaining a better understanding of enzyme catalysis in biosynthesis of antibiotics.

Pr Monique VAN HOEK,

School of Systems Biology, George Mason University, USA

Dr. Monique van Hoek is Professor in the School of Systems Biology at George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA. She has been at GMU since 2002. Prior to that she worked for Roche Molecular Biochemicals.

She received her Bachelors degree in Biochemistry from the University of Victoria, Canada, and her PhD in Microbiology from the University of Virginia, USA.

Dr. van Hoek’s research is focused on the development of new anti-biofilm and anti-microbial compounds, including peptides, for gram-negative bacteria, especially multi-drug resistant bacteria and biothreat bacteria. In her recent work, she and her collaborator have discovered novel antimicrobial peptides from bedbugs, crocodiles and alligators.

Dr. Julien VERDON, 

Ecologie & Biologie des Interactions (CNRS UMR7267), Université de Poitiers, France

Pr Günther WEBER,

Nutrition, Croissance et Cancer (Inserm, UMR1069), Université François Rabelais, Tours, France

1986-2006:Postdoc/Assoc Professor, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm,
research on cancer biology and genetics

2006 – present: Researcher/Professor, University of Tours

Present research subject:

Based on inititial studies at the Karolinska Institutet, we study the impact of the antimicrobial protein hCAP18/LL-37 on cancer. It has become increasingly clear that LL-37 is multifunctional and directly contributes to cell signaling and to epithelial cell growth. Upon our observation that LL-37 is overexpressed in malign breast tumors and alters signal transduction in breast cells, we presently study its role in breast cancer development, aiming towards the identification of novel targets for cancer treatment.