Fungal Pathogens: Emerging Threats and Future Challenges (A1)
January 12-15, 2026
| Beaver Run Conference Center, Breckenridge, CO, United States
Scott G Filler, Rebecca Drummond and Iliyan D Iliev
Scholarship Deadline: Sep. 17, 2025 | Abstract Deadline: Dec. 23, 2025 | Early Registration Deadline: Nov. 14, 2025
| 4:00–8:00 PM |
Registration |
Colorado Ballroom Foyer |
| 6:00–8:00 PM |
Welcome Mixer |
Colorado Ballroom Foyer |
Tuesday, January 13, 2026
| 7:00–8:00 AM |
Breakfast |
Summit Gallery |
| 8:00–8:10 AM |
Welcome Remarks |
Peak 4-5 |
| 8:10–9:00 AM |
Keynote Address |
Peak 4-5 |
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* Scott G Filler, Lundquist Institute
Session Chair |
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Anita Sil, University of California, San Francisco
Regulation of Coccidioides Virulence |
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| 9:00–11:15 PM |
Infections Caused by Airborne Fungal Pathogens |
Peak 4-5 |
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* Vincent M Bruno, University of Maryland School of Medicine
Session Chair |
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Scott G Filler, Lundquist Institute
Identification of Oral Epithelial Cell Targets of Candida albicans |
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Georgios Chamilos, University of Crete
Metabolic Interplay Between Macrophages and Rhizopus |
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Bruce S Klein, University of Wisconsin Madison
Pseudogymnoascus Destructans and White-Nose Syndrome of Bats |
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Yao Yu, MSKCC
Short Talk: Lymphocyte- and GM-CSF-mediated Host Defense in Central Nervous System (CNS) Aspergillus Infection |
|
| 9:30–9:50 AM |
Coffee Break |
Colorado Ballroom Foyer |
| 11:15–1:00 PM |
Poster Setup |
Peaks 1 - 3 |
| 11:15–2:30 PM |
On Own for Lunch |
|
| 1:00–10:00 PM |
Poster Viewing |
Peaks 1 - 3 |
| 2:30–4:30 PM |
Symposia Spotlight 1 |
Peak 4-5 |
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* Kristie Goughenour, University of Michigan/Ann Arbor VA
Session Chair |
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Patricia P Peterson, Duke University Medical Center
How the STRIPAK Complex Coordinates Genome Stability, Host Adaptation, and Virulence in Cryptococcus |
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Shirli Cohen, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Candida albicans Promotes Group B Streptococcal Vaginal Persistence and Pathogenesis |
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Greg Whitehill, UCLA
Checkpoint Blockade Augments Coccidioides-Specific T Cell Responses |
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Xin Li, UT Southwestern Medical Center
An Unexpected Fungal RNA Signal in Immunity |
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Zanetta Chang, Washington University in St. Louis
Elucidating Dissemination of the Fungal Pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans Through Genetic Barcoding |
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Martinna Bertolini, University of Pittsburgh
Candida Albicans Infection Triggers Progressive Remodeling of the Oral Epithelial Landscape |
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Olivia W Hepworth, Columbia University Irving Medical Center
Selective Inhibition of Lung Epithelial Chemokine Secretion by Coccidioides posadasii Spherules |
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Dominik Awad, University of Michigan
Mycobiome-Derived Metabolites Impact the Pancreatic Tumor Microenvironment |
|
| 4:30–5:00 PM |
Coffee Available |
Colorado Ballroom Foyer |
| 5:00–7:00 PM |
Fungal Commensalism and Pathogenesis: Consequences for the Host |
Peak 4-5 |
| |
* Kyla Ost, University of Colorado AMC
Session Chair |
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| |
Iliyan D Iliev, Weill-Cornell Medical College
Transkingdom Bacterial-Fungal Crosstalk in Modulation of Intestinal Inflammation |
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Petra Bacher, University Kiel
T Cell-Mediated Immunity to Fungi in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases |
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Julie Segre, NIH/NHGRI
Human Skin Mycobiome |
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Hongyu Wu, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Short Talk: Fungal Secreted Asparaginase Drives Intestinal Tuft Cell Expansion |
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Animesh Anand Mishra, UT Southwestern Medical Center
Short Talk: Metabolite–Carbon Source Interactions Regulate Candida Albicans Growth and Gastrointestinal Colonization |
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| 7:00–8:00 PM |
Social Hour with Dinner |
Peaks 1 - 3 |
| 7:30–10:00 PM |
Poster Session 1 |
Peaks 1 - 3 |
Wednesday, January 14, 2026
| 7:00–8:00 AM |
Breakfast |
Summit Gallery |
| 8:00–8:45 AM |
Keynote Address |
Peak 4-5 |
| |
* Iliyan D Iliev, Weill-Cornell Medical College
Session Chair |
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Gordon D. Brown, University of Exeter
C-Type Lectins – New Insights into Their Roles in Antimicrobial Immunity |
|
| 8:45–11:00 AM |
Fungal Infections of the Brain |
Peak 4-5 |
| |
* Kirsten Nielsen, Virginia Tech
Session Chair |
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* Mari L. Shinohara, Duke University
Session Chair |
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Rebecca Drummond, University of Birmingham
Heterogeneity of Fungal and Host Responses in the Brain |
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Sarah Beattie, University of Iowa
Elucidating Mechanisms of A. Fumigatus Cerebral Pathogenesis |
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Angie Gelli, University of California, Davis
Mechanisms of CNS Invasion by Cryptococcus |
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Michal A Olszewski, VA Medical Center & University of Michigan
Short Talk: Immunoregulatory Network Offsetting Inflammatory Damage in Cryptococcal Meningoencephalitis |
|
| 9:15–9:35 AM |
Coffee Break |
Colorado Ballroom Foyer |
| 9:35–9:40 AM |
Award Recipient Acknowledgement |
Peak 4-5 |
| 11:00–1:00 PM |
Poster Setup |
Peaks 1 - 3 |
| 11:00–2:15 PM |
On Own for Lunch |
|
| 1:00–10:00 PM |
Poster Viewing |
Peaks 1 - 3 |
| 2:15–3:15 PM |
Career Roundtable |
Peak 4-5 |
| 3:30–4:30 PM |
Panel of Program Officers |
Peak 4-5 |
| |
* Rebecca Drummond, University of Birmingham
Panel Moderator |
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* Iliyan D Iliev, Weill-Cornell Medical College
Panel Moderator |
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Dona Love, National Institutes of Health
Panelist |
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Tamara McNealy, National Institutes of Health
Panelist |
|
| 4:30–5:00 PM |
Coffee Available |
Colorado Ballroom Foyer |
| 5:00–7:00 PM |
Fungal Colonization and Immunity of the Skin and Mucosa |
Peak 4-5 |
| |
* Brian M Peters, University of Tennessee Health Science Center
Session Chair |
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Mark Gresnigt, Leibniz-HKI
Deciphering the Dysregulated Inflammatory Responses of (Recurrent) Vulvovaginal Candidiasis |
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Daniel H Kaplan, University of Pittsburgh
Cutaneous Nonpeptidergic Neurons Sense Extracellular ATP to Augment Barrier Repair and C. Albicanshost Defense |
|
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Salomé LeibundGut-Landmann, University of Zürich
Cutaneous Control of Malassezia |
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Jian Miao, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center
Short Talk: Early-life Fungal Colonization Reveals Stage-specific Immune Regulation in the Oral Mucosa |
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Owen Jensen, University of Colorado Anschutz
Short Talk: Mannose Binding Lectin Regulation of Candida albicans in the Small Intestine |
|
| 7:00–8:00 PM |
Social Hour with Dinner |
Peaks 1 - 3 |
| 7:30–10:00 PM |
Poster Session 2 |
Peaks 1 - 3 |
Thursday, January 15, 2026
| 7:00–8:00 AM |
Breakfast |
Summit Gallery |
| 8:00–8:45 AM |
Keynote Address |
Peak 4-5 |
| |
* Rebecca Drummond, University of Birmingham
Session Chair |
|
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Mihai G. Netea, Radboud University
Trained Immunity: From Bench to Bedside |
|
| 8:45–11:00 AM |
Fungal Recognition and Antifungal Immunity |
Peak 4-5 |
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* Jatin Vyas, Columbia University
Session Chair |
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Jay K Kolls, Tulane School of Medicine
Immunity to Pneumocystis |
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Amariliz Rivera-Medina, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
Innate Immune Response to Aspergillus Fumigatus |
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Sarah L Gaffen, University of Pittsburgh
Type 17 Cell Cytokine Signaling and Coordination of Mucosal Fungal Immunity |
|
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Michael J Boucher, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health
Short Talk: Phenotypic Landscape of an Invasive Fungal Pathogen Reveals Its Unique Biology |
|
| 9:15–9:35 AM |
Coffee Break |
Colorado Ballroom Foyer |
| 11:00–2:30 PM |
On Own for Lunch |
|
| 2:30–4:30 PM |
Symposia Spotlight 2: Late Breaking Research Presentation Chosen from Abstracts |
Peak 4-5 |
| |
* Bing Zhai, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology
Session Chair |
|
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Katherine Doss, Dartmouth College
Surprising Strain-Specific Molecular Determinants of Aspergillus Fumigatus Pathogenicity Revealed by New Cancer Small Molecule Therapies |
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Darin Wiesner, Rutgers - New Jersey Medical School
Early Spatial Dynamics of Neutrophil Recruitment in Lung Barrier Immunity to Coccidioides Infection |
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Jazmin Reyes Servin, UC Merced
Interferon (IFN) beta Mediates Differential Type I IFN Signaling Regulation of Clearance and Damage During Aspergillus fumigatus (A. fumigatus) Infection |
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Lucas dos Santos Dias, NIAID/NIH
CXCR3 Promotes T cell Recruitment and IFN-γ production and Drives Mucosal Candidiasis in Aire-Deficient Mice |
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Amy L Seufert, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
T Cell-intrinsic Nod2 Regulation of Anti-fungal IL-17A and IL-17F |
|
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Jonah Propp, University of Iowa
Discovery and Structural Insight into Novel Acetyl-CoA Synthetase Inhibitors for Antifungal Development |
|
| 4:30–5:00 PM |
Coffee Available |
Colorado Ballroom Foyer |
| 5:00–6:45 PM |
Challenges and Opportunities in Translational and Clinical Mycology |
Peak 4-5 |
| |
* Michail S Lionakis, NIAID, NIH
Session Chair |
|
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David Andes, University of Wisconsin
New Antifungal Drugs |
|
| |
Kieren Marr, Elion Therapeutics
Challenges of Antifungal Drug Development |
|
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Marie-Claire Arrieta, University of Calgary
The Early-Life Mycobiome in Immune and Metabolic Development |
|
| |
Bing Zhai, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology
Short Talk: Quantitative Dynamics of the Vaginal Mycobiome in Pregnancy |
|
| 6:45–7:00 PM |
Meeting Wrap-Up: Outcomes and Future Directions (Organizers) |
Peak 4-5 |
| 7:00–8:00 PM |
Social Hour with Dinner |
Peaks 1 - 3 |
| 8:00–9:00 PM |
Entertainment |
Peaks 1 - 3 |
| 8:00–9:00 PM |
Cash Bar |
Peaks 1 - 3 |
