Tuberculosis: Understanding the Disease Across Scales (C4)
March 23-26, 2026
| Southern Sun Cape Sun, Cape Town, WC, South Africa
Maximiliano Gutierrez, Digby F. Warner, Bree B Aldridge and Margarida Saraiva
Scholarship Deadline: Nov. 25, 2025 | Abstract Deadline: Mar. 3, 2026 | Early Registration Deadline: Jan. 23, 2026
| 4:00–8:00 PM |
Registration |
3rd Floor Foyer |
| 6:00–8:00 PM |
Welcome Mixer |
3rd Floor Foyer |
| 7:30–8:30 AM |
Breakfast |
Individual Hotel |
| 8:00–8:30 AM |
Poster Setup |
VOC South |
| 8:00–8:30 AM |
Coffee Available |
3rd Floor Foyer |
| 8:00–5:00 PM |
Poster Viewing |
VOC South |
| 8:30–8:40 AM |
Welcome Remarks |
VOC North |
| 8:40–9:30 AM |
Keynote Address |
VOC North |
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* Maximiliano Gutierrez, Francis Crick Institute
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Valerie Mizrahi, University of Cape Town
Physiology of Mtb and Drug Discovery |
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| 9:30–11:45 AM |
Tuberculosis Genetics Across Scales |
VOC North |
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* Mahdad Noursadeghi, University College London
Session Chair |
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Jeremy Rock, Rockefeller University
Mtb Genetics and Biology |
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Stephanie Boisson-Dupuis, The Rockefeller University
Human Genetic and Immunologic Determinants of Tuberculosis |
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* Maha Farhat, Harvard Medical School
Genotypes and Phenotypes in TB |
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Dmytro Butov, Kharkiv National Medical University
Short Talk: Dominance of Lineage 2 Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Strains in Ukraine During War: Genomic Insights into National Drug-Resistance Surveillance |
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| 10:00–10:20 AM |
Coffee Break |
3rd Floor Foyer |
| 12:30–1:30 PM |
Lunch |
Riempies |
| 1:00–2:30 PM |
Poster Session 1 |
VOC South |
| 2:30–4:00 PM |
Symposia Spotlight 1: Human in vitro Models |
VOC North |
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Anne Goldfeld, Harvard Medical School
Early Restriction of TB Infection in HIV Uninfected and Infected Primary Hematopoietic Cells and a New Alveolar Type II Pulmonary Organoid Model |
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* Jakson Luk, The Francis Crick Institute
An Autologous Human iPSC-derived Multicellular Alveolus-on-Chip Reveals Early Pathological Events of M. Tuberculosis Infection |
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* Richa Mishra, Heidelberg University
Disrupting Cord Architectures To Accelerate Antibiotic Action In Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Infections |
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Gesa Krueger, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut
Differential Host Responses to Mycobacterium Tuberculosis and Mycobacterium Bovis Unveiled by a 3D Model of Bovine Tuberculous Granulomas |
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Vijaya Vaishnavi V, Indian Institute of Science
Three-dimensional (3D) Granuloma-on-a-chip Platform for Studying Host-Pathogen Interaction in Tuberculosis |
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| 4:00–4:30 PM |
Coffee Available |
3rd Floor Foyer |
| 4:30–7:00 PM |
Mtb Infection of Host Cells |
VOC North |
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* Dany J. V. Beste, University of Surrey
Session Chair |
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* Maximiliano Gutierrez, Francis Crick Institute
Mtb Infection of Human Macrophages in Time and Space |
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Trude Helen Flo, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Host Cell Defense Against Mtb Infection |
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Volker Briken, University of Maryland
Molecular Mechanisms of Mtb-Host Cell Interactions |
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Naomi E Okugbeni, South African Medical Research Council
Short Talk: Understanding the Role of Mitochondrial Interactions in Autophagic Recognition and Clearance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis: From Cell Lines to Clinical Translation in Humans |
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Anca Dorhoi, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut
Short Talk: Hypoxia Reshapes the Endolysosomal Landscape and Function in Macrophages |
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Anthony Reynolds, University of Washington
Short Talk: A Systems Biology Approach to Defining the Phosphoregulators of Primary Human Macrophage Responses to Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection |
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Reto Guler, University of Cape Town
Short Talk: Atorvastatin as a Host-Directed Therapy for Tuberculosis |
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| 7:00–8:00 PM |
On Own for Dinner |
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Wednesday, March 25, 2026
| 7:30–8:30 AM |
Breakfast |
Individual Hotel |
| 8:00–8:30 AM |
Poster Setup |
VOC South |
| 8:00–8:30 AM |
Coffee Available |
3rd Floor Foyer |
| 8:00–5:00 PM |
Poster Viewing |
VOC South |
| 8:30–11:30 AM |
Tuberculosis Disease Across Populations |
VOC North |
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* Digby F. Warner, University of Cape Town
Tuberculosis Aerobiology |
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Hanif Esmail, University College London
Tuberculosis Across the Disease Spectrum |
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Adrie J Steyn, Africa Health Research Institute & UAB
Metabolic Rewiring of Neutrophils during Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Infection |
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Jayne S Sutherland, MRC Unit The Gambia at LSHTM
Identification of Protective Immunity in Mtb-Exposed Household Contacts from The Gambia |
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Paul Ogongo, University of California, San Francisco
Short Talk: Antigen-driven Heterogeneity of CD4 T cells Reveals Preferential Induction of Th17 Responses by Variable M. tuberculosis Antigens. |
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Jérôme Nigou, IPBS, CNRS - Université de Toulouse
Short Talk: Identification of Bacterial Cell Envelope Factors That Influence Tuberculosis Disease and Treatment Outcome |
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| 9:30–9:50 AM |
Coffee Break |
3rd Floor Foyer |
| 9:50–9:55 AM |
Award Recipient Acknowledgement |
VOC North |
| 11:30–12:30 PM |
Career Roundtable |
VOC North |
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Miriam J Urasa, East Central and Southern Africa Health Community
Senior Program Officer |
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Carl Feng, University of Sydney
Professor |
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Munyaradzi N Musvosvi, University of Cape Town
Chief Research Officer |
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Alexander Schmidt, Gates Foundation
Deputy Director |
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| 12:30–1:30 PM |
Lunch |
Riempies |
| 1:00–2:30 PM |
Poster Session 2 |
VOC South |
| 4:30–5:00 PM |
Coffee Available |
3rd Floor Foyer |
| 5:00–7:30 PM |
Tuberculosis Models Across Scales |
VOC North |
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* Divya Tiwari, Queen Mary University of London
Session Chair |
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Carl Feng, University of Sydney
Spatial Mapping of Granulomas |
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Vivek V. Thacker, University of Heidelberg
Imaging Mycobacteria Across Scales: Linking Ultrastructure with Emergent Collective Behaviour in Mycobacterial Cords |
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Alissa C Rothchild, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Innate Immune Responses to Mtb in the Lung |
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Paul T Elkington, University of Southampton
Short Talk: Mechanotransduction Regulates the Host-pathogen Interaction in TB |
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Shabaana A Khader, University of Chicago
Short Talk: A Novel Th17-Inducing Mucosal Vaccine for Tuberculosis |
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Veronica Szewczyk-Rozek, Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology
Short Talk: Reconstructing The Evolution Of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Using Historical Medical Collections |
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Marco Silva, i3S
Short Talk: Identifying Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Genetic Determinants of Disease Severity |
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| 7:00–8:00 PM |
On Own for Dinner |
|
| 7:30–8:30 AM |
Breakfast |
Individual Hotel |
| 8:00–8:30 AM |
Poster Setup |
VOC South |
| 8:00–8:30 AM |
Coffee Available |
3rd Floor Foyer |
| 8:00–5:00 PM |
Poster Viewing |
VOC South |
| 8:30–11:30 AM |
Imaging Mtb Physiology |
VOC North |
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* Tiago Beites, i3S - Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde da Universidade do Porto
Session Chair |
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* Bree B Aldridge, Tufts University
Single-Cell Growth Behaviors of Mtb |
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Giulia Manina, Institut Pasteur
Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Phenotypic Variation: Functional Insights and Opportunities |
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Mireille Kamariza, University of California, Los Angeles
Visualising the Mtb Cell Wall |
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Jamie N Blaza, Universtiy of York
Short Talk: Remission Spectroscopy Resolves the Mechanism of Action of Bedaquiline Within Living Mycobacteria |
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James Gomez, Broad Institute
Short Talk: Chemical-Genetic Interaction Profiling to Accelerate Mechanism Discovery and Reveal Pathway-Linked Co-vulnerabilities in Mycobacterium tuberculosis |
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Michelle Mei Kheng Yee, Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology
Short Talk: MAPK-ing the Way: ERK1/2 Signaling Orchestrates Macrophage Epithelial Transition and Mycobacterial Granuloma Formation |
|
| 9:30–9:50 AM |
Coffee Break |
3rd Floor Foyer |
| 11:30–12:30 PM |
Lunch |
3rd Floor Foyer |
| 1:00–2:30 PM |
Poster Session 3 |
VOC South |
| 2:30–4:00 PM |
Symposia Spotlight 2: Imaging |
VOC North |
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* Paul T Elkington, University of Southampton
Session Chair |
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Sefiyat Adebiyi, Stellenbosch University
Spatial Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals a Hypoxia–SPP1 Gradient Defining Immunosuppressive Microenvironments Across TB Granuloma Phenotypes |
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Yue (Rachel) Chen, Shanghai Pulmonary hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine
Cholesterol-Mediated Rewiring Of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Pathogenesis And Host Immunometabolism |
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Stephanus T Malherbe, Stellenbosch University
Associations Between Subclinical Tuberculosis on FDG PET-CT, IGRA, and TB Progression |
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Yasin Razak, University of Cape Town
Towards Optogenetic Control of Gene Expression in Mycobacteria |
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George R Mayson, University of Surrey
Mycobacterial Memory: A Bacterium's Past Protects its Future |
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| 4:00–4:30 PM |
Coffee Available |
3rd Floor Foyer |
| 4:30–6:00 PM |
Tuberculosis Immunology |
VOC North |
| |
* Anca Dorhoi, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut
Session Chair |
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* Margarida Saraiva, i3s
Regulation of the Immune Response by Diverse M. tuberculosis Isolates |
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Christina L Stallings, Washington University School of Medicine
Immunological Control of Mtb |
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Mahdad Noursadeghi, University College London
Short Talk: Common Genetic Determinants of Longitudinal Human in vivo Immune Response to Mycobacterium Tuberculosis |
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William J Branchett, Francis Crick Institute
Short Talk: Local Immune Determinants of M. tuberculosis Infection Control and TB Disease in Mouse and Human Systems |
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| 6:00–6:15 PM |
Meeting Wrap-Up: Outcomes and Future Directions (Organizers) |
VOC North |
| 6:15–8:00 PM |
On Own for Dinner |
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