Plenary talks

Dr Krystyna Cwiklinski is a Senior Lecturer in Veterinary Parasitology at the University of Liverpool, UK. Krystyna’s current research focus is on Fasciola hepatica (liver fluke), an economically important pathogen of livestock and people.

She uses omics technologies and bioinformatics alongside molecular biology and immunology tools to further our understanding of liver fluke biology and the impact on the host, to develop novel control strategies, vaccines and diagnostics.

Dr Maria Duque-Correa completed her studies of Biology at the University of Antioquia in Colombia, where her undergraduate thesis focused on the role of macrophage activation in Mycobacterium tuberculosis control. She then went to the Mayo Clinic in Arizona, USA to work as a research associate in projects investigating the effect of age on macrophage and dendritic cell responses during cancer.

Afterwards, Dr Duque-Correa undertook a PhD at the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin, Germany. Her PhD thesis studied the role of macrophage arginase in granuloma immunopathology during M. tuberculosis infection. She joined the Wellcome Sanger Institute in 2014. At Sanger, she worked as a postdoctoral fellow funded first by a Marie Sklodowska-Curie fellowship and then by a transition to independence David Sainsbury Fellowship from the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research. Her present research focuses on understanding the host-pathogen interaction of intestinal epithelia and whipworms (Trichuris sp). Awarded a Wellcome Sir Henry Dale Fellowship, Maria started her own research group at the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute in 2022. 

Sarah Hamer is a Professor of Epidemiology in the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences at Texas A&M University. Her research lab is focused on the ecology and epidemiology of diseases that emerge at the human-wildlife-domestic animal interface with a focus in the US and Latin America. Her MS is from University of Illinois, and her PhD and DVM degrees are from Michigan State University. She is board certified in veterinary preventive medicine and epidemiology and is a Certified Wildlife Biologist®.

Sarah’s work in vector-borne disease spans soft and hard ticks, triatomines, and fleas.  She serves as the Director of the Schubot Center for Avian Health, which is an on-campus bird health center with an aviary.  Sarah teaches courses in epidemiology as well as a course in field and laboratory methods in vector-borne disease ecology. She mentors students from varied fields including public health, veterinary medicine, entomology and ecology, and attributes the success of her team to their hard work, diverse backgrounds and perspectives. Highlights for Dr. Hamer have included hooding 11 PhD students on their graduation days.

Jennifer Keiser is Head of the Research & Medicines Group at Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute and Full Professor of Neglected Tropical Diseases at the University of Basel. She received a PhD in Zoology from the University of Basel in 1999 and was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Princeton University, NJ, USA from 2000 to 2003.

Her research focuses on the discovery and development of new treatments for helminth infections, spanning preclinical studies, microbiome research, and clinical trials in endemic countries including Côte d’Ivoire, Laos, and Tanzania.

Dr. Guilherme Klafke is a veterinarian and researcher at the Instituto de Pesquisas Veterinárias Desidério Finamor, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, where he leads the Acaricide Resistance Diagnostic Service. His research focuses on acaricide resistance diagnosis and evolution, integrated tick control and resistance management, aiming to translate laboratory-based resistance testing into practical tools for treatment decision-making and animal health surveillance. He has extensive experience in national and international collaborations and contributes to FAO initiatives on acaricide resistance management in livestock ticks.