Demonstrating the power of collaborative science to accelerate biomedical innovation, The University of Texas at San Antonio recently convened dozens of experts in infectious disease, immunology and vaccine research from across the state.
The Vaccine Development Center of San Antonio (VDCoSA) hosted the annual conference in early November at UT San Antonio’s Downtown Campus. Now in its 13th year, the meeting serves as a central hub for scientific collaboration.
“The VDCoSA conference is a unique opportunity to bring together some of the most talented and innovative minds in vaccine research,” said Chiung-Yu Hung, UT San Antonio Lutcher Brown Endowed Distinguished Professor of Microbiology and Immunology and lead of the Scientific Advisory Committee of VDCoSA.
The conference brought together researchers from across Texas, including UT San Antonio’s College of Sciences and the UT San Antonio Health Science Center, Southwest Research Institute, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, the Texas Children’s Hospital, The University of Texas at Austin, Rice University, Trinity University and others.
“Each year we see new collaborations form, reflecting the interdisciplinary spirit that drives the South Texas region’s growing bioscience community,” Hung said.
Founded in 2012, the center was established to strengthen collaboration among local and regional scientists working to prevent and treat infectious diseases and cancer.
Its mission includes fostering research partnerships, pursuing collaborative grant opportunities and hosting an annual symposium to highlight breakthroughs in the field of biomedical science.
“By combining the complementary expertise of these institutions, the center exemplifies how collaborative science accelerates biomedical innovation,” Hung said. “Our collective goal is to improve human health not just in Texas, but globally.”
“This commitment was demonstrated by the innovative research breakthroughs that were showcased during the conference,” she added.
The recent program featured three keynote presentations from distinguished researchers in the field, including:
- Andrew Pekosz, PhD, professor and vice chair of molecular microbiology and immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
- Ashraf Ibarahim, PhD, professor at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine
- Peter Dube, PhD, head of infectious disease immunology at the Boehringer-Ingelheim Vaccine Research Center
The conference also featured dozens of oral and poster presentations selected from faculty, research scientists, postdoctoral fellows and students.
The UT San Antonio College of Sciences submitted 25 presentations, including seven undergraduate students who offered abstracts for the conference. A total of 15 students and postdoctoral fellows from the college’s Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology received oral and poster awards.
For more information about the annual meeting, see the VDCoSA conference website.
