Penn Vet Announces Fourth Annual Symposium on Zoonotic Disease Research
The Institute for Infectious and Zoonotic Diseases (IIZD) at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine (Penn Vet) has announced the agenda for its 2026 IIZD Symposium. The event will bring together a half-dozen researchers to exchange scientific understanding on the emergence, spread, and control of infectious diseases.
The Symposium will open on Wednesday, March 18, 2026, at 4:00 PM with the Robert R. Marshak Public Lecture, featuring keynote speaker Anthony Fauci, MD, former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and former Chief Medical Advisor to the President. Drew Weissman, MD, PhD, Roberts Family Professor of Vaccine Research at Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine and recipient of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Medicine, will introduce the lecture.
The Symposium’s academic session will be held on Thursday, March 19, 2026, beginning at 8:30 AM, featuring presentations by leading experts in infectious disease research:
- Trevor Bedford, PhD
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
Fitness flux in SARS-CoV-2 and influenza H3N2 - Nita Bharti, PhD
Pennsylvania State University
The route of the problem: human mobility and disease ecology - Adam Lauring, MD, PhD
University of Michigan
Constraints on the evolution of new viral variants - Joe Pedra, PhD
University of Maryland
An epidermal signaling circuit orchestrating neuroimmune circuits at the skin barrier - Victor Torres, PhD
New York University
Mechanistic insights into the tug-of-war of Staphylococcus aureus pathobiology - Anne-Catrin Uhlemann, MD, PhD
Columbia University
Within-host evolution of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae
Go to the Symposium’s website for more details. The public lecture currently has a waitlist. Individuals interested in joining the waitlist, please register here. Researchers interested in attending the academic Symposium, please register here.
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About Penn Vet
Ranked among the top ten veterinary schools worldwide, the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine (Penn Vet) is a global leader in veterinary education, research, and clinical care. Founded in 1884, Penn Vet is the first veterinary school developed in association with a medical school. The school is a proud member of the One Health initiative, linking human, animal, and environmental health.
Penn Vet serves a diverse population of animals at its two campuses, which include extensive diagnostic and research laboratories. Ryan Hospital in Philadelphia provides care for dogs, cats, and other domestic/companion animals, handling more than 30,000 patient visits a year. New Bolton Center, Penn Vet’s large-animal hospital on nearly 700 acres in rural Kennett Square, PA, cares for horses and livestock/farm animals. The hospital handles more than 6,300 patient visits a year, while our Field Services have gone out on more than 5,500 farm service calls, treating some 22,400 patients at local farms. In addition, New Bolton Center’s campus includes a swine center, working dairy, and poultry unit that provide valuable research for the agriculture industry.