Monday, 2nd June Lancefield International Symposium for Streptococci and Streptococcal Diseases 2025

Invited Speakers: 

Prof Jonathan Carapetis - Kids Research Institute Australia, Australia
Prof Anna Seale - BMGF, United States
Prof Andrea Beaton - Cincinnati Children's Hospital, United States

• Priorities for global control of Strep A - Jonathan Carapetis
• Group B Streptococcus: working towards a global solution for a global problem - Anna Seale
• A verbal autopsy study of paediatric rheumatic heart disease mortality in Malawi  - Treasure B Mkaliainga
• Break the (streptococcal) Chain: Translating Evidence Into Action for RHD Control - Andrea Beaton
• Analysis of the global Group B Streptococcus pangenome: insights into genetic diversity and evaluation of potential vaccine targets of GBS - Nida Javaid
• A decade-long genomic lesson learned from Streptococcus pneumoniae: evasion and vaccine design - Stephanie Lo

Invited Speaker:

Prof Thushan De Silva - University of Sheffield, UK & MRC Unit The Gambia at LSHTM, The Gambia

• Group A Streptococcus epidemiology and immunity in a high burden setting: insights from community studies in The Gambia - Thushan de Silva
• The development of early life natural immunity to Streptococcus pyogenes: focus on conserved vaccine antigens in a high burden setting - Alexander Keeley
• Low-dose interleukin-2 therapy: A transformative approach for the management of autoimmune complications associated with Streptococcus pyogenes infections - Ailin Lepletier
• Rapid AI-assisted hand-held echocardiography detection and analysis of rheumatic heart disease - Kelsey Brown
• A new mouse model of rheumatic heart disease? - Juan Manuel Diaz
• Defining the Antibodiome for Group A Streptococcus using StrepScan PhiPseq technology - Reuben McGregor
• Identification of a perturbed T cell compartment that underlies rheumatic fever pathogenesis in a trans-Tasman study - Francis M Middleton

Invited Speakers: 

Andrew Steer - Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Australia
Prof Annaliesa Anderson - Pfizer, United States
Prof Per Fischer - Minervax, Denmark

• Ed Kaplan Tribute - Chris Van Beneden
• A big picture view of progress towards a vaccine against Streptococcus pyogenes - Andrew Steer
• Approaches to Support Streptococcal Vaccine Licensure & Adoption - Annaliesa Anderson
• Progress towards licensure of a protein-based vaccine against Group B Streptococcus - Per Fischer
• The road of GSK Strep A vaccine to FTiH - Danilo Gomes Moriel
• Rapua te mea nagro ka tau- a qualitative, Indigenous-informed approach to vaccine development. - Anneka Anderson

• TREAT-SC a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial of early short course oral dexamethasone for the treatment of sydenham’s chorea in children - Kathryn Roberts
• The immune landscape of the tonsils: a critical site for understanding Group A Streptococcus infections   - Anna Bergonzini
• Distribution of serotype and protein vaccine targets in disease-causing GBS in the UK (2009-2023): implications for GBS vaccine rollout - Elita Jauneikaite
• Three-piece suit: M and M-like proteins as a virulence trio in GAS infections - Corentin Bruyns
• A novel approach to assess antigen specific Fc-mediated antibody functions induced by Streptococcus pyogenes pharyngitis - Kaneka Chheng
• Host inflammation plays a critical role in SpeB transcriptional regulation in Group A Streptococcus - Stephanie Guerra
• The stress of carrying CRISPR-Cas - Dorina Haider
• Experimental human infection with Streptococcus pyogenes alters the magnitude and phenotype of vaccine antigen-specific memory B cells - Holly A Fryer
• Adjuvant optimisation is crucial for protective efficacy and immunogenicity of the Group A Streptococcus vaccine candidates Combo#5 and VAX-A1 - Johanna Richter

Note: Posters are still to be allocated to their specific sessions. Check back closer to the Meeting for the final allocations.

• Streptococcus dysgalactiae subsp. equisimilis carriage and infection epidemiology and risk factors in The Gambia  - Edwin Armitage
• Optimising the detection of Streptococcus pyogenes events in surveillance studies: intensive swabbing and PCR within the SpyCATS study - Edwin Armitage
• Tracking the relationship between community Strep A infections and Acute Rheumatic Fever in Auckland, New Zealand: 2018-2024 - Julie Bennett
• Differential Immune Response in Children to Throat Specialist Versus Generalist Group A Streptococci - Debra E Bessen
• Antimicrobial susceptibility of Streptococcus pneumoniae isolated from sputum of patients presenting at patan hospital - Saugat Bhandari
• Molecular epidemiology of superficial Streptococcus pyogenes infections in the SToP trial Western Australia - Asha Bowen
• Clinical and Microbiological Characteristics of Facial Infections Caused by Streptococcus spp. - Hyun-Ha Chang
• Expansion scarlet fever-associated mobile genetic elements among group A Streptococcus in Taiwan - Chuan Chiang-Ni
• Inference of Streptococcus pyogenes transmission pathway parameters from analyses of whole genome sequence data of isolates collected in a high burden setting - Rebecca H Chisholm
• Large chromosomal rearrangements affect protein expression and are associated with invasive disease in Streptococcus pyogenes - Matthew A Davies
• Household molecular epidemiology of Streptococcus pyogenes carriage and infection in The Gambia - Gabrielle de Crombrugghe
• Household molecular epidemiology of Streptococcus dysgalactiae subsp. equisimilis carriage and infection in The Gambia - Gabrielle de Crombrugghe
• M1 and done? Converging on a globally representative set of more and less invasive group a streptococcal strains - Gabrielle de Crombrugghe
• School and clinical-based experimentation to ascertain Streptococcus pyogenes (Strep A)  transmission - Stephanie Enkel
• Cross-sectional analysis of streptococcal serology in a global cohort of ARF and Healthy Children - Ndate Fall
• Analysis of the scabies associated microbiota demonstrates a decrease in diversity and a shift to opportunistic pathogenic bacteria - Katja Fischer
• Setting the scene for Group A Streptococcus vaccine studies: The complete clinical spectrum of severe acute disease is present in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand - Andrew Fox-Lewis
• Invasive Group A Streptococcus (iGAS) surveillance gets the green light: a clear-cut microbiological specimen sterility framework for comprehensive and consistent laboratory surveillance. - Andrew Fox-Lewis
• NEARER SCAN evaluation of a task-sharing echocardiographic active case finding program for rheumatic heart disease in Australia and Timor-Leste: interim findings from a hybrid type II effectiveness-implementation study - Joshua R Francis
• Invasive group A streptococcal infections in Australian adults – a descriptive cohort and cost burden study - Jessie J Goldsmith
• Asymptomatic throat and vaginal carriage and household transmission of beta-haemolytic streptococci during pregnancy: a prospective cohort study - Kirsi Gröndahl-Yli-Hannuksela
• Trends in Invasive Pneumococcal Disease in Nepalese Children: Evaluating the Impact of 10-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine Introduction (2014–2023) - Meeru Gurung
• Descriptive analysis of incidence, hospital acquisition and health inequalities in invasive group C and G streptococcal infections England, 2016 to 2023 - Rebecca L Guy
• Streptococcal brain abscesses: assessing a decade of trends in England between 2014 and 2023 - Rebecca L Guy
• Outcomes after concomitant mitral and aortic rheumatic valve surgery in the young. - Hilary Hardefeldt
• The Australian Strep A Vaccine Initiative (ASAVI) Urban Pharyngitis Surveillance Study - John Hart
• Epidemiology and clinical research on group a streptococcus: a public health perspective - Aliyu Evuti Haruna
• The rise of invasive group A streptococcal infection in a quaternary Australian hospital - Adam Jenney
• Antimicrobial effect of photo activated disinfection on streptococcus from endodontic infections - Dexton Johns
• Genomic insights into horizontal transfer of macrolide resistance among Streptococcus pneumoniae via mobile integrative conjugative elements following azithromycin mass drug administration in Malawi - Akuzike Kalizang'oma
• Investigating differential maternal GBS carriage according to ethnicity: cross-sectional analysis nested within a multicentre randomised clinical trial in England - Theresa Lamagni
• Effecting control of a widespread emm11 GAS outbreak linked to community healthcare services in the East of England, 2023-25 - Theresa Lamagni
• Epidemiology of Group A Streptococcal Skin Infections in New Zealand - Krishtika KM Mala
• A molecular epidemiology of invasive Group A Streptococcus (iGAS) infection detected within the Hunter New England Local Health District (HNELHD) of New South Wales (NSW), Australia from 2007 to 2017 - Pappu K Mandal
• Population pharmacokinetics of penicillin G: insights into increased clearance at low concentrations to guide development of improved long-acting formulations for syphilis and prevention of rheumatic fever - Laurens Manning
• Predictors of Clinical Outcomes in Acute Rheumatic Fever in the Contemporary Era: The Role of Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate - Renata Mendoza
• A collaborative inter-departmental study confirming the usefulness of high-resolution WGS data in informing Group A Streptococcus pyogenes (GAS) outbreaks - Kartyk Moganeradj
• A Proposed Chatbot as a Tool for Acute Rheumatic Fever Screening Across Four Countries *On behalf of the Acute Rheumatic Fever Diagnostic Network (ARC Network) - Isabella Moreira Gonzalez Fonesca, MD
• Challenges in acute rheumatic fever management A case of severe carditis and recurrence - Isabella Moreira
• Cracking the nut of clinical trials to test interventions for life threatening gram-positive toxin-mediated syndromes - Hadar Mudrik-Zohar
• Genomic epidemiology, antimicrobial resistance and virulome of invasive Group B Streptococcus isolates in Hunter Region, NSW, Australia.  - Syeda Naqvi
• Invasive group A streptococcus and respiratory viral coinfections in Alberta, Canada from 2018 to 2024.  - Skyler Ngo
• High rates of group A streptococcal pharyngitis among a longitudinal cohort of school-aged children in remote Western Australia - Janessa Pickering
• Evaluation of CRISPR elements in group B Streptococcus belonging to ST17 from Brazil - Tatiana Pinto
• Report of a host-generalist group B Streptococcus lineage (CC103) associated with severe disease in primate and human in Brazil: the potential threat to public health - Tatiana Pinto
• Diverse diagnostic and management approaches for acute rheumatic fever in Australia and New Zealand - Anna P Ralph
• High propensity for multidrug-resistant pneumococcal aerosol shedding among adults living with HIV in Malawi: A Microbial Diversity Analysis - Lusako L Sibale
• Streptococcus agalactiae bacteremia and the utility of time  to positivity -  an observational study in southern Sweden - Torgny Sunnerhagen
• Prevalence, risk factors, and strain distribution of group A Streptococcus carriage among Indigenous children in the Southwest United States - Catherine Sutcliffe
• Genomic Characterization and Classification of Streptococcus oralis Using Next-Generation Sequencing - Sima Tokajian
• Genomic characteristics and antimicrobial resistance of Streptococcus agalactiae isolates causing infections and asymptomatic carriage in Southwest Finland - Natalie Tomnikov
• A systematic review of asymptomatic colonisation with Group A Streptococcus in low and middle income countries - Hermaleigh Townsley
• Update on invasive group A streptococcus hypervirulent M1_UK clone in Canada 2024 - Gregory Tyrrell
• The Emergence and Impact of M1_UK on Invasive Group A Streptococcus Disease in Aotearoa New Zealand - Anna Vesty
• Genomic epidemiology of S. pyogenes carriage and pharyngitis isolates from the STAMPS Australian paediatric surveillance study - Jasmyn Voss
• Effect of prior antibiotics use on blood culture positivity in children under 5 years with suspected invasive pneumococcal diseases in rural Gambia - Muhammed Wally
• Severe GAS infections in pregnancy and the peripartum period in South Auckland, New Zealand, 2023.  - Rachel Webb
• Severe paediatric invasive group A streptococcal infections at Starship Children’s Hospital, Auckland, Jan 2023 - Jan 2025 - Rachel Webb
• Historical Evidence for Streptococcus pyogenes as the Causative Agent of Acute Rheumatic Fever: A Structured Narrative Review  - Scott Wirth
• Distribution of pneumococcal serotypes causing invasive disease and carriage in rural Gambia in the post-vaccination era - Baleng Mahama Wutor
• Understanding current clinical guidance about delivery of benzathine penicillin G - Rosemary Wyber
• Strategic and scientific contributions of human challenge trials for Strep A vaccine development: facts versus fantasy - Yara-Natalie Abo
• Development of a High-Performance Anion Exchange Chromatography Method for PolyRhamnose Quantification in Group A Streptococcus Vaccines. - SoJung An
• CHIVAS-M1: No strain, no gain. Choosing an M1_UK human challenge strain. - Kristy I Azzopardi
• Vaccinee-derived monoclonal antibodies against GBS highlight functional clusters on the AlpN antigens - Wael Bahnan
• "iSOoTH: A study on children's sore throats to inform the development of a Group A Streptococcal vaccine - Julie Bennett
• Towards a Human Whole Blood in Tube Assay to Measure Cellular Immunity to Streptococcus pyogenes Vaccine Antigens - Natalie Caltabiano
• Putting public enemy #M1_UK in the human challenge crosshairs - Kimberly Davis
• Developing a new Vaccine against Streptococcus Pyogenes - Jes JDI Dietrich
• The ‘RHAPSEDA’ Platform for the Recombinant Production of Affordable and Universal Glycoconjugate Vaccines for Strep A - Helge C Dorfmueller
• Discovery-based approaches to advance mucosal vaccine strategies against Strep A - Maria Emilia Duenas
• Hospitalisation rate of clinical pneumococcal disease among under-five-children in Haryana, India: A seven-year multicentric bidirectional surveillance study - Madhu Gupta
• Investigating correlates of protection in the non-human primate model of pharyngitis by comparison of Combo#5 vaccines adjuvanted with Alum and SMQ - Steven J Hancock
• Systems approach to group A streptococcal vaccine discovery using saRNA - Jakub Hanczak
• Advancing group a streptococcus vaccine development: immunological insights and prospects for implementation in nigeria - Aliyu Evuti Haruna
• Development of a whole blood assay to detect Group A Streptococcus (GAS) specific T cell responses and application to school-based studies in The Gambia - Ya Jankey Jagne
• Safety and immunogenicity of a Group B Streptococcus vaccine in participants aged 55-75 years - Bengt Johansson Lindbom
• Investigating the role of antibodies to emm type-specific M peptides in natural immunity to Streptococcus pyogenes in The Gambia - Alexander Keeley
• Functional immunoassay performance across the life course in the Gambia: association with binding IgG titre to vaccine antigens - Alexander Keeley
• Antibody responses to Streptococcus pyogenes in UK adults over the COVID-19 pandemic period - Amelia Lias
• An update on pilus-based vaccine development to prevent Group A Streptococcal infections - Jacelyn MS Loh
• Where did all the antibodies go? Exploring Immunity Gaps to Group A Streptococcus and other endemic respiratory pathogens following pandemic Restrictions in Aotearoa New Zealand - Natalie Lorenz
• A streptococcal vaccine to prevent cellulitis in older adults - Laurens Manning
• A Clinically Relevant Cationic Adjuvant System Induces Th17 T Cells Involved in Skin and Upper Airway Infections with Streptococcus pyogenes - Kristoffer Mazanti Melchiors
• System Serology Reveals Correlates of Functional Group A Streptococcus Antibody Responses In Children With Pharyngitis - Reuben McGregor
• Antibody Responses to Streptococcus pyogenes antigens in an Australian Longitudinal Paediatric Cohort Study - Michael Morici
• Parenteral vaccination with a super immunogen targeting M-protein provides unprecedented protection against group A streptococcus (StrepA) respiratory infections - Victoria Ozberk
• Developing a Next-Generation Vaccination Strategy Leveraging Traditional Approaches to Combat Streptococcus pyogenes (StrepA) Infections - Manisha Pandey
• Building laboratory capacity to advance Strep A vaccine development in Aotearoa New Zealand - Aimee Paterson
• Survival to opsonophagocytosis killing assay (OPKA) of group B Streptococcus strains recovered in Brazil - Tatiana Pinto
• Colonization with Streptococcus pyogenes elicits robust B cell responses against conserved vaccine antigens in paediatric tonsils - Catherine Pitt
• Optimizing formulation of the Group A Streptococcus mRNA vaccine candidate Combo#5 - Brody Pullinger
• Characterizing protective immune responses following repetitive nasopharyngeal infections by Streptococcus pyogenes in HLA-transgenic mice - Aanchal Rishi
• Human serological assays characterization to evaluate the response against Group A Streptococcus vaccine in clinical trial sera - Omar Rossi
• Analysis of technologies to produce glycoconjugate vaccines against Group A Streptococcus - Alexandra Shaw
• Genomic surveillance of Streptococcus pneumoniae and Streptococcus pyogenes in the Czech Republic in the Post-COVID era - Sandra Vohrnová