Spotlight: 2026 IDCRC Annual Meeting

2026 IDCRC Annual Meeting

From May 13 to May 14, the IDCRC held its Annual Meeting on the NIAID Campus at Fisher Lane in Maryland. The atmosphere on the campus was filled with energy and optimism, reflecting a strong spirit of the network’s science, clinical research, innovation, and collaboration. Approximately 200 attendees from the IDCRC, Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Units (VTEUs), and NIAID’s Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (DMID) gathered both in person and virtually to celebrate significant accomplishments and hear advances in infectious diseases research. The event offered exciting networking opportunities for all attendees, especially young investigators, making it a successful and memorable experience.

This year's program showcased the cumulative scientific achievements of the IDCRC and each VTEU from inception to date, along with presentations from two guest speakers on days one and two. On May 13, attendees gathered to begin the meeting. The IDCRC team provided welcome and opening remarks, presented the State of the Network, highlighted VTEUs in spotlight presentations, organized a poster session featuring participants from throughout the network, as detailed in the agenda, and held an awards ceremony reception.

2026 ANNUAL MEETING AGENDA 

"The 2026 annual meeting of the IDCRC was 'the best ever.’ The network's many accomplishments and scientific achievements were on display, as was the impressive success of the 49 mentees in the mentored career development program," shares David Stephens, MD, Leadership Group (LG) chair.

Annual Meeting Day 1

Dr. Jodie Dionne delivered welcoming opening remarks to begin the meeting. Dr. David Stephens, Chair of IDCRC LG, delivered the annual State of the Network address.  

Poster Sessions

We were thrilled to have poster sessions across our many VTEU partners.

  • "A Zika blockade-of-binding assay exemplifies a strategic serological approach for arbovirus
    prevention" - Matthew Collins, Emory University
  • "Phase 1, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebocontrolled Study to Evaluate the Safety and
    Tolerability of an Enterovirus D68-specific Monoclonal Antibody in Healthy Adults" - C. Buddy Creech, Vanderbilt University
  • "Safety and Immunogenicity of a Campylobacter jejuni capsule polysaccharide conjugate vaccine delivered with and without Army Liposome Formulation adjuvant containing QS-21 in a Randomized, Doubleblind, Dose-escalating, Outpatient Phase 1 Trial" - Robert Frenck, Cincinnati Children’s
  • "Vaccination with a live attenuated tetravalent dengue vaccine (DMID 09-0055) induces durable dengue typespecific memory T cells, neutralizing antibodies, and anti-NS1 antibodies in flavi-naïve volunteers in a nonendemic area" - Sarah George, Saint Louis University
  • "Strengthening Vaccine Trial Engagement Through Community Partnerships and Early-Career Training: A Public Health Approach" - Luis Gonzalez Corro, New York University
  • "Evaluating Predictors and Patterns of Screening Laboratory Abnormalities among University of
    Washington Phase 1 Clinical Trial Participants" - Jessica Heimonen and Tara Babu, University of
    Washington
  • "Rabies Vaccination to Assess Vaccine Immunogenicity to a Neoantigen After B cell Depleting Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-Cell Therapy" - Lauren Jatt, University of Washington
  • "Respiratory and Nonrespiratory Complications in Children Hospitalized with Influenza in the Post-2009 H1N1 Pandemic Era" - Satoshi Kamidani, Emory University
  • "Exposure-Response Evaluation of IV Artesunate in Children with Severe Malaria in Tororo, Uganda" - Matthew B. Laurens, University of Maryland
  • "Respiratory Infection Diagnostics: What Physicians Want." - Kelly Mazumdar, University of Rochester
  • "A Phase 1 Study of Inactivated Rotavirus Vaccine CDC-9 in Healthy Adults" - Lauren Nolan, Emory University
  • "Hantavirus vaccine-derived antibody from Phase 1 clinical trial is sufficient to protect against lethal disease in model of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome" - Grant Paulsen, Cincinnati Children’s
  • "Long-Term Maternal Neutralizing Antibody Responses After RSVpreF Vaccination in Pregnancy: A
    Longitudinal Cohort Study" - Anne-Marie Rick, University of Pittsburgh
  • "Tis the Season: Epidemiologic Factors for a Combination Vaccine for Respiratory Syncytial Virus,
    Human Metapneumovirus, and Parainfluenza Virus" - Christina Rostad, Emory University
  • "Measuring Measles Binding IgG via Multiplex Bead Assay" - Marie Samanovic-Golden, New York University
  • "Early Trends in Quality Metrics Across NYU Langone Vaccine Center Studies" - Shruthy Shankar, New York University
  • "Comparative Analysis of Cardiovascular Complications in Hospitalized Adults with RSV and
    Other Respiratory Viruses" - Paulina Sudnik, University of Rochester

After the last VTEU Spotlight presentation for day one (URMC, UMB, Vanderbilt, CCHMC, & BCM), there was a special presentation by guest speaker, Jacques Ravel, PhD, professor, University of Maryland, titled “Translating our Understanding of the Vaginal Microbiome to Innovate for Women’s Health.” This was followed by the closing remarks and breakout sessions for the VTEU Coordinators, Respiratory Expert Working Group (EWG) Concept Workshop, and Sexually Transmitted Infections EWG Concept Workshop. 

Annual Awards

Finally, to acknowledge the significant contributions of VTEU members to the missions of the IDCRC and VTEUs, the IDCRC hosted a reception at the Canopy to announce the winners of the Annual IDCRC Awards. These awards were presented to the following members: 

Collage of 2026 IDCRC award winners

  • Investigator of the Year: Hana El Sahly​, MD, professor,​ Baylor College of Medicine 
  • Early Career Investigator: Elizabeth A.D. Hammershaimb​, MD, MS, assistant professor​, University of Maryland 
  • Staff STAR: Marie Samanovic-Golden​, PhD, Research Assistant Professor, New York University 
  • Best Scientific Publication: Wilbur Chen, MD, MS, and the NmCV-5 EPI Study Group​, University of Maryland, “Safety and immunogenicity of a pentavalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine targeting serogroups A, C, W, Y, and X when co-administered with routine childhood vaccines at ages 9 months and 15 months in Mali: a single-centre, double-blind, randomised, controlled, phase 3, non-inferiority trial​. The Lancet 405: 1027-1118” 
  • Leadership Group Award: Jodie Dionne​, MD, MSPH, associate professor​, University​ of Alabama, Birmingham 

Also, during the awards presentation reception, several IDCRC Leadership Group members were recognized for their outstanding service and contributions to the network from its inception, including Dr. Robert Atmar​, Clinical Operations Unit co-director; Dr. Chris Posavad​, Laboratory Operations Unit director; Dr. Elizabeth Brown​, Statistical and Data Science Unit director; Dr. Paul Spearman​, EWG Liaison; and Dr. David Stephens​, IDCRC LG chair. 

The atmosphere was lively, filled with engaging conversations and networking opportunities.

Annual Meeting Day 2

The optimism from Day 1 continued as Day 2 began with welcoming remarks from Dr. Jodie Dionne. This was followed by panel discussions featuring Early Career Investigators, moderated by Dr. Zanthia Wiley. The panelists included Drs. Brett Jagger, Erin Nicholson, and Anne-Marie Rick. A key takeaway from the Early Career Investigators (IDCRC Mentees) panel discussion was the clear benefits realized from participating in the IDCRC Mentorship and Career Development Program. Participants credited the program with providing a valuable network that helped them secure new positions, maintain their research while transitioning between institutions, and build the confidence needed to lead studies, all while balancing clinical duties and much more. Overall, the program has 49 participants across three cohorts. Within one cohort, 50% have been promoted, and they average 25 manuscripts per person per year. To conclude the discussion, the moderator conducted an emotional reality check. Panelists openly shared recent feelings of anger, fear, frustration, uncertainty, and bewilderment, but emphasized that their love for science and mentorship remains strong. 

Afterwards, the VTEU spotlight presentations continued for the remaining five VTEUs (NYU, UW, Kaiser Permanente, SLU, and Emory) out of the ten. Following the first VTEU spotlight presentation, guest speaker Peter Wright, MD, professor of pediatrics at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Geisel School of Medicine, delivered a special presentation on "Lagniappe in Clinical Research" for day two. 

The annual meeting ended with the closing remarks from the IDCRC LG chair, Dr. David Stephens. He emphasized the importance of resilience and the ability to adapt to changing circumstances, quoting Dr. JA Whitaker et al. Future Goals and Long-term Vision of the Infectious Diseases Clinical Research Consortium/Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit Network, Clinical Infectious Diseases, Volume 81, Issue Supplement_2, 15 October 2025, Pages S137–S146, https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciaf412. 

"Thanks to everyone who contributed to planning and attending our 2026 IDCRC Meeting in Rockville. If we measure by engagement, productive research collaborations, and commitment to science, it was a great success!" —Jodie Dionne, MD, MSPH, Leadership Operations Center (LOC) director.