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We invite you to register for the 2025 Midwest Virology Symposium (MVS) 鈥� a three-day gathering of virology researchers, clinicians, and trainees from across the Midwest. This year鈥檚 symposium will be held at the University of Kentucky, with all sessions hosted in the state-of-the-art Jacobs Science Building.

馃搮 Dates: Sept. 26鈥�28, 2025
馃搷 Location: Jacobs Science Building, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
馃挰 Format: In-person event featuring keynote addresses, scientific sessions, trainee talks, and a poster networking session

MVS 2025 Organizing Committee 

Special thanks to the MVS Organizing Committee. Their cross-college leadership and collaboration have been instrumental in bringing the 2025 symposium to life.

Faculty - Saurabh Chattopadhyay, PhD (Medicine) | Rebecca Dutch, PhD (Medicine) | (Public Health) | (Agriculture, Food and Environment) | (Pharmacy) 

Trainees - Chase Heim (Medicine), (Agriculture, Food and Environment)

Registration CLOSED

Thank you to everyone who registered for the Midwest Virology Symposium. Online registration is now closed and we are not accepting additional registrations. Registered attendees will receive a confirmation email the week of September 8 (Sept 8鈥�12). If you don鈥檛 receive one by Sept 13, please contact curekyidc@uky.edu. 

Abstract Submission CLOSED

Thank you to everyone who submitted an abstract. The MVS Organizing Committee is now reviewing submissions to select short oral presentations. Poster session assignments and time slots will be emailed the week of September 8 (Sept 8鈥�12). If you don鈥檛 receive an email by Sept 13, please contact curekyidc@uky.edu. 

Questions?

 If you have any questions, please contact the organizing committee at curekyidc@uky.edu, or Dr. Saurabh Chattopadhyay (Event Chair) at saurabh.chattopadhyay@uky.edu 

We鈥檙e honored to welcome Dr. Stanley Perlman, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Iowa, as our keynote speaker for the 2025 Midwest Virology Symposium.

Dr. Perlman is a renowned expert in coronavirus biology and host immune responses, with groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2. His decades of work have shaped global responses to viral outbreaks and informed major public health strategies.

Date and Time: Friday, Sept. 26 at 5:45 p.m. ET
Location: Jacobs Science Building Lecture Hall 121
Title: Neurological PASC in humans and mice

Confirmed speakers for the 2025 MVS.  *Presentation titles subject to change.*

Virology and Emerging Threats     |     Session I

Richard Kuhn, PhD (Purdue University) - Structural studies focused on Alphaviruses and Flaviviruses in Complex with Antibodies

Natasha Tilston-Lunel, PhD (Indiana University) - Bunyavirus Reassortment: Compatibility, Constraint, and Consequence

Jae Jung, PhD (Cleveland Clinic) - Inhibitor Discovery of SARS-CoV-2 Nsp14-Nsp10 Exonuclease

Mike Berg, PhD (Abbott) - THE ABBOTT PANDEMIC DEFENSE COALITION: Diagnostic preparedness through pathogen surveillance and discovery

Siyuan Ding, PhD (WashU Medicine) - Molecular Determinants of Rotavirus Host Range

Immunity and Pathogenesis     |     Session II

Amy Hartman, PhD (University of Pittsburgh) - Factors controlling entry, tropism, and disease outcome in response to Rift Valley fever virus

Jacob Yount, PhD (Ohio State University) - Modeling and Mitigating Cardiac Complications of Influenza Virus Infection

Pranav Danthi, PhD (Indiana University) - Antagonism of the innate immunity by reovirus

Bethany Moore, PhD (University of Michigan) - The role of TLR9 in influenza-MRSA co-infection

Models and Therapeutics     |      Session III

Salvatore Simmini, PhD (StemCell Technologies) - Tissue-derived organoid models for in vitro viral infection and antiviral screening (Virtual)

John Williams, MD (University of Wisconsin) - The Nose Knows: Upper Airway Immunity to Human Metapneumovirus

Kerry Empey, PharmD, PhD (University of Pittsburgh) - Development of an intranasal RSV vaccine for young children

Persistence and Oncology     |     Session IV

Li Wu, PhD (University of Iowa) - Deciphering the Role of m6A Modifications in HIV-1 Latency and Persistence

Sharmila Nair, PhD (University of Louisville) - Leveraging Zika virus and the immune system to treat GBM

Nathan Ungerleider, PhD (Saint Louis University) - EBV broadly disrupts host microRNA maturation in Burkitt鈥檚 lymphoma

Krystle Kuhs, PhD (University of Kentucky) - New methods of early detection for HPV-driven oropharyngeal cancer