Applied Bioinformatics & Public Health Microbiology

The 9th Applied Bioinformatics and Public Health Microbiology conference provides a multidisciplinary forum to demonstrate how advances in microbial and viral genomics, bioinformatics, data science, and sequencing technology are being used to meet the needs of public health.

This year’s meeting will focus on how these advances are transforming public health across the globe, including lessons learned from the SARS-Cov2 pandemic. We will include sessions exploring public health genomics, genomic epidemiology, metagenomics for surveillance, and new bioinformatics approaches – focusing on pipelines and data management. A large proportion of the programme will be chosen from submitted abstracts.

We aim to share best practices for implementing genomics technology in routine, frontline diagnostics and surveillance, with a particular focus on the implications of using data-driven genomics approaches in public health. The conference will also provide an opportunity for bioinformaticians working in this area to exhibit the innovative tools that they have developed.

The conference attracts international participants working in bioinformatics or microbiology research or public health, including reference laboratories or hospital settings. This conference will have strong representation from clinical microbiologists and clinical bioinformaticians, to ensure appropriate migration of these technologies to diagnostic and surveillance applications.

This conference will be a hybrid meeting – with onsite or virtual attendance.

The conference will start at approximately 13.00 on Wednesday 3 May and close at approximately 13.00 on Friday 5 May 2023. All times are in BST. See the time where you are here.

Discussions will focus on a variety of exciting topics, including:

• Public health genomics
• Bioinformatics showcase
• Metagenomics for surveillance
• Are we in a post-bioinformatics world? (panel discussion)
• Genomic epidemiology in the field
• New approaches in bioinformatics
• Pandemic preparedness (panel discussion)

Scientific programme committee

Alan Christoffels
University of the Western Cape, South Africa

Jennifer Gardy
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, USA

Nick Loman
University of Birmingham, UK

Senjuti Saha
Child Health Research Foundation, Bangladesh

Keynote speakers

Julie Segre
National Institutes of Health, USA

Chikwe Ihekweazu
WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence, Germany

Confirmed speakers

Angie Hinrichs – University of California, Santa Cruz, USA
Meera Chand – UK Health Security Agency
Bill Hanage – Harvard University, USA
Emma Hodcroft – Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, Switzerland
Nicholas Grassly – Imperial College London, UK
Neelika Malavige – University of Sri Jayawardenepura, Sri Lanka
Moses Njagi Mwaniki – University of Pisa, Italy
Josefina Campos – NEI-ANLIS Dr Carlos G. Malbrán, Argentina

Organisers – Wellcome Connecting Science

Laura Wyatt – Conference and Events Manager
Treasa Creavin –  Head of Scientific Meetings and Digital Learning

Registration deadline: 4 April 2023  (in person) | 25 April 2023 (virtual)

The in-person registration fee includes:

• Full access to scientific programme: oral and poster presentations, and networking on campus
• Access to the online conference portal to network with online participants
• Meals (lunch and dinner) and refreshments during the conference. Breakfast will be provided for delegates who have booked onsite accommodation.
• Recordings of the live-stream sessions, which will be available ‘on-demand’ for four weeks after the event ends

Virtual registration fee includes:

• Access to the virtual event portal (Log in details will be emailed a few days before the event starts)
• Live-stream sessions, including posters and online networking channels
• Recordings of the live-stream sessions, available ‘on-demand’ for four weeks after the event ends.

* To promote more inclusive scientific discussions with international colleagues at our conferences, delegates based in Lower and Middle-Income Countries can register for free (see list of countries here).

Accommodation
Booked accommodation is for the nights of 3 and 4 May 2023. Accommodation onsite has sold out. Please contact us to be added to a waiting list.

If you wish to book campus accommodation either side of the conference dates, please contact the Hinxton Hall Conference Centre directly.

Accommodation services phishing scam – please be vigilant. More information.

Travel visas
Citizens of many countries can travel to the UK to attend a course or conference without needing a visa. Please check the UK government website for visitor information: https://www.gov.uk/standard-visitor.

Confirmed attendees requiring a letter to support a visa application should contact the event organiser.

Bursaries

Bursary deadline: 7 March 2023

A limited number of registration bursaries are available to attend this conference in person (up to 50% of the registration fee). Priority will be given to PhD students submitting abstracts who are facing financial barriers.

To apply, use the dedicated bursary application link on the registration site.
Please answer the application questions, and submit an abstract before midnight UK time on 7 March 2023 for your application to be considered.

Additional funding opportunities
Visit our support page for additional financial support currently available.

Abstract deadline: 7 March 2023

We welcome abstracts from all areas relevant to the main themes of the meeting, for both oral and poster presentations. Several oral presentations will be chosen from the abstracts submitted. Presenters of oral presentations as expected to be onsite for the duration of the conference, whereas those presenting posters can do so in person or virtually.

Abstracts will only be considered from registered delegates. Please use our online abstract submission system and follow the instructions given to ensure your abstract is submitted correctly. All abstracts must be submitted by the deadline. You can make changes to your submitted abstract before of the deadline by logging into your account and following the instructions

If you have already completed your registration and subsequently wish to submit an abstract, or wish to submit a second abstract, please follow these instructions.

The scientific programme committee will assess your abstract after the deadline has passed and you will be notified whether you have been selected to present an oral or poster presentation.

Poster boards onsite will accommodate 118 cm high by 84 cm wide (A0-portrait) of printed material. Accepted abstracts will appear in the conference programme book; poster board numbers will be allocated at the conference. All those accepted for a poster presentation will be given the opportunity to upload a short video describing their work.

Thanks to our supporters

Bursary  and prizes

Feedback from previous attendees:

The conference gave a mix of updates in microbiology covering several studies of different organisms, bioinfo tools, new techniques and several occasions to mingle and talk with other fellow researchers, scientists and bioinfo greats!

This is *easily* the best conference in the area of applied bioinformatics and microbiology. It has led the trends from “How to assemble my genome” (2009), to “how to compare genomes” (2015) to “how to understand transmission dynamics” (2019). I think the meeting attracts the best scientists in the world in this area; and all the experts attend.

Great programme of talks, well organised. Really enthusiastic speakers and poster and software presenters.