Applied Bioinformatics & Public Health Microbiology

The 10th Applied Bioinformatics and Public Health Microbiology conference serves as a multidisciplinary forum to demonstrate how advances in microbial and viral genomics, bioinformatics, data science, and sequencing technology are being used to meet the growing needs of public health.

This year’s meeting will focus on the transformative impact of these advances on global public health, featuring sessions that exploring public health genomics, equity in public health, and infection control in healthcare. Attendees can expect to gain insights from a “State of the Union” session, which will provide nationwide perspectives from laboratories and industry.

New methods and algorithms will also be highlighted, with a session dedicated to scaling bioinformatics, focusing on infrastructure and industry. There will also be an opportunity to demonstrate new tools in the popular bioinformatics and data resources showcase. A significant portion of the programme will consist of talks derived from submitted abstracts.

This conference attracts clinical microbiologists and bioinformaticians, and researchers involved in public health, including professionals from reference laboratories and hospital settings.

The conference will start at approximately 13.00 on Wednesday 21 May and close at approximately 13.00 on Friday 25 May 2025. All times are in BST/GMT. See the time where you are here.

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

• Public health genomics
• Infection control in healthcare
• State of the union: nation-wide insights from laboratories and industry
• Eradicating viral, fungal and parasitic threats through genomics
• New methods and algorithms
• Scaling bioinformatics: industry and infrastructure
• Bioinformatics and data resources (showcase)
• Equity in public health (panel discussion)

A draft programme will be available soon.

Scientific programme committee

Nabil-Fareed Alikhan
University of Oxford, UK

Alan Christoffels
University of the Western Cape, South Africa

Jennifer Gardy
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Senjuti Saha
Child Health Research Foundation, Bangladesh

Keynote speakers

Johanna Hanefeld
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK

Tim Stinear
Doherty Istitute, Melbourne, Australia

Confirmed speakers

Claire Chewapreecha – Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU), Thailand
Tom Connor – Public Health Wales, UK
Jack Gilbert – University of California San Diego, USA
Zamin Iqbal – University of Bath, UK
Wessam Mankoula – Africa CDC, Ethiopia
Alexandra Moura – Pasteur Institute, France
Andrew Page – Theiagen Genomics, USA
Johanna Rhodes – Radboud University Medical Center, The Netherlands
Jillian Rowe – Dabble of DevOps, USA
Nicole Wheeler – University of Birmingham, UK

Organisers

Scarlett Storr
Wellcome Connecting Science

Treasa Creavin
Wellcome Connecting Science

Registration deadline: 29 April (in person) | 13 May  (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, virtual delegates based in Lower and Middle-Income Countries can register for free (see list of countries here).

If you are an editor or journalist, please contact the conference organiser for more information about the discounted fee.

Accommodation
Booked accommodation is for the nights of 21 and 22 may 2025.
Please note: there is limited onsite accommodation and this will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis; therefore, early registration is recommended.

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: 25 February 2025

Wellcome Connecting Science offers registration bursaries (usually up to 50% of the registration fee) to those who would benefit from attending the conference but face financial barriers to attending events.

Priority will be given to trainees,  applicants from lower and middle income countries, or those from underrepresented/minoritised groups. Other early career researchers will be considered if funds allow. Applications submitting abstracts will be prioritised.

To apply for funding support, please register and then select that you want to apply for a bursary. This will direct you to the online application form. Please be prepared to explain why you need support and how you will benefit from attending the conference. Once you have submitted the application form, you will be emailed an abstract portal link. Please use this to submit your abstract before bursary deadline.

Additional funding opportunities

Visit our support page for information on financial support, including carer grants to help delegates with the costs of caring for children or dependent family members while attending a course or a conference.

Abstract deadline: 25 March 2025

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 are expected to be onsite for the duration of the conference, whereas those presenting posters can do so in person or virtually.

To submit an abstract, you must first register for the conference. Once your registration is completed, you will be emailed a link to submit to the abstract submission portal. If you wish to edit your abstract following submission, please use the link in the abstract acknowledgement email.

All abstracts must be submitted and, if desired, edited by the deadline. The scientific programme committee will then assess your abstract and you will be notified about 2 weeks after the deadline whether you have been selected to present an oral or poster presentation. If you require acknowledgment that your abstract has been accepted earlier than this, please contact the event organiser.

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.

Those accepted for a poster presentation will also have the opportunity present a ~1 min ‘poster pitch’ summarising their work.

If you are interested in supporting this meeting, please contact us.

For more information about the benefits of having a presence at this meeting, see our sponsorship page .