8th International Conference of the European College of Veterinary Microbiology

Brendan Wren is Co-Director of the Vaccine Centre at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Brendan gained a PhD in biophysical chemistry and published seminal papers on the effect of ionizing radiation on DNA. He then changed subject discipline and took a post-doctoral position at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, London. During this time, he was the first to publish molecular cloning studies on Clostridium difficile, Campylobacter jejuni and Helicobacter pylori. In 1999 he moved to the LSHTM and was awarded a chair in Microbial Pathogenesis. His primary research interest includes the molecular characterization of bacterial virulence determinants and the evolution of virulence. He has authored over 450 scientific peer-reviewed publications. Current research focuses on glycosylation in bacterial pathogens and developing a “glycotoolbox” for glycoengineering and mechanisms of bacterial pathogenesis. This basic research has enabled Wren and colleagues to develop glycoengineering in E. coli through a process termed Protein Glycan Coupling technology. The major application of this technology is the construction and production of affordable recombinant glycoconjugate vaccines for human and veterinary use.

Sarah Cleaveland VetMB PhD MRCVS FRSE FMedSci FRS is Professor of Comparative Epidemiology at the University of Glasgow, UK. Together with a strong team of interdisciplinary and international partners, she has established a One Health research programme, based in Tanzania, addressing a wide range of zoonotic and livestock diseases. Key objectives of her research are to understand infection and reservoir dynamics of multi-host pathogens and to develop and evaluate interventions to optimise human, animal and ecosystem health outcomes. Professor Cleaveland is involved in several One Health capacity-strengthening initiatives with partner institutions across East and West Africa, is a member of the Lancet Commission for Preventing Viral Spillover for pandemic prevention, and a member of the International Commission for Certification of Dracunculiasis Eradication. She is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and the Royal Society.

Constance Schultsz is an MD, Medical Microbiologist and Professor of Global Health, in particular for emerging infectious diseases and antibiotic resistance, at the Amsterdam UMC of the University of Amsterdam (UvA). Her research interests include zoonotic and emerging infectious diseases, in particular Streptococcus suis, and antibiotic resistance. She is interested in molecular epidemiology and pathogenesis, next-generation sequencing applications, smart sampling strategies for antimicrobial resistance surveillance, as well as behavioural and socio-economic drivers of antimicrobial resistance. Constance Schultsz was a Research Fellow at the International Centre for Diarrheal Diseases Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR) in Dhaka, Bangladesh and worked as a consultant microbiologist at the VU University Medical Centre. From 2003 until 2008 she headed the Microbiology department at the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Vietnam, at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. In 2008 she joined the Amsterdam UMC in the departments of Global Health and Medical Microbiology. She is the Head of the Department of Global Health since 2023 and is an executive board member of the Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development.

Luca Guardabassi graduated in veterinary medicine from the University of Pisa (1994) and earned a PhD in veterinary microbiology from the University of Copenhagen (2000), where he is now Professor of One Health Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). His research spans evolutionary and epidemiological studies on AMR, as well as the development of antibiotic alternatives and diagnostic tools to support prudent antimicrobial use. A pioneer of veterinary antimicrobial stewardship, he has contributed to numerous national and international guidelines for responsible antimicrobial use in animals. His current work applies metagenomics and machine learning to evaluate the impact of antimicrobial and alternative interventions on the gut microbiota, elucidate the pathogenesis of multifactorial diseases, and identify new strategies to reduce antimicrobial use. With over 220 peer-reviewed publications and 20,000 citations, he is among Denmark’s most cited veterinary scientists.

Peter O’Kane is a consultant clinical poultry veterinarian, a graduate of the Master of Avian Medicine from the University of Georgia, and a diplomate of the European College of Poultry Veterinary Science and the American College of Poultry Veterinarians. He grew up working with poultry production and has spent most of his professional career working in large specialist poultry veterinary practices or within vertically integrated companies covering poultry and egg production. He was awarded a PhD from the University of Nottingham for research into Campylobacter in broilers. He has worked with several other bacterial and viral poultry pathogens and has continued collaborative research into Enterococcus infection.

Wim van der Poel is professor of Emerging and Zoonotic Viruses at Wageningen University and Research, the Netherlands. He is a Doctor in Veterinary Medicine and obtained his PhD in virology at Utrecht University in 1995. In 2018 he joined the European College of Veterinary Microbiology (ECVM). His research interests have focused on detection and characterization of new and emerging viruses, including zoonoses. He has worked on emerging viruses research for more than 30 years and has been involved in many international research projects and networks including the EJP One Health, the Netherlands Center for One Health (NCOH), PREZODE and the Global One Health Research Partnership (GOHRP). Until 2024 he was Coordinator of the EPIZONE European Research Group. Wim van der Poel relies on a vast network of professional experts in the specific areas of emerging and zoonotic viruses; foodborne viruses and One Health.

Antonio Martínez-Murcia, PhD is Professor of Microbiology, Miguel Hernández University (since 1993), Orihuela, Alicante. Bachelor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Univ. Valencia 1987. Doctorate in Microbiology, University of Reading, England 1988-1992. Pioneering early scientific contributions in phylogeny and genetic testing methods of application in prokaryotic systematics. Co-author of more than 100 scientific publications, book chapters, a patented PCR method (1994), co-director of 8 doctoral theses, and the description of 16 new bacterial species. President of “The European Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians” (EAVLD), member of the “Aeromonas Working-group”, of the “International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes”, directive member of AVEDILA (Association of Veterinary Specialists in Laboratory Diagnosis), secretary of the Association of Biotechnology Companies of Alicante (AEBA). A recent study by ELSEVIER and Stanford University has placed him among the top 2% of the most cited researchers in the world in his specialty, from 2021 to the present. Member of Working-group-1 of the European Committee for Standardization CEN/TC 469 and, in Spain, of the Technical Committee for Standardization CTN-UNE 331, for the development of international standards for PCR in veterinary diagnostics. Founder and Director of the GPS® laboratories, Genetic Analysis Strategies SL., providing custom-designed ready-to-use real-time PCR kits (qPCR) applied to veterinary and many other sectors.

Iskra Cvetkovikj is a Professor in Microbiology and Immunology at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Skopje. She is a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in veterinary sciences from Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje. She holds the position of Head of the Laboratory for Clinical Microbiology and the Laboratory for Rabies at the National Veterinary and Food Institute overseeing ISO 17025–accredited testing for national official control programs. She has published over 80 publications and participated in numerous national as well as international projects. At the moment she is leading the Capacity building project  “Upgrading National Capacity for the Monitoring of Antimicrobial Resistance in Animals” in North Macedonia funded by UN/IAEA. Her career reflects a commitment to a “One Health” approach, bridging the gap between animal and human health sectors through her work on diseases with significant zoonotic potential, such as tuberculosis, brucellosis and antimicrobial resistance.

Patrícia Alexandra Curado Quintas Dinis Poeta, Full Professor at UTAD. EBVS® European Specialist in Veterinary Microbiology. Member of CECAV-UTAD and collaborator of LAVQ-REQUIMT. Coordinator of the Research Group MicroArt- Microbiology and Antibiotic resistance Team and Head of Medical Microbiology Laboratory. Her main research interest is the characterization of antibiotic resistance mechanisms in bacteria of different origins as humans, animals, food, water and the environment, as well as the performance of studies of molecular epidemiology to characterize the genetic lineages of antibiotic resistant bacteria. Director of several doctoral and masters’ theses. Also responsible for research projects funded by private companies and inter-university projects. Published more than 300 articles in journals from the SCI and book chapters. Has more than 1,000 communications at international scientific meetings, presentations at national or Iberian scientific meetings, posters at scientific meetings. More than 10.000 publications in GenBank, UniProt, records in MLST, among others. Received 48 awards.

Peter Damborg, Chair of the EUCAST subcommittee VetCAST (Veterinary committee on antimicrobial susceptibility testing), Member of the WSAVA Therapeutics Committee, Head of the local microbiology diagnostic laboratory Sund Vet Diagnostik and PI of ongoing clinical trials aiming to optimize antimicrobial treatment length of infections of companion and production animals. Most of Peter’s  research has centered on antimicrobial resistance in animals, including surveillance, zoonotic transmission, dissemination and characterization of resistance determinants, and selection of resistance following antimicrobial treatment. Recently, he has also focused on rationalization of veterinary antimicrobial treatment through development of antibiotic treatment guidelines and research into novel treatment regimes, alternative antimicrobial agents, and optimization of diagnostic tests.

Steve is a veterinary graduate with over 25 years research experience on virus diseases in animals. His research interests centre largely around viruses and their interaction with host cells and the innate immune response, with a particular focus on influenza viruses. Current research aims to unpick the molecular mechanisms that underpin the differing responses between susceptible and resistant avian hosts and the development of tissue culture models for investigation of innate responses to influenza infection. We are also assessing how influenza A and secondary bacterial infection act together to affect host responses to infection. Steve also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students in virology, infectious disease and professional veterinary skills.

Els Broens was trained as a Doctor in Veterinary Medicine at Utrecht University (UU) and finished a PhD on livestock-associated MRSA in pigs in 2011. Currently, she is Associate Professor and Director of the Veterinary Microbiological Diagnostic Centre at Utrecht University. Her fields of expertise are clinical veterinary microbiology, antimicrobial resistance, antimicrobial stewardship and one health. She is an EBVS Diplomate of the European College for Veterinary Microbiology and is (co-)supervisor of several PhD-students and ECVM-residents. Together with (inter)national peers Els aims to promote diagnostic and antimicrobial stewardship by training early career scientists, by conducting research and by raising awareness among policy makers, veterinarians and other stakeholders.

Stefania Lauzi is Associate Professor of Veterinary Infectious Diseases in animals at the Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences of the University of Milan, Italy from 2022. She received her veterinary degree from the University of Milan in 1995, and her Specialization in Animal health in 2000. She was Assistant professor of Veterinary Infectious Diseases in domestic animals from 1999 to 2022. Her teaching activity is mainly in courses held at the Veterinary Medicine Degree programme of the University of Milan. Her research activity focuses on infectious diseases of domestic animals, especially companion animals, and wildlife and on emerging and zoonotic diseases. Dr Lauzi has authored more than 55 peer-reviewed publications. She is responsible of the Serology and Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of the University of Milan, Italy since 2008. Dr Lauzi is De Facto Diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Microbiology from 2022.

Dorina Timofte DVM, PhD, FHEA, Dipl ECVM, FRCPath, FRCVS  is Professor in Veterinary Clinical Microbiology at the University of Liverpool and has a long-standing career in veterinary clinical microbiology. Dorina is RCVS Specialist in Veterinary Microbiology and Diplomat of the European College of Veterinary Microbiology (ECVM); at Liverpool she established the first ECVM Residency training programme and is currently the ECVM vice-president. Dorina is involved in several European initiatives (ENOVAT, EARS-VET) focusing on the development of veterinary clinical microbiology and raising the profile of the role of veterinary microbiology laboratory in antimicrobial stewardship. She is leading the VMD-funded VetCLIN_AMR project which involves close collaboration with UK veterinary diagnostic laboratories aiming to harmonise microbiology laboratory methodologies impacting on surveillance of antimicrobial resistance in companion animals. Dorina’s research focuses on surveillance and genomic epidemiology of antimicrobial resistance in companion animals, describing interspecies transmission of multidrug-resistant bacteria between humans, animals, and the environment, particularly in the context of healthcare-associated infections in human and veterinary hospitals.

Nicola Decaro; DVM, PhD, Dipl ECVM is Professor of Infectious Diseases of Animals and Head of Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari.  PhD degree, Utrecht University, The Netherlands (2009). President of the European College of Veterinary Microbiology (ECVM). 

Director of the Specialization School of Infectious Diseases of Animals, University of Bari (2008-2014). Coordinator of the PhD course “Animal Health and Zoonoses”, University of Bari (2017-2021). President of the Italian Society of Veterinary Infectivologists (ANIV) (2018-2021). Member of the Board of the Italian Society of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (Si.Di.L.V.) (2014-2019). Editor/Associate editor of Journal of Virological Methods, Acta Tropica, Virus Genes and Heliyon. Author/coauthor of more than 400 scientific manuscripts (332 on peer-reviewed international journals); h-index = 62 (Scopus). Viral infections of carnivores and ruminants are the main topics of his research, focusing on the characterization of emerging viruses and development of diagnostic assays and vaccine.

Marcus Fulde is a microbiologist whose work centers on bacterial pathogens, host–pathogen interactions, and antimicrobial resistance. He studied veterinary medicine at the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover (TiHo) and earned his PhD in microbiology in 2007. After postdoctoral research at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, he returned to the Medical School Hannover in 2011 to investigate neonatal gut infections. In 2015, he was appointed Professor of Veterinary Infection Biology at Freie Universität Berlin. Since October 2025, he has served as Director of the Institute of Microbiology at the TiHo Hannover, where he leads research on streptococci, Salmonella, zoonotic infections, and microbial adaptation processes. His work integrates molecular microbiology and immunology to advance understanding of infectious diseases and resistance development.

Antonio Martínez-Murcia, PhD, is Professor of Microbiology, Miguel Hernández University (since 1993), Orihuela, Alicante. Bachelor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Valencia 1987. Doctorate in Microbiology, University of Reading, England 1988-1992. Pioneering early scientific contributions in phylogeny and genetic testing methods of application in prokaryotic systematics. Co-author of more than 100 scientific publications, book chapters, a patented PCR method (1994), co-director of 8 doctoral theses, and the description of 16 new bacterial species. President of “The European Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians” (EAVLD), member of the “Aeromonas Working-group”, of the “International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes”, directive member of AVEDILA (Association of Veterinary Specialists in Laboratory Diagnosis), secretary of the Association of Biotechnology Companies of Alicante (AEBA). A recent study by ELSEVIER and Stanford University has placed him among the top 2% of the most cited researchers in the world in his specialty, from 2021 to the present. Member of Working-group-1 of the European Committee for Standardization CEN/TC 469 and, in Spain, of the Technical Committee for Standardization CTN-UNE 331, for the development of international standards for PCR in veterinary diagnostics. Founder and Director of the GPS® laboratories, Genetic Analysis Strategies SL., providing custom-designed ready-to-use real-time PCR kits (qPCR) applied to veterinary, and many other sectors.