Provisional Agenda
(Subject to change)
Venue: Edward Boyle Auditorium, JdP, St Hilda’s College, Oxford, United Kingdom
Time Zone: All times mentioned refer to British Standard (BST) – London/GMT +01:00.
World Time Converter: https://www.worldtimebuddy.com
NB: Due to the hybrid nature of the agenda and the wide geographical locations of our speakers, it may not have always been possible to group similar presentations together.
Day 1: 23rd August
1300: Welcome & housekeeping
1330: Keynote 1: Professor Abdulrazaq Habib (V)
Consultant Physician, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, and Dean, Faculty of Medicine, Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria
Snakebite sites’ network and registry in Nigeria-I: feasibility and clinical audit of 20WBCT, antivenom therapy and outcome in routine care
Session 1: WHO/MSF leads and collaborations in snakebite prevention: Chair Dr Nick Cammack
1400: Dr David Williams
Technical Officer (Antivenoms), Vaccines & Immunization Devices Assessment Team (VAX), Prequalification Unit (PQT), Regulation and Prequalification Department (RPQ), World Health Organization, Geneva (WHO), Switzerland
Progress with the WHO Roadmap on Snakebite Envenoming
1420: Dr Anna Pintor (V)
Research Scientist, WHO GIS Centre for Health, Division of Data Analytics and Delivery for Impact, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland
Integrating snake ecology & biogeography into snakebite prevention and control strategies
1440: Professor Mike Turner
Department for the Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases, World Health Organization, Geneva
Development of target product profiles for conventional antivenoms
1500: Dr Bethany Moos
Clinician, Department for the Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases, World Health Organization (WHO), Geneva, Switzerland
Developing a set of minimum health facility requirements to treat snakebite envenoming in Africa
1520: Dr Rafael Ruiz de Castaneda
Consultant, Department for the Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases, World Health Organization (WHO), Geneva, Switzerland
Improving geographic accessibility to the first WHO-recommended antivenom: Towards an antivenom stockpile in sub-Saharan Africa
1540: Dr Julien Potet
Policy Advisor (NTDs, Vaccines), Médecins Sans Frontières Access Campaign, Geneva, Switzerland
Access to antivenoms in the developing world: a multidisciplinary analysis
1600: Refreshment break, networking and posters
Session 2: Young researchers’ forum-I: Professor Anna Nekaris
1630: Dr Laura-Oana Albulescu (V)
Centre for Snakebite Research and Interventions, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool L3 5QA, UK
High-throughput screening for the discovery of novel snakebite drugs
1645: Mr Anthony Salcedo-Prudencio (V)
Laboratorio de Biología molecular, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Perú
First insight of phylogeographic relationships and genetic diversity of the desert lancehead Bothrops pictus (Squamata, Viperidae, Crotalinae)
1700: Miss Jessica Matos Kleiz Ferreira (V)
Laboratório de Hemostase e Veneno, Instituto de Bioquímica Médica, Leopoldo de Meis and Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia de Biologia Estrutural e Bioimagem, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Pharmacological screening of venoms from five Brazilian Micrurus species on different ion channels
1715: Mr Steven Ascoet
Graduate Research Student, Université de Toulouse, Institut National Universitaire Jean-François Champollion, Albi, France
Between apoptosis and necrosis: study of U9-MYRTX-Tb1a mechanism, a cytotoxic venom peptide from the Tetramorium bicarinatum ant
1730: Mr Nicholas Richards
School of Biological Sciences and School of Pharmacy, University of Reading, Reading, UK
Effects of a tarantula, Poecilotheria regalis venom on skeletal muscle
1745: Mr Pradeep Vijayakumar
School of Pharmacy, Hopkins building, University of Reading, Reading, UK
Biochemical and functional characterisation of a scorpion, Paravaejovis confusus, venom
1800: Close of Day 1
1900: Meet and greet at Angel and Greyhound, 30 St Clement’s St, Oxford OX4 1AB
Day 2: 24th August
Session 3: Antivenoms and venom therapeutics-I: Chair Professor Juan Calvete
0900: Dr Steven Rockman (V)
Director of Technical Development and Global Process Innovation, Seqirus Ltd, Parkville, VIC, Australia
Potency testing of venoms and antivenoms in embryonated eggs: An ethical alternative to animal testing
0920: Dr Anne Ljungars
Senior Researcher, Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
Discovery of recombinant antibodies and nanobodies for treatment of snakebite in sub-Saharan Africa
0940: Dr Stefanie Menzies
Senior Research Associate, Centre for Snakebite Research and Interventions, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK
Two snakebite antivenoms have potential to reduce Eswatini’s dependency upon a single, increasingly unavailable product: results of preclinical efficacy testing
1000: Dr Marco Stazi (V)
Postdoctoral Researchers, Department of Biomedical Science, University of Padova, Italy
An Agonist of the CXCR4 Receptor is therapeutic for the neuroparalysis induced by Bungarus snake envenoming
1020: Refreshment break, networking and posters
Session 4: Chair Professor Juan Calvete
1050: Dr Tamar Ghosh (V)
Chief Executive, Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, London, UK
Funding opportunities at the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (RSTMH)
1100: Dr Matthew Lewin
Ophirex, Inc., Corte Madera, California, USA
Updating the Snakebite Severity Score (SSS) for International Use
1120: Keynote 2: Professor Ornella Rossetto
Associate Professor of General Pathology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
Botulinum Neurotoxin: a bad guy turned good by research
1150: Keynote-3: Professor Glenn King
NHMRC Principal Research Fellow and Deputy Head, Division of Chemistry & Structural Biology, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
Venoms to drugs: a cardioprotective drug candidate for use in myocardial infarction and heart transplant
Session 5: Arthropod venoms: Chair Professor Glenn King
1220: Professor Jan Tytgat
Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, Toxicology and Pharmacology, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Leuven, Belgium
A qualitative and quantitative analysis of the role of histamine in the stinging spines of the caterpillar Automeris zaruma
1240: Lunch break, networking and posters
1340: Professor Lúcia Helena Faccioli (V)
Professor Titular, Departamento de Análises Clínicas, Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Lung inflammation and cardiac dysfunction in scorpion envenomation are mediated by lipid mediators and IL-1b
1400: Professor Loïc Quinton (V)
Team Leader and Deputy Director, Laboratory of Mass Spectrometry, MolSys Research Unit, Liège Université, Liège, Belgium
Steatoda nobilis female and male: A comparative study including full body MALDI Imaging and deep venom characterization
Session 6: Venom Omics: Chair Professor Glenn King
1420: Professor Juan Calvete
Professor and Laboratory Head, Laboratorio de Venómica Evolutiva y Traslacional, Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia, Valencia, Spain
Translational venomics: Building the house from the ground up
1440: Dr Naira Ayvazian
Head of Laboratory, L A Orbeli Institute of Physiology NAS RA, National Academy of Sciences, Yerevan, Armenia
The approach of the cellular metabolomics and lipidomics to decipher viper venoms’ effect on respiration and oxidative processes
1500: Refreshment break, networking and posters
1520: Professor Bruno Lomonte (V)
Professor, Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Facultad de Microbiología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica
Micrurus diastema venomics: unveiling the dichotomic arsenals of New World coralsnake venoms
Session 7: Antivenoms and venom therapeutics-II: Dr Stefanie Menzies
1540: Professor José María Gutiérrez (V)
Professor, Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Facultad de Microbiología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica
Snakebite envenoming from a trans-disciplinary perspective: the challenges ahead
1600: Professor Jay Fox (V)
Professor and Director, School of Medicine Infrastructure, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
Envenoming Wound Pathology and Healing: New Platforms, New Questions, Some Answers
1620: Dr Esperanza Rivera-de-Torre
Postdoctoral Scientist, Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
Tiny toxic critters and how to beat them: discovery of broadly-neutralizing human antibodies against scorpions and spiders
Identification of novel therapeutics from natural product libraries
1640: Dr Michael Abouyannis
Centre for Snakebite Research & Interventions, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK
TRUE-1 preliminary findings: Trial of Repurposed Unithiol for snakebite Envenoming phase 1 (safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics in healthy Kenyan adults)
1700: Dr Helena Safavi (V)
Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark (Current address: Department of Biochemistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, USA)
Venom-inspired design of novel insulin therapeutics
1720: Close of Day 2
1900: Conference dinner
Day 3: 25th August
Session 8: Snakebite
0840: Professor Aniruddha Ghose
Professor, Chittagong Medical College, Chattogram, Bangladesh
Survey on events after sea snake bite and related morbidity and mortality among Bangladeshi fishermen in the Bay of Bengal: A pilot study
0900: Professor Sakthivel Vaiyapuri
Professor, School of Pharmacy, University of Reading, Reading, UK
Cost analysis for snakebite treatments in private tertiary care settings at Tamil Nadu, India
0920: Professor Zuhair Sami Amr
Professor, Department of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan
Snakebites in Jordan: A clinical and epidemiological study
Session 9: In silico/computational analysis: Dr Rita de Cássia Collaço
0940: Mr Magnus Bertelsen
Graduate Research Student, Biomolecular Sciences Research Centre, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK
Identification of truncatable regions in venom derived antimicrobial peptide using molecular dynamics simulations
1000: Professor Karla Patricia de Oliveira Luna (V)
Professor, Department of Biology, State University of Paraíba, Campina Grande, PB, Brazil
An online system for detecting snake venom based on a surface plasmon resonance sensor
1020: Dr Octavio Luiz Franco (V)
Dean of Graduate Studies and Research, Catholic University of Brasília, Taguatinga, Brasília, Brazil
In silico optimization of wasp toxins enables combinatorial exploration for novel compounds with anti-infectious activities
1040: Refreshment break, networking and posters
Session 10: Young researchers’ forum-II: Professor Anna Nekaris
1100: Miss Anika Salim
Graduate Research Student, School of Pharmacy, University of Reading, Reading, UK
Challenges in rescuing venomous snakes to save lives in India
1115: Miss Leah Fitzpatrick
Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK
A smorgasbord of selection: examining the evolutionary rates in mammalian toxins
1130: Mr Christoffer Sørensen
Graduate Research Student, Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
Discovery of human recombinant monoclonal antibodies against myotoxin II from Bothrops asper
1145: Mr Gnaneswar Chandrasekharuni
Centre for Herpetology/Madras Crocodile Bank Trust, Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu, India
Shared Landscapes: Preventing snakebites through outreach, data and policy
1200: Keynote-4: Dr Maria Ikonomopoulou (V)
Senior Research TALENTO Fellow and Head of the Translational Venomics Laboratory, IMDEA Food Institute, Department of Precision Nutrition and Aging, Madrid, Spain
The cytotoxicity of spider peptides is driven by lipids & cholesterol interactions
1230: Keynote-5: Dr Giulia Zancolli
Marie Curie Fellow, Department of Ecology and Evolution, Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Université de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
Evolutionary trends of venom gland gene expression
1300: Discussion and close
