Schedule | Midwest Microbial Pathogenesis Conference 2026

Friday, September 25

TIME	ACTIVITY/SPEAKER	LOCATION
2-7pm	Registration	Meridian Foyer
4-6pm	Welcome Reception	Meridian Foyer
6:15-6:30pm	Opening Remarks	Meridian Ballroom
Session 1 Moderator: Dr. Julia Willett, University of Minnesota		Meridian Ballroom
6:30-7pm	Dr. Jon Allen Assistant Professor, Loyola University “A Battle on Multiple Fronts: The Use of Contact-Dependent Growth Inhibition (CDI) Toxins for Microbial Warfare and Pathogenesis”
7-7:30pm	Dr. Abby Kroken Assistant Professor, Loyola University “Lifestyles of the intracellular pseudomonads”
Session 2: Pathogen Stress Responses Moderator: Dr. Sara Zimmer, University of Minnesota		Meridian Ballroom
7:30-7:45pm	Dr. Erin Green Assistant Professor, University of Chicago “A Lon protease adaptor influences desiccation tolerance in Acinetobacter baumannii”
7:45-8pm	Kia Holt Graduate student, University of Illinois-Chicago “The Acinetobacter baumannii cyanide-insensitive oxidase resists host stresses during bloodstream infection”
8-8:15pm	Dr. Vikas Yadav Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota “Many roads to thermotolerance: Functional evolution of the pathogenesis governing calcineurin signaling cascade in fungi”
8:15-8:30pm	Dr. Yan Zhang Assistant Professor, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign “Coming in from the cold: A new avenue for exploring post-transcriptional regulation”
8:30-10pm	Socializing at the Graduate Hotel

Saturday, September 26

TIME	ACTIVITY/SPEAKER	LOCATION
7am-5pm	Registration	Meridian Foyer
7-8:15am	Breakfast	Meridian Foyer
Session 3: Pathogen Population Dynamics Moderator: Dr. Brittany Nairn, Bethel University		Meridian Ballroom
8:15-8:30am	Dr. Jay Vornhagen Assistant Professor, Indiana University School of Medicine “Beyond Blood Sugar: GLP-1 Receptor Agonism Restores Resistance to Klebsiella pneumoniae Colonization and Infection”
8:30-8:45am	Dr. Alyssa Brokaw Postdoctoral researcher, University of Wisconsin-Madison “Identification of Listeria monocytogenes virulence factors associated with adverse outcomes during perinatal infection”
8:45-9am	Dr. William de Souza Assistant Professor, University of Kentucky “Re-emergence of Oropouche virus in Latin America and the Caribbean”
9-9:15am	Dr. Carolyn Ibberson Assistant Professor, University of Tennessee “Synergistic interactions between Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-positive anaerobic cocci in wound infection”
9:15-11am	Coffee Break & Poster Session 1 (odd numbers)	Pinnacle Ballroom
Session 4: Microbiome in Health & Disease Moderator: Dr. Petra Vande Zande, University of Minnesota		Meridian Ballroom
11:15-11:30am	Dr. Aayushi Uberoi Assistant Professor, Washington University “Host-microbe interactions at the skin surface”
11:30-11:45am	Dr. Robert Keskey Assistant Professor, University of Louisville “Gut Microbial Metabolites Restrain a Coagulopathy-Inducing Virulence Program in Pseudomonas aeruginosa”
11:45am-12pm	Niladri Bhowmik Graduate Student, Oklahoma State University “Siderophore-Mediated Competition Between Cystic Fibrosis Pathogens Increases Virulence Factor Production”
12-12:15pm	Dr. Skye Fishbein Assistant Professor, Ohio State University “Resolving functional diversity in commensal Lachnospiraceae species during C. difficile infection”
12:15pm-2pm	Lunch	Meridian Foyer
12:45-2:00pm	Career Panel Moderator: Dr. Ruth Isenberg, Asst. Prof., Macalester College Dr. Robin Patel, Director, Clinical Microbiology, Mayo Clinic Dr. Petra Kohler Riedi, Sr Research Specialist, Solventum Dr. Robin Shields-Cutler, Assoc. Prof, Macalester College Dr. Tamara Mans, Faculty, North Hennepin Community Coll. Dr. Lisa Fazzino, Patent Agent, Barnes & Thornberg Law Dr. Sarah Namugenyi, Sequencing & Bioinformatics, MN Department of Health	RecWell Beacon Room
Session 5: Host Response to Infection Moderator: Dr. Michaela Cain, University of Minnesota		Meridian Ballroom
2:15-2:30pm	Dr. Caitlyn Holmes Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota “Effective macrophage clearance of Klebsiella pneumoniae requires iNOS and is independent of ROS”
2:30-2:45pm	William Wightkin Graduate Student, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign “Bacterial-mediated genotoxicity modulates the intestinal epithelial barrier”
2:45-3pm	Monisha Reddy Alla Graduate Student, University of Nebraska Medical Center “Nutritional Immunity: Is death by starvation the end game?”
3-3:15pm	Dr. Karthik Hullahalli Assistant Professor, Loyola University “How to make a liver abscess”
3:15-3:30pm	Dr. Patricia Grace Assistant Professor, University of Pittsburgh “Antibodies against Mtb: leveraging Fc-function to identify new features of immune-mediated infection control”
3:30-5:15pm	Coffee Break & Poster Session 2 (even numbers)	Pinnacle Ballroom
Session 6: Infection Control and Drug Resistance Moderator: Dr. Caroline Dunn, University of Minnesota		Meridian Ballroom
5:30-5:45pm	Dr. Krista Freeman Assistant Professor, Case Western University “Bacteriophage Therapy for NTM Infections: Opportunities and Challenges”
5:45-6pm	Amanda Blocker Graduate Student, University of Chicago “SmuA, a mucin-degrading O-glycoprotease required for anthrax disease”
6-6:15pm	Dr. Caroline Grunenwald Assistant Professor, University of Missouri “Post-translational regulation of purine metabolism in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus mediates β-lactam resistance”
6:15-6:30pm	Dr. Marc Chevrette Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison “Testing the self-resistance hypothesis: a systematic assessment of the links between biosynthetic gene clusters and antimicrobial resistance”
6:30-8pm	Dinner (not provided by conference)	Check out our Local Map for great restaurants!
	Business Dinner (by invitation only)	McNamara Alumni Center, University Hall
8-10pm	Socializing at the Graduate Hotel or Stub & Herbs

Sunday, September 27

TIME	ACTIVITY/SPEAKER	LOCATION
7:30-8:30am	Breakfast	Meridian Foyer
Keynote Lecture Moderator: Dr. Anna Tischler, University of Minnesota		Meridian Ballroom
8:30-9:30am	Dr. Andrew Camilli Professor, Tufts University “Genetic analysis of the arms race between Vibrio cholerae and phages”
9:30-10am	Closing Remarks by the 2026 MMPC Co-Chairs Announcement of the 2027 MMPC: Dr. Christina Stallings & Dr. Michele LeRoux, Washington University