Programme

*Subject to change

Friday, 3 September

09:00 – 09:40 Opening Ceremony: Reflecting on the Origins of the Options Conference Series
   
09:40 – 11:00 Translational Session: Surveillance and Epidemiology
 
  • The Public Health Response
    Speaker: Keiji Fukuda (invited)
  • Surveillance in a Pandemic: Situational Awareness and Assessing Severity
    Speaker: Dan Jernigan
  • Role of Animal Surveillance
    Speaker: Robert Webster
11:00 – 11:30 Break - Posters and Exhibits
11:30 – 13:00 Plenary I: Immunology and Pathogenesis
 
  • Pathogenesis in Humans: Revisited
    Speaker: Sherif Zaki
  • Viral Bacterial Synergies
    Speaker: Jon McCullers
  • Adaptive Immunity
    Speaker: Lorena Brown
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch
14:00 – 15:30 Concurrent Workshops
  Scientific Session I: Pathogenesis and Systems Biology
  Scientific Session II: Mathematical Models Informing Public Health Decisions
  Scientific Session III: Funding Options for Research and Public Health
15:30 – 16:00 Break - Posters and Exhibits
16:00 – 17:30 Concurrent Workshops
  Scientific Session III: Virology and Virology Receptors
  Scientific Session IV: Epidemiology, Disease Burden and Health Economics
  Scientific Session V: Antiviral Drugs and Resistance
17:30 – 18:30 Welcome Reception



To download the full conference programme (PDF), please click here.

 

Saturday, 4 September

09:00 – 09:40 Cross-Cutting Keynote:One World–One Health–One Flu
Speaker: Ilaria Capua
09:40 – 11:00 Symposium: Influenza Transmission
 
  • Transmissibility in Animal Models
    Speaker: Terry Tumpey 
  • Transmission in Humans
    Speaker: Raymond Tellier 
  • Inter-Species Transmission and the Animal Human Interface
    Speaker: David Swayne 
11:00 – 11:30 Break - Posters and Exhibits
11:30 – 13:00 Plenary II: Virology
 
  • Molecular Determinants of Transmission and Virulence
    Speaker: Yoshiro Kaawaoka
  • Virus Receptors and Interspecies Transmission
    Speaker: Mikhail Matrosovich
  • Virus Evolution (viral fitness, gene constellations, what restricts reassortment, molecular epidemiology)
    Speaker: Gavin Smith
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch
4:00 – 15:30 Concurrent Workshops
  Scientific Session VI: Innate and Adaptive Immunity
  Scientific Session VII: Viral Surveillance and GISN
  Scientific Session VIII: Policy and Regulatory Issues
15:30 – 16:00 Break - Posters and Exhibits
16:00 – 17:30 Concurrent Workshops
  Scientific Session IX: Influenza Ecology in Birds and Poultry
  Scientific Session X: Diagnostics
  Scientific Session XI: Vaccines
17:30 – 19:30 Poster Reception



To download the full conference programme (PDF), please click here.

Sunday, 5 September

09:00 – 11:00 Cross-Cutting Keynote: Pandemic Response: Confronting the First Pandemic of the 21st Century, Lessons Learned, What Worked and What Didn't
 
  • Chairperson’s Overview
    Speaker: Nancy Cox, Tawee Chotpitayasundondh 
  • Public Health Interventions: Lessons Learned
    Speaker: Mark Loeb
  • Controversies in Clinical Care: What Worked and What Didn’t
    Speaker: Andrew Davis
  • The History of Influenza Pandemics: Lessons for the Future
    Speaker: David Morens
  • Panel Discussion with Q & A
    Speaker: Nancy Cox, Tawee Chotpitayasundondh, Mark Loeb, David Morens, and Andrew Davis
11:00 – 11:30 Break
1:30 – 13:00 Free Day (Cultural Excursions)



To download the full conference programme (PDF), please click here.

 

Monday, 6 September

09:00 – 09:40 Cross-Cutting Keynote: Systems Biology in Our Time: Vision or Mirage?
Speaker: Michael Katz
09:40 – 11:00 Translational Session: Pandemics: Dealing with the Unexpected
 
  • Research in a Pandemic Context
    Speaker: Sir John Skehel
  • Mathematical Modeling: Help or Hindrance?
    Speaker: Angus Nicoll
  • Responding to Pandemics: Scientific Theory and Responding to Reality
    Speaker: TBD
11:00 – 11:30 Break - Posters and Exhibits
11:30 – 13:00 Plenary III: Mitigating the Impact of Influenza
 
  • Antivirals: Future Options and Challenges
    Speaker: Fredrick Hayden
  • Nonpharmaceutical Interventions
    Speaker: Gabriel Leung
  • Strategies for Controlling Animal Flu and Its Implications for Human Health
    Speaker: Les Sims
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch
14:00 – 15:30 Concurrent Workshops
  Scientific Session XII: Influenza Ecology in Swine and Other (Non-Human) Mammals
  Scientific Session XIII: Novel Therapeutic Strategies
  Scientific Session XIV: Impact of the Pandemic in Our Global "Just In Time" Economy
15:30 – 16:00 Break - Posters and Exhibits
16:00 – 17:30 Concurrent Workshops
  Scientific Session XV: Viral Genomics and Evolution
  Scientific Session XVI: Transmission and Infection Control
  Scientific Session XVII: Animal Models for Influenza
17:30 – 18:30 Study Night (Poster Review)



To download the full conference programme (PDF), please click here.

Tuesday, 7 September

09:00 – 09:40 Cross-Cutting Keynote: The Art of Communicating Science
Speaker: Susan MacKay
09:40 – 11:00 Translational Session: Vaccines for Pandemic and Seasonal Influenza
 
  • Vaccines for H1N1v: Lessons Learned and Ensuring Global Access
    Speaker: David Wood
  • Assessing Antigenic Drift for Vaccine Development
    Speaker: Derek Smith
  • Improving Vaccines for Flu
    Speaker: Albert Osterhaus
11:00 – 11:30 Break - Posters and Exhibits
11:30 – 13:00 Cross-Cutting Keynote: The Way Forward: The Public Health Vision

Speaker: TBD
   
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch
14:00 – 15:30 Concurrent Workshops
  Scientific Session XVIII: Animal Human Interface
  Scientific Session XIX: Controversies in Clinical Care
  Scientific Session XX: Databases and Their Optimal Use
15:30 – 16:00 Break - Posters and Exhibits
16:00 – 17:30 Concurrent Workshops
  Scientific Session XXI: Controlling Influenza in Domestic Livestock
  Scientific Session XXII: Pandemic Mitigation: What Worked and What Did Not
Closing Remarks  



To download the full conference programme (PDF), please click here.

 

MIDAS is a practical short course on mathematical modeling of infectious diseases with the aim of providing specialist training. It is not connected to the Options VII conference.

Preparedness and Response for the 2009 Influenza Pandemic

Description
Mathematical modeling of infectious diseases has been extensively used to inform policymaking of epidemic control in recent decades (e.g. SARS, foot and mouth disease, influenza). In particular, infectious disease modeling has played a key role in advising countries on their influenza pandemic preparedness planning as well as public health response to the 2009 influenza A/H1N1 pandemic. In this short course, we will give introductory lectures on the mathematical and statistical techniques used in the research of influenza pandemic preparedness and research. We have also invited key members of national public health agencies from China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the United States to share with us their experience and insights from the 2009 influenza pandemic.

Organizers
School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics, Harvard School of Public Health

For more information, and to register, visit the course home page.