Programme

*Subject to change

Friday, 3 September

09:00 – 09:40 Opening Ceremony: Welcome from Congress and isirv Chairs
Speaker: Malik Peiris
  Welcome from Hong Kong Food and Health Bureau Representative
Speaker: York Chow
  Reflecting on the Origins of the Options Conference Series
Speaker: Kennedy Shortridge
09:40 – 11:00 Translational Session: Surveillance and Epidemiology
Convention Hall A/B/C
 
  • The Public Health Response
    Speaker: Sylvie Briand
  • Surveillance in a Pandemic: Situational Awareness and Assessing Severity
    Speaker: Daniel 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
  Workshop 1A: Pathogenesis and Systems Biology
  Workshop 1B: Mathematical Models Informing Public Health Decisions
  Workshop 1C: Funding Options for Research and Public Health
15:30 – 16:00 Break - Posters and Exhibits
16:00 – 17:30 Concurrent Workshops
  Workshop 2A: Virology and Virology Receptors
  Workshop 2B: Epidemiology, Disease Burden and Health Economics
  Workshop 2C: Antiviral Drugs and Resistance
17:30 – 19:30 Welcome Reception
Convention Foyer

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
 
  • Antivirals: Challenges and Future Decisions
    Speaker: Fredrick Hayden
  • Non-pharmaceutical Interventions
    Speaker: Gabriel Leung
  • Strategies for Controlling Animal Flu and Its Implications for Human Health
    Speaker: Les Sims 
11:00 – 11:30 Break - Posters and Exhibits
11:30 – 13:00 Plenary II: Virology
 
  • Molecular Determinants of Transmission and Virulence
    Speaker: Yoshiro Kawaoka
  • 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
14:00 – 15:30 Concurrent Workshops
  Workshop 3A: Innate and Adaptive Immunity
  Workshop 3B: Viral Surveillance and GISN
  Workshop 3C: Policy and Regulatory Issues
15:30 – 16:00 Break - Posters and Exhibits
16:00 – 17:30 Concurrent Workshops
  Workshop 4A: Animal Influenza
  Workshop 4B: Diagnostics
  Workshop 4C: Vaccines I
17:30 – 19:30 Poster Reception: Group I
Convention Foyer and Ballroom A

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: Tawee Chotpitayasundondh 
  • Surveillance During the Pandemic: Lessons Learned
    Speaker: Andrew Hayward
  • Publid Health Interventions: Lessons Learned
    Speaker: Mark Loeb
  • Controversies in Clinical Care: What Worked and What Did Not
    Speaker: David Hui
  • History of Influenza Pandemics: Lessons for the Future
    Speaker: Nancy Cox
  • Panel Discussion with Q & A
    Speaker: Nancy Cox, Tawee Chotpitayasundondh, Mark Loeb
11:00 – 11:30 Scholarship Awards Ceremony
11.30 - 12.00 isirv Annual General Meeting
13:30 – 19:00 Free Day (Cultural Excursions)

The Options conferences have a history of immersing its delegates in the local cultural and once again we invite all full conference delegates to participate in an extraordinary off site networking event. These events are complimentary for full conference delegates, paid students and guests registrations.

The Po Lin Monastery and the Big Buddha is the heart of the Buddhist culture in Hong Kong. The Monastery was first built by three visiting monks from mainland China in 1906. The main temples have brightly painted vermillion interiors with dragons and other Chinese mythical figures, housing three magnificent bronze statues of Buddha that represent the past, present and future. With the increase number of monks and their active participation in community affairs, today, the Po Lin Monastery is one of the biggest and most active monasteries involved in charity and educational works in Hong Kong.

The magnificent Big Buddha took a full ten years to complete, and is now the tallest outdoor seated Buddha in the world. The statue gazing serenely upon the Monastery, offers an intense and powerful and effect on the visitors.

The tour to Po Lin Monastery will be arranged on cable car, offering a visually spectacular journey. The 25-min ride offers views of the South China Sea, rolling grassland slopes of North Lantau Country Park. It takes visitors from the hustle and bustle of the city, to the serene and natural surrounds of the country parks of Hong Kong.

 


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 Political Reality
    Speaker: Jim Bishop
11:00 – 11:30 Break - Posters and Exhibits
11:30 – 13:00 Plenary III: Mitigating the Impact of Influenza
 
  • Transmissibility in Animal Models
    Speaker: Terry Tumpey
  • Transmission in Humans
    Speaker: Raymond Tellier
  • Inter-Species Transmission and the Animal Human Interface
    Speaker: David Swayne
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch
14:00 – 15:30 Concurrent Workshops
  Workshop 5A: Vaccines II
  Workshop 5B: Novel Therapeutic Strategies
  Workshop 5C: 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
  Workshop 6A: Viral Genomics and Evolution
  Workshop 6B: Transmission and Infection Control
  Workshop 6C: Animal Models for Influenza
17:30 – 18:30 Poster Reception - Group II
Convention Foyer and Ballroom A



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 Concurrent Mid-Day Workshops
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch
14:00 – 15:30 Concurrent Workshops
  Workshop 7A: Animal Human Interface and Zoonotic Influenza
  Workshop 7B: Controversies in Clinical Care
  Workshop 7C: Pandemic Mitigation: What Worked and What Did Not
15:30 – 16:00 Break - Posters and Exhibits
16:00 – 17:30 Closing Plenary Symposium: New Horizons - The Way Forward
 
  • Basic Research on the Influenza Virus for the Next Decade
    Speaker: Adolfo Garcia-Sastre
  • Pursuing New Avenues in the Anit-Influenza Therapy
    Speaker: Stephen Ludwig
  • The Public Health Vision
    Speaker: Michael Osterholm
Adjournment Closing Remarks
Speaker: Malik Peiris 



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
Models of Infectious Disease Agent Study (MIDAS) is a collaboration of research and informatics groups to develop computational models of the interactions between infectious agents and their hosts, disease spread, prediction systems, and response strategies. This practical short course is hosted by a MIDAS-funded Center for Excellence at Harvard and the Area of Excellence program for influenza research at The University of Hong Kong. The aim of this course is to provide public health professionals and academics a practical introduction to mathematical modeling of infectious diseases. It is not connected to the Options VII conference.

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.