Dr. Claire Janoir
(Université Paris-Saclay, France)
Professor of Bacteriology at the Faculty of Pharmacie, Université Paris-Saclay, France. She is the Head of the academic research team BaPS, Micalis Institute (INRA- AgroParisTech-Université Paris-Saclay). The research developed in her laboratory aims to understand the interactions between the host and the enteropathogenic bacteria C. difficile, which leads to the colonization of the host. She has combined several approaches and research topics over time: characterization of surface-associated proteins involved in colonization and their regulation by environmental conditions; global analysis of bacterial adaptation to the host by genome-wide in vivo transcriptomics. (Link BIOSKETCH)
Dr. Gerly Anne Brito
Federal University of Ceará – UFC, Ceará, Fortaleza, Brazil
Full Professor of Medical Histology and Embryology – PROPAP at UFC. Her research focuses on inflammatory responses, specifically in the gastrointestinal tract, from mouth to the intestines. Her specialty is C. difficile infection, with a focus on the species pathogenesis. She also studies the effects of C. difficile toxins on epithelial cell apoptosis, neutrophil morphology and function, the Wnt/beta catenin pathway, the adenosine/adenosine deaminase system, glutamine alanyl-glutamine regulation, and the role of enteric glial cells. (Link BIOSKETCH)
Dr. Sahil Khanna
(Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA)
Professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Mayo Clinic, Rochester. Director the Consultative Gastroenterology Interest group, C. difficile Clinic, Fecal Microbiota Transplantation program and C. difficile related Clinical Trials at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA. (Link BIOSKETCH)
Dr. Rodrigo Otávio Silva
Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Brazil
Professor of Bacterial Diseases in the School of Veterinary Medicine at Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Minas Gerais, Brazil. His research focuses on clostridial infection in humans and animals, specifically with C. difficile, as well as disease epidemiology in humans and animals. (Link BIOSKETCH)
Dr. Marjorie Pizarro-Guajardo
(Texas A&M University, College TX, USA)
Assistant Research Scientist at Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States. Dr. Pizarro-Guajardo has a great experience in the C. difficile spore biology, focusing on the characterization of the spore external layer and its interaction with the host, in in vitro models of epithelial monolayer cells and in vivo, in the animal model of infection in mice. (Link BIOSKETCH)
Dr. Anne Gonzales-Luna
(Department of Pharmacy Practice and Translational Research, University of Houston College of Pharmacy, TX, USA.)
Fellowship at the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Translational Research, University of Houston College of Pharmacy, Houston, TX, United States. Dr. Gonzales- Luna is an expert on antimicrobial resistance in C. difficile infection (CDI), including resistance to both the antimicrobials that cause CDI and the antimicrobials that are used to treat CDI. (Link BIOSKETCH)
Dr. Patrizia Spigaglia
(Department of Infectious disease, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Italy)
Department of Infectious disease, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy. Dr. Spigaglia works with anaerobic bacteria, particularly C. difficile infection (CDI). She is the Operational Contact Point for Microbiology-Healthcare associated infection (HAI)-C. difficile infection (CDI) in Italy and her laboratory serves as Central Laboratory Service for CDI. She is primarily interested in antibiotic resistance, virulence factors and host-pathogen interactions. (Link BIOSKETCH)
Dr. Vincent Young
(Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Michigan University, MN, USA)
Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Michigan University, Detroit, MI, United States. Dr. Young has great knowledge in studying the pathogenesis of enteric bacteria. His projects involve studies in the pathogenesis of C. difficile in humans and murine models of infection. He is an active participant in the Human Microbiome Project and has been at the interface of classic microbial ecology and bacterial pathogenesis. For the past 15 years, he has been conducting research that investigates the role of complex microbial communities in the health and disease of their mammalian hosts. (Link BIOSKETCH)
Dr. Evelyne S. Girão
(University Hospital Walter Candido- Federal University of Ceará - Fortaleza, Brazi)
Dr. Evelyne S. Girão, Ph.D. in Infectious Diseases at the University of São Paulo (FMUSP). She graduated in Medicine at the Federal University of Ceará (UFC), Brazil in 1997, completed a residency in Clinical Medicine at the University Hospital Walter Cantídio of the UFC and a residency in Infectious Diseases at the Hospital das Clinicas of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of São Paulo – FMUSP. She has a Master’s degree (2006) and a Doctorate (2021) in Infectious and Parasitic Diseases. (Link BIOSKETCH)
Dr. César Rodriguez
(University of Costa Rica, Centro de Investigación en Enfermidades Tropicales [CIET], Costa Rica)
University of Costa Rica, Centro de Investigación en Enfermedades Tropicales (CIET), Costa Rica. Dr. Rodriguez is a clinical microbiologist trained in Costa Rica, with a Ph.D in Microbial Ecology (Germany) from the University of Osnabrück and a postdoctoral fellowship in Infection Biology at the Karolinska Institute (Sweden). Since 2006, He has been a researcher at the Research Center for Tropical Diseases (CIET) at the University of Costa Rica, and currently serves as its director. His research focuses on the ecology of Clostridioides sp. outside clinical settings, with a particular emphasis on characterizing toxigenic isolates from pristine soil at the functional level. Additionally, Dr. Rodriguez is interested in exploring the role of mobile genetic elements in bacterial adaptation, using antibiotic resistance as a model. (Link BIOSKETCH)
