While the recent Nor’easter brought some colder April weather to the Baltimore area, several staff of the Department were enjoying a bit warmer weather at the 28th Annual Clinical Virology Symposium and Annual Meeting of the Pan American Society for Clinical Virology in Daytona Beach. Pathology members included Linda Gluck, Amy Greer, Mike Forman, Ijeoma Ikpeama, Johanne Decoste, Estelle Piwowar-Manning, Paul Richardson, Dr. Alex Valsamakis, and Shauna Wolf.
Top, from left to right, Paul Richardson, Mike Forman, Johanne Decoste, Ijeoma Ikpeama;
bottom, left to right, Estelle Piwowar-Manning, Linda Gluck, and Shauna Wolfe
Medical technologists, research biomedical scientists, pathologists, and primary care physicians provided meaningful discussions on issues related to viral infections. The symposium featured plenary sessions, posters sessions, panel discussions, and case studies including sessions on Infection Control, Safety in the Virology Lab, Chronic Hepatitis, GI Viral Infections, HPV Infections, Next Gen Sequencing, Use of ARVs as Prep, Mathematical Modeling and HIV Vaccine, and US Varicella program. Dr Alex Valsamakis once again led the attendees in a rousing game of Virology Jeopardy!
The group was also able to see an old Pathology friend, Marcela Echavarria, Ph.D., from Argentina, who spent several months in the Microbiology Lab and the HIV Specialty Lab many years ago.
Dr. Valsamakis and Mike Forman presented two abstracts:
Dried Urine Spots for Detection and Quantification of Cytomegalovirus (CMV) in Newborns
and
Diagnostic Performance of Two Highly Multiplexed Respiratory Virus Nucleic Acid Tests in a Pediatric Cohort
http://pascv.ivdnews.net/public/search?q=forman
The HPTN Network Laboratory team presented one abstract:
A Comparison of the Manual Bio-Rad GS HIV Combo Ag/Ab EIA and the Abbott Architect HIV Ag/Ab Combo Assay
http://pascv.ivdnews.net/public/search?q=piwowar-manning
It was a very enjoyable learning experience for each of us, and we look forward to next year’s meeting in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Estelle Piwowar-Manning, MT(ASCP), SI
Deputy Director
HIV Prevention Trials Network Laboratory