Day 1 — Friday, August 7, 2026
Opening
| 11:00 – 11:30 am | Registration and poster set-up |
| 11:30 am – 12:50 pm | Lunch buffet — MSB Atrium |
| 12:50 – 1:00 pm | Opening remarks and welcome |
Keynote and Plenary Session 1
Moderator: Matt Anderson
| 1:00 – 1:45 pm | Mycology Keynote — Asiya Gusa, Duke University “Fungal stress adaptation by heat-mobile elements” |
| 1:45 – 2:00 pm | Q & A, discussion |
| 2:00 – 2:25 pm | Usher Kanjee, Washington University “Screening for essential invasion ligand/host receptor interactions in neglected malarias” |
| 2:25 – 2:40 pm | Damien Castor, University of Iowa “Discovery and characterization of mold-active antifungal compounds” |
| 2:40 – 2:55 pm | Jiawen Fu, University of Michigan “Amino acid acquisition via Toxoplasma gondii transporter ApiAT6-3 determines parasite fitness across host environments” |
| 2:55 – 3:10 pm | Coffee break |
Plenary Session 2
Moderator: Bin He
| 3:10 – 3:35 pm | Andrew Wagner, Bowling Green State University “The burning questions: understanding host–fungal interaction dynamics during thermal wound infection” |
| 3:35 – 3:50 pm | Sophia Staggers, University of Pittsburgh “Elucidating the in situ spatial organization of intraflagellar transport (IFT) at the flagellar base in Trypanosoma brucei” |
| 3:50 – 4:05 pm | Guolei Zhao, University of Michigan “A Candida auris–specific transcription factor drives clade-specific variation in adhesion, lipid metabolism, and host interaction” |
| 4:05 – 4:20 pm | Sai Sashyanth, Iowa State University “Investigating how malaria parasites build an effector protein translocon from an ancestral nutrient pore” |
| 4:20 – 4:35 pm | Coffee break |
Breakout Session 1
Moderator: Rob Striker
| 4:35 – 5:30 pm | Career Panel — MSB 1520 Nic Wheeler (Assistant Professor, UW–Eau Claire) Dan Pensinger (Scientist, Promega) Brianna Mullins (COO, Salus Discovery) Terra Theim (Program Coordinator, UW–Madison) Wendy Bedale (Scientific Writer, Food Research Institute) |
| 4:35 – 5:30 pm | Grand Challenges — MSB Atrium |
| 5:30 – 7:00 pm | Dinner — MSB Atrium |
Plenary Session 3 — Lightning Talks (3 min)
Moderator: Liza Loza
| 7:00 – 7:03 pm | Tahir Hussain, Iowa State University “PTEX components are important for Plasmodium transmission to the mosquito” |
| 7:04 – 7:07 pm | Elena Rehborg, University of Wisconsin–Madison “Investigating the role of parasite G protein–coupled receptors in sensory processes and their potential as novel anthelmintic targets” |
| 7:08 – 7:11 pm | Gabriella Matheny, Ohio State University “Histoplasma pathogenesis requires mannitol metabolism” |
| 7:12 – 7:15 pm | Georgina Agyei, University of Notre Dame “An epigenetic regulator, Set202, contributes to host adaptation and survival in the pathogenic fungus Cryptococcus neoformans” |
| 7:16 – 7:19 pm | Katie Metzner, University of Michigan “Spatial CRISPR screen identifies Toxoplasma gondii secreted effectors modulating human E3 ubiquitin ligase RNF213” |
| 7:20 – 7:23 pm | Sammy Aboagye, Rush University Medical Center “Unraveling the mechanisms of schistosome death triggered by novel thioredoxin glutathione reductase inhibitors” |
| 7:24 – 7:27 pm | Emily Simonton, University of Wisconsin–Madison “Paralogs of the Candida albicans TLO gene family form interconnected functional networks with incomplete redundancy” |
| 7:28 – 7:31 pm | Paola Ramos Irizarry, Duke University “Elucidating thermo-adaptive mechanisms and cell cycle progression in Cryptococcus deneoformans” |
| 7:32 – 7:35 pm | Fengrong Wang, Iowa State University “Cryo-EM structures reveal unique protein components in the 43S translation initiation complexes of apicomplexan parasite Toxoplasma gondii” |
| 7:36 – 7:39 pm | Nic Wheeler, University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire “Quantitative ethology of trematode miracidia” |
| 7:40 – 7:43 pm | Brynn Elson, University of Michigan “Scf1 suppresses the innate immune response to systemic Candida auris infection” |
Poster Session (with beverages)
| 7:45 – 8:45 pm | Poster session A (odd-numbered posters 1–91) |
| 8:45 – 9:45 pm | Poster session B (even-numbered posters 2–92) |
| 9:45 pm – end | Social outing @ Memorial Union Terrace |
Day 2 — Saturday, August 8, 2026
Opening
| 7:30 – 8:30 am | Breakfast — MSB Atrium |
| 8:30 – 8:40 am | Opening remarks and announcements |
Keynote and Plenary Session 4
Moderator: Mostafa Zamanian
| 8:40 – 9:25 am | Parasitology Keynote — Lamba Omar Sangaré, Texas A&M University “Mechanisms of placental barrier crossing by Toxoplasma gondii” |
| 9:25 – 9:40 am | Q & A, discussion |
| 9:40 – 10:05 am | Rafael Polidoro, Indiana University School of Medicine “A physiologically relevant mouse model of malaria-associated acute kidney injury utilizing transcutaneous GFR monitoring and expansion microscopy” |
| 10:05 – 10:20 am | Eli Cytrynbaum, University of Wisconsin–Madison “Role and regulation of dispersal in Candida albicans commensalism and pathogenicity” |
| 10:20 – 10:35 am | Tarrick Qahash, University of Notre Dame “Constructing a phenome: comprehensive QTL mapping in a Kelch13 wildtype Plasmodium falciparum genetic cross reveals alternative forms of artemisinin resistance and fitness is linked to transcriptional regulation” |
| 10:35 – 10:50 am | Coffee break |
Plenary Session 5
Moderator: Josh Beck
| 10:50 – 11:15 am | Jose Thekkiniath, Purdue University Fort Wayne “Understanding the role of parasite-derived vesicles in modulating immune responses to Babesia infection” |
| 11:15 – 11:30 am | Mark Hall, Purdue University “Application of auxin-inducible protein degradation in mouse models of invasive candidiasis” |
| 11:30 – 11:45 am | Milad Ahmed, University of Cincinnati “PDE-defined cAMP pools are functionally segregated in Trypanosoma cruzi” |
| 11:45 am – 12:00 pm | Zoë Reynolds, University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign “Investigating Cryptosporidium parvum thrombospondin protein cpTSP2 in macrogamont development” |
| 12:00 – 12:15 pm | Closing remarks |
| 12:15 pm | Lunch — MSB Atrium |