The Institute for Immunology and Informatics (iCubed) at the University of Rhode Island hosted its sixth annual Vaccine Renaissance Conference in Providence, Rhode Island in October 2012. The event was an exciting gathering of some of the top minds in vaccine research and development.

The conference provided a one-of-a-kind forum for discussion about today’s most significant infectious disease threats. The discussions focused on a variety of topics including biodefense, animal vaccines and human health, neglected tropical diseases, vaccine vectors, and the human microbiome.

VACCINE RENAISSANCE VI – SPEAKERS:

• Sheldon Whitehouse, Senator, State of Rhode Island
• Joel McCleary, Chairman, Co-Founder, PharmAthene, Inc.
• Stephen Thomas, M.D., Director, Viral Diseases Branch, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research
• Dan Wolfe, Manager, Chemical and Biological Technologies Department, Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA)
• Phyllis Losikoff, M.D., Lifespan, Brown University Medical School
• Sam Telford, Sc.D., Professor, Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine
• Mauro P. Moraes, D.M.V., Ph.D., Manager, Vectored Vaccines, CEVA Bioimune
• Peter Burkhard, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Nanobiotechnology, University of Connecticut
• Mark Poznansky, M.D., Ph.D., Director, Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center, Massachusetts General Hospital
• Jennifer Steele, D.V.M., Ph.D., Research Assistant Professor, Division of Infectious Diseases, Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine
• Jonathan Kurtis, M.D., Ph.D., Professor, Brown University Medical School
• Steven Williams, Ph.D., Gates Professor of Biology and Biochemistry, Smith College
• Sharone Green, M.D., University of Massachusetts Medical School
• James E. Galen, Ph.D., University of Maryland School of Medicine
• Andrea Gambotto, M.D., Associate Professor of Surgery and Medicine, University of Pittsburgh
• William T. Golde, Ph.D. Plum Island Animal Disease Center
• Michael Deem, Ph.D., John W. Cox Professor, Rice University
• Melissa Torres, Filarial Research Scientist, Smith College
• Nils Pilotte, Filarial Research and Diagnostic Scientist, Smith College

WHEN:
Conference: Monday, October 15 and Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Informatics Training: Wednesday, October 17, 2012

WHERE:
Day 1-2: Hotel Providence – 139 Mathewson Street, Providence, R.I. 02903
Day 3: URI Feinstein Campus – (Downtown Providence) University of Rhode Island

CONTACT: 
Patrick Lowney
Email: plowney.uri@gmail.com
Phone: (401) 277-5408

The journal Human Vaccines & Imunotherapeutics published articles related to the conference in spring 2013. The meeting supplement included a selection of papers prepared by speakers attending this year’s gathering.