Program

SUNDAY 14 SEPTEMBER 2025
17.30-18.00	Registration
OPENING EU2CURE HIV SYMPOSIUM Chaired by: Linos Vandekerckhove and Sarah Gerlo
18.00-18.30	Opening ceremony Sarah Gerlo and Linos Vandekerckhove, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
18.30-19.00	Plenary I: Future directions for HIV cure research Steven Deeks, University of California, San Francisco, USA
19.00-19.40	Plenary II: Virological and immunological insights from the 2000HIV cohort Linos Vandekerckhove, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium and Andre van der Ven, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
19.40-21.00	Opening reception

MONDAY 15 SEPTEMBER 2025
SESSION 1 - NUCLEAR IMPORT, HIV INTEGRATION AND TRANSCRIPTION Chaired by: Zeger Debyser and Carine Van Lint
08.30-09.00	Plenary III: The importance of HIV integration for HIV pathogenesis Frederic Bushman, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA
09.00-09.25	Passage of the HIV capsid cracks the nuclear pore Hans-Georg Kräusslich, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
09.25-09.50	Nuclear retention of unspliced HIV-1 RNA as a reversible post-transcriptional block in latency Anna Kula-Păcurar, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
09.50-10.00	A01 - Single virus imaging reveals a pleiotropic role for CPSF6 during HIV-1 nuclear import and infection Wout Hannes, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
10.00-10.10	A02 - Evolutionary dynamics of non-suppressible viremia during HIV therapy Aniqa Shahid, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada
10.10-10.40	Break
SESSION 2 - TISSUE AND CELLULAR LOCALIZATION OF THE VIRAL RESERVOIR Chaired by: Linos Vandekerckhove and Ashish Sharma
10.45-11.10	BACH2-driven tissue resident memory programs promote HIV-1 persistence Ya-Chi Ho, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, USA
11.10-11.35	Characterization of active HIV reservoirs in tissues Nicolas Chomont, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada
11.35-12.00	Depletion of lymph node Tfh cells in viremic infection precludes formation of Tfh reservoirs under ART Michael Betts, University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, USA
12.00-12.10	A03 - Lymph node HIV-specific CD8 T cells of HIV controllers harbour a specific transcriptomic signature Andrea Mastrangelo, University of Lausanne, Switzerland
12.10-12.20	A04 - Impaired antigen presentation by innate lymphoid cells type 3 fosters Th17 differentiation in the gut of PLWH under antiretroviral therapy Loic Schrooyen, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
12.20-12.40	Roundtable discussion on tissue and cellular localization of the viral reservoir Led by Linos Vandekerckhove and Ashish Sharma
12.40-13.55	Lunch and Postersession
SESSION 3 - VIRAL AND CELLULAR DRIVERS OF RESERVOIR SIZE AND REBOUND Chaired by: Daniel Kaufmann and Steven Deeks
14.00-14.25	Identification of the origin of viral rebound using bar coded SIV Brandon Keele, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, USA
14.25-14.50	PET CT guided tracking of viral reservoirs and viral rebound Francois Villinger, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, USA
14.50-15.10	Taking a deep dive in the link of integration sites to viral rebound Linos Vandekerckhove, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
15.10-15.30	Spatial Transcriptomics reveals persistent reservoirs in the rhesus macaque gut are associated with tertiary lymphoid organs and stress response activation Thomas Hope, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, USA
15.30-15.40	A05- Donor-specific HIV-1 proviral expression levels in infected T-cell clones Adam A. Capoferri, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, USA
15.40-15.50	A06 - Multi-Omics analysis on host and HIV reservoir heterogeneity reveals three distinct clusters: differences in total and intact HIV reservoirs are associated with distinct immune mechanisms Victoria Rios-Vazquez, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
15.50-16.20	Break
SESSION 4: EMERGING NEW STRATEGIES FOR CURE AND IMPLEMENTATION OF CURE RESEARCH IN AFRICA Chaired by: Paradise Madlala and Jan van Lunzen
16.25-16.45	Towards a block-and-lock cure combining LEDGINs and BRD4 modulators Zeger Debyser, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
16.45-17.05	Molecular mechanisms involved in the CD8+ T cell-mediated non-cytolytic silencing of HIV-1 transcription Carine Van Lint, University of Brussels, Brussels, Belgium
17.05-17.25	TFh antiviral responses and HIV persistence in lymph nodes Susan Pereira Ribeiro, Emory University, Atlanta, United States
17.25-17.50	Molecular drivers of HIV-persistence and immune dysfunction in human lymphoid tissues during ART-suppressed subtype C infection Zaza Ndhlovu, Africa Health Research Institute, Durban, South-Africa
17.50-18.15	Evaluation of 2 bNAbs plus vesatolimod in early-treated South African women with HIV-1 during ATI Thumbi Ndung’u, Africa Health Research Institute, Durban, South-Africa

TUESDAY 16 SEPTEMBER 2025
SESSION 5 - INTEGRATED ORGAN IMMUNITY Chaired by: Andre van der Ven and Sarah Gerlo
08.30-09.00	Plenary IV: The role of trained immunity in inflammation, infection and cancer Triantafyllos Chavakis, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden, Germany
09.00-09.25	Epigenetics at the apex of innate immune memory Musa Mhlanga, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
09.25-09.50	Decoding the innate immune response for an HIV cure Rafick-Pierre Sekaly, Emory University, Atlanta, USA
09.50-10.00	A07 – Host environment is shaped by HSPCs of two distinct mechanisms that lead to elite controllers Joao Lucas Lima Calandrini de Azevedo, Emory University, Atlanta, USA
10.00-10.10	A08 – Inducing innate immune memory in PBMC-derived myeloid cells of ART-suppressed PLWH enhances lymphoid cell cross talk and reduces the viral reservoir Sinu P. John, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, USA
10.10-10.40	Break
SESSION 6 - IMMUNE SIGNATURES OF HIV CONTROL AND PERSISTENCE Chaired by: Sarah Fidler and Maria Salgado
10.45-11.10	Deciphering effective HIV-specific T cell immunity through multiomics Daniel Kaufmann, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
11.10-11.35	Persistent changes in immune status in early-treated PLWH Sarah Gerlo, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
11.35-11.45	A09 – The molecular basis of residual HIV-specific CD4 T cells dysfunction in people with HIV on antiretroviral therapy Tristan Born, CHUV, Lausanne, Switzerland
11.45-11.55	A10 - Autologous neutralising antibodies and effective CD8 T-cells maintain long-term HIV-1 post-intervention control Katie Fisher, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
11.55-13.35	Lunch
SESSION 7 - EPIGNETIC CONTROL OF ADAPTIVE IMMUNITY AND EXHAUSTION Chaired by: Rafick Sekaly and Jolien Vermeire
13.40-14.10	Plenary V: Epigenetic control of adaptive immunity and exhaustion Benjamin Youngblood, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, USA
14.10-14.35	Multi-omic atlas reveals cytotoxic phenotype and ROS-linked metabolic quiescence as key features of CTL-resistant HIV-infected CD4 + T-cells Brad Jones, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, USA
14.35-15.00	CCR5-modified stem-like CD4 T cells cooperate with the host milieu to drive control of SIV upon ATI Ashish Sharma, Emory University, Atlanta, USA
15.00-15.10	A11 - IL-10 and IFN signaling drive epigenetic states that are associated to HIV persistence or refractoriness to infection in memory CD4⁺ T cells Diego A. Diaz-Dinamarca, Emory University School Of Medicine, Atlanta, USA
15.10-15.20	A12 - CITE-seq and single-cell TCR sequencing characterize HIV-1-specific cytotoxic CD4+ T cells in post-intervention controllers Giacomo S. Frattari, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
15.20-15.50	Break
SESSION 8 – Satellite and Improving antibody approaches for an HIV Cure? Chaired by: Ole Søgaard and Brad Jones
15.55-16.25	Satellite session: Gilead’s HIV cure research: advancing innovation through global collaboration Elena Vendrame, Gilead Sciences, USA
16.25-16.50	HIV bNAbs - challenges and opportunities Florian Klein, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
16.50-17.15	Monitoring broadly neutralizing antibody activity during antiretroviral therapy of HIV-1 Alexandra Trkola, Institute of Medical Virology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
17.15-17.35	Roundtable discussion on host immunity and reservoir control Led by Ole Søgaard and Brad Jones
19.00 - 22.00	Speakers dinner

WEDNESDAY 17 SEPTEMBER 2025
SESSION 9 - CURE TRIALS IN HUMANS Chaired by: Casper Rokx and Jan van Lunzen
08.30-08.55	Recent results of the RIO study Sarah Fidler, Imperial College London, London, UK
08.55-09.20	HIV GAG x CD3 soluble TCR bispecific reduces the active HIV reservoir in a Phase 1/2 trial Lucy Dorrell, Immunocore, Oxford, UK
09.20-09.35	From participants to partners: the critical role of community advisory boards in HIV cure research Charlotte Vanden Bulcke, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium
09.35-09.55	Centering community voices: integrating lived experience into socio-behavioral research and HIV cure trial design Karine Dubé, University of California, San Diego (UCSD), San Diego, USA
09.55-10.05	A13 - Target cell-specific nanobody-engineered AAV vectors for in vivo gene therapy approaches for HIV cure Martin V. Hamann, Leibniz Institute of Virology (LIV), Hamburg, Germany
10.05-10.15	A14 - Durable viral load remission in SHIV-infected macaques after vectored delivery of monoclonal antibodies Jose M. Martinez-Navio, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, USA
10.15-10.35	Break
SESSION 10 - CLINICAL FACTORS CRITICAL FOR ATI Chaired by: Steven Deeks and Karine Dubé
10.40-11.05	Risks and rewards of analytical treatment interruptions – experiences from clinical trials Ole Søgaard, Aarhus University Hospital and Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
11.05-11.30	The journey of PLHIV in an ATI trial: an MD perspective Marie-Angélique De Scheerder, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium
11.30-11.55	Patient related factors to consider during ATI's European AIDS Treatment Group (EATG)
11.55-12.15	Roundtable on trial design and acceptability Introduced by Casper Rokx and led by Steven Deeks and Karine Dubé
12.15-12.25	Prize for best poster presentations & closing remarks Linos Vandekerckhove, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium