Preliminary Program 2026
| SUNDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 2026 | |
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| 17.00-18.00 | Registration |
| OPENING EU2CURE HIV SYMPOSIUM Chaired by: Linos Vandekerckhove and Sarah Gerlo |
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| 18.00-18.30 | Opening ceremony Sarah Gerlo and Linos Vandekerckhove, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium |
| 18.30-19.00 | Plenary I: CAR-T cell therapy towards an HIV Cure Steven Deeks, University of California San Francisco, USA |
| 19.00-19.30 | Plenary II: Building an EU2Cure network: progress made over the last two years Casper Rokx, Erasmus MC, the Netherlands |
| 19.30-21.00 | Opening reception |
| MONDAY 21 SEPTEMBER 2026 | |
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| SESSION 1 – THE VIRAL LANDSCAPE Chaired by: Eric Verdin and Linos Vandekerckhove |
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| 08.30-09.00 | Plenary III: Chromatin structure and epigenetic regulation of gene expression in relation to innate antiviral immunity Musa Mhlanga, Radboudumc and Radboud University, the Netherlands |
| 09.00-09.25 | Immune mechanisms of HIV-1 persistence Mathias Lichterfeld, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, USA |
| 09.25-09.50 | Chromosomal accessibility and HIV-1 integration Marina Lusic, Heidelberg University, Germany |
| 09.50-10.15 | Silencing HIV: Rethinking the Path to a Cure Melanie Ott, Gladstone Infectious Disease Institute, USA |
| 10.15-10.45 | Break |
| SESSION 2 - CELLULAR AND TISSUE RESERVOIRS Chaired by: Susan Pereira Ribeiro and Tine Struyve |
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| 10.50-11.15 | Delineating the germinal center cellular and molecular landscape in HIV Constantinos Petrovas, Institute of Pathology, University Hospital of Lausanne, CHUV and University of Lausanne, Switzerland |
| 11.15-11.40 | Dissecting transcriptionally active HIV reservoir Alexander Pasternak, Amsterdam UMC, the Netherlands |
| 11.40-12.05 | HIV reservoir in the brain Mary Kearney, National Cancer Institute, NIH, USA |
| 12.05-12.15 | A01 - Fractional HIV expression in T-cell clones that persist on ART is inversely correlated with clone size Adam A. Capoferri, National Cancer Institute, USA |
| 12.15-12.25 | A02 - N-803-Associated Reservoir Decline Is Reflected in Reduced Inducible HIV Outgrowth and Evidence of Autologous Antibody Pressure in ACTG A5386 Rachel Scheck, Weill Cornell Medicine, USA |
| 12.25-13.40 | Lunch and Postersession PART 1 |
| SESSION 3 - THE LIFESPAN OF HIV Chaired by: André van der Ven and Sarah Fidler |
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| 13.45-14.15 | Plenary IV: What is longevity? Eric Verdin, Buck Institute for Research on Aging, USA |
| 14.15-14.40 | HIV persistence in children Nicolas Chomont, Université de Montréal, Canada |
| 14.40-15.05 | HIV, inflammation and aging Peter Hunt, University of California San Francisco, USA |
| 15.05-15.15 | A03 - Persistent microglial HIV infection drives neuroinflammation despite viral suppression: insights from rapid postmortem brain biopsies and in vitro microglia models Nanouk Zuidmeer, University Medical Center Utrecht (UMCU), The Netherlands |
| 15.15-15.25 | A04 - Proteomic Immune Aging Signatures Reveal HIV-Driven Immune Senescence and cART Modulation Yubo Zhang, Radboud University Medical Center, the Netherlands |
| 15.25-15.50 | tbd Hangfei Qi, ViiV Healthcare |
| 15.50-16.20 | Break |
| SESSION 4: VIRAL AND CELLULAR DRIVERS OF RESERVOIR SIZE AND REBOUND Chaired by: Mathias Lichterfeld and Maria Salgado |
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| 16.25-16.50 | HIV persistence in people who received bNAbs Katie Fisher, Aarhus University, Denmark |
| 16.50-17.15 | tbd Susan Pereira Ribeiro, The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, New York and Emory University School of Medicine, USA |
| 17.15-17.25 | A05 - Early memory T cell skewing and polyfunctional HIV-1-specific CD4 T cell responses distinguish post intervention controllers from non-controllers Lisa Loksø Dietz, Aarhus University, Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark |
| 17.25-17.35 | A06 - IL-15 Superagonist N-803, Reduces the Intact HIV Reservoir and Shifts CD8⁺ T cell Toward Stem-Like, Less Exhausted and Polyfunctional States Itzayana Miller, Weill Cornell Medicine, USA |
| TUESDAY 22 SEPTEMBER 2026 | |
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| SESSION 5 - INNATE IMMUNITY Chaired by: Sarah Gerlo and Nicolas Chomont |
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| 08.30-09.00 | Plenary V: Leveraging Innate Immunity Michael Gale, University of Minnesota, USA |
| 09.00-09.25 | Sex Differences and Innate Immunity in HIV Reservoir Maintenance Xu Yu, Ragon Institute of Mass General Brigham, MIT and Harvard, USA |
| 09.25-09.50 | NK cell education as mediator for reservoir control Asier Sáez‑Cirión, Institut Pasteur, France |
| 09.50-10.00 | A07 – Myeloid ICAM-1 and MIF Signaling Coordinate Trained Immunity–Driven HIV Reactivation and Clearance in PBMCs from People Living with HIV Sinu P. John, National Institutes of Health, USA |
| 10.00-10.10 | A08 – Virological determinants of HIV-1 control following Analytical Treatment Interruption in Early-Treated PLWH with HLA B35(53)-Bw4TTC2 Genotype (ANRS RHIVIERA 01) Gilbert Mchantaf, CHU & Université d’Orléans, Université Paris Cité, Institut Cochin Paris, France |
| 10.10-10.40 | Break |
| SESSION 6 - ADAPTIVE IMMUNITY Chaired by: Steven Deeks and Ole Søgaard |
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| 10.45-11.10 | Virus-specific T cell compartmentalization across lymphoid organs Marcus Buggert, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden |
| 11.10-11.35 | CD8+ T cell functional capacity towards control Appay Victor, University of Bordeaux, France |
| 11.35-12.00 | Dynamic antigen expression and cytotoxic T cell resistance in HIV reservoir clones Brad Jones, Weill Cornell Medicine, USA |
| 12.00-12.10 | A09 – Clinical and immunological insights of combining T- and B-cell therapeutic HIV vaccines in chronic-ART treated people with HIV Igor Moraes-Cardoso, IrsiCaixa, Institute for Health Science Research Germans Trias i Pujol (IGTP), Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain |
| 12.10-12.20 | A10 - Durable Suppression of Viremia by Lipid Nanoparticle-Formulated mRNA Encoding for a Highly Potent HIV-1 Neutralizing Antibody Sophie Sayettat, Institute of Virology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Germany |
| 12.20-13.35 | Lunch and Postersession PART 2 |
| SESSION 7 - TARGETTED THERAPY AND MECHANISMS OF CONTROL Chaired by: Casper Rokx and Jan van Lunzen |
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| 13.40-14.05 | Reservoir control in LoViRet and IciStem Maria Salgado, IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute & ICREA, Spain |
| 14.05-14.30 | Viral control in NHP Guido Silvestri, Emory University, USA |
| 14.30-14.45 | 1, 2 and counting: the Berlin patients Christian Gaebler, Berlin Center for HIV Cure (BeCURE), Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany |
| 14.45-15.00 | Patient 60 Ashish Sharma, Emory University, USA |
| 15.00-15.15 | Oslo Patient Marius Trøseid, Oslo University Hospital, Norway |
| 15.15-15.45 | Break |
| SESSION 8 – CENTRAL REGULATION AND HOST ENVIRONMENT IMPORTANT FOR ANTIVIRAL RESPONSES Chaired by: Ashish Sharma and Amit Singh |
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| 15.50-16.20 | Pleanary VI: Rejuvenating hematopoiesis for control of cancer and HIV Thomas Höfer, GermanCancer Research Center & Heidelberg University, Germany |
| 16.20-16.45 | Bile Acids : epigenetic regulators of trained immunity and HIV persistence Rafick-Pierre Sekaly, Emory University, USA |
| 16.45-16.55 | A11 – Multiomic profiling of HIV-specific CD4 T-cells reveals molecular scars of immune impairment Tristan Born, CHUV, Switzerland |
| 16.55-17.05 | A12 - Inhibition of cell survival pathways decreases the long-term reservoir in ART-suppressed, SIV-infected rhesus macaques Deanna A Kulpa, Emory University, USA |
| 17.05-17.15 | A13 - A Tumor-like Virus Microenvironment Sustains HIV/SIV Persistence in Gastrointestinal Tissue Reservoirs Ramon Lorenzo-Redondo, Northwestern University, USA. |
| 17.15-17.40 | Molecular mechanisms involved in the CD8+ T cell-mediated non-cytolytic silencing of HIV-1 transcription Carine Van Lint, University of Brussels, Belgium |
| 19.00-22.00 | Speakers dinner |
| WEDNESDAY 23 SEPTEMBER 2026 | |
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| SESSION 9 - NEW mRNA-BASED APPROACHES TOWARDS A CURE Chaired by: Maaike De Cock and Brad Jones |
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| 08.30-08.55 | Reservoir-targeted latency reversal and passive antibody delivery: mRNA approaches to an HIV cure Edward Kreider, University of Pennsylvania, USA |
| 08.55-09.20 | Immunomodulatory mRNA-LNP strategies Michael Betts, University of Pennsylvania, USA |
| 09.20-10.00 | Pannel discussion: European scientific sovereignty in biomedical research: the HIV cure case tbd |
| 10.00-10.25 | Gilead Pipeline in CURE Research tbd |
| 10.25-10.55 | Break |
| SESSION 10 - PROGRESS IN CURE STUDIES & IMMUNIE MODULATION Chaired by: Marie-Angélique De Scheerder |
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| 11.00-11.25 | Elevated IFN signalling in INRs is linked to anti-CMV IgG titers and epigenetic reprogramming Rob Arts, Radboudumc, the Netherlands |
| 11.25-11.50 | Potential mechanisms of viral control following an immunologic intervention with analytical treatment interruption in early treated African women Thumbi Ndung’u, Africa Health Research Institute, South Africa |
| 11.50-12.15 | An update on results from RIO Arm B Tamara Elliott, Imperial College London, UK |
| 12.15-12.30 | Prize for best poster presentations & closing remarks Linos Vandekerckhove, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium |