Day 1 – Tuesday, January 26, 2021
Mechanisms of Resistance and Drug Discovery
7:30-8:30 Career Mentoring: Women in Infectious Disease Research
Danielle Garsin, PhD
Professor, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston
Carol Baker, MD
Professor, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston
Sara Cosgrove, MD
Professor, John Hopkins, Baltimore
8:30-8:35 Welcome
Cesar A. Arias, MD, PhD
Professor, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston
8:35-9:00 Clinical Research on Antibiotic Resistance: Antimicrobial Resistance Leadership Group
Henry Chambers, MD
Professor, University of California, San Francisco
Session 1
Conveners: Cecilia Tran, PharmD, Assistant Professor, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston
Ayesha Khan, PhD, Post-doctoral Research Fellow, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston
9:00-9:25 Novel Insights into the Mechanism of Daptomycin Action
Hans Georg Sahl, PhD
Emeritus Professor, University of Bonn, Germany
9:25-9:50 Specific Host-pathogen Interactions of Enterococcus Faecalis
William Miller, MD
Assistant Professor, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston
9:50 -10:15 Heteroresistance in Gram-negative Bacteria
David Weiss, PhD
Associate Professor, Emory University, Atlanta
10:15-10:45 Break and Vendor Show
Session 2 T32 Trainee Symposium: Texas Medical Center Training Program on Antimicrobial Resistance (TP-AMR), Emory Training Program on Antimicrobial Resistance, University of Pittsburgh Training Program on Antimicrobial Resistance
Conveners: Dierdre Axell-House, MD, Infectious Disease Fellow, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston
James Budnick, PhD, Postdoctoral Scholar, University of Pittsburgh
10:45-11:00 Experimental Evolution of Acinetobacter baumannii during Combinational Antibiotic Exposure
Francine Arroyo, PhD
Postdoctoral Research, University of Pittsburgh
11:00-11:15 Host-directed Therapeutics for the Treatment of Bacterial Infections
Jourdan Andersson, PhD
Baylor College of Medicine/Industry
11:15-11:30 Characterization of a LysR Regulator in MDR A. baumannii
Aimee Tierny
PhD Graduate Student, Emory University, Atlanta
11:30-11:45 Contribution of a Mobile Genetic Element to Adherence, Invasion and Pathogenesis of Emergent Antimicrobial Resistant Group A Streptococcus
Luis Vega, PhD
Post-doctoral Research Fellow, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston
11:45 -12:15 Key Note Lecture
Discovering New Antibiotics: State of the Art
Gerry Wright, PhD
Professor, University of McMaster, Hamilton, Canada
12:15-12:30 Break
12:30-1:05 Rapid Fire Presentations
Convener: Eva Preisner, PhD
Postdoctoral Researcher, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston
Pyoverdine Antivirulents Synergize with Gallium Nitrate to Inhibit Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Alex Deyanov, Graduate Student, Rice Univ.
Poster 19
Cellular Response of C. difficile Epidemic 027 to Metronidazole-induced Oxidative Stress
Abiola Olaitan, Postdoc, IBT, Texas A&M
Poster 20
Role of the LiaF in the LiaR-Mediated Response Against Daptomycin and Antimicrobial Peptides in Multidrug-Resistant Enterococcus faecalis (Efs)
Diana Panesso, Assistant Professor, UT Health Science Center Houston
Poster 21
Using Complex Microbial Communities to Identify Microbes with Cryptic Antibiotic Potential
Paul “Skip” Price, Assistant Professor, Eastern Michigan Univ.
Poster 22
The MacAB Efflux Pump is Involved in Protecting Serratia marcescens from Aminoglycoside Antibiotics, but not from Macrolide Antibiotics
Cecilia Sierra-Bakhshi, Graduate Student, Marshall University
Poster 23
Deciphering the Determinants of KPC-2 Carbapenemase Activity and Substrate Specificity Using Random Mutagenesis and Deep Sequencing
Zhizeng Sun, Assistant Professor, Baylor College of Medicine
Poster 24
Structural and Biochemical Studies of MurAA, an Enolpyruvate Transferase that Contributes to Cellular Fitness During Daptomycin Attack in Enterococcus faecium
Yue Zhou, Graduate Student, Rice Univ.
Poster # 25
1:05-1:45 Poster Session, Posters 1-25
1:45-2:00 Break
Session 3
Conveners: Lynn Zechiedrich, PhD, Professor, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston
Julian Hurdle, PhD, Associate Professor, Institute of Biotechnology, Texas A&M University, Houston
2:00-2:25 Multi-Dimensional Antibacterials
Anthony Maresso, PhD
Associate Professor, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston
2:25-2:50 Novel Peptides with Antifungal Activity
Danielle Garsin, PhD
Professor, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston
2:50-3:15 Novel β-lactam/β-lactamase Inhibitors
Robert Bonomo, MD
Professor, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland
3:15-3:30 Break
Session 4
Conveners: Anthony Harris and Melinda Pettigrew
NIH Antimicrobial Resistance Leadership Group (ARLG)
3:30-3:45 ARLG’s Role in Supporting Future Generations of ID Investigators
Anthony Harris, MD
Professor, University of Maryland, Baltimore
Melinda Pettigrew, MD
Professor and Senior Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Yale School of Public Health
3:45-4:00 Early Stage Investigators Seed Grants
Ritu Banerjee, MD, PhD
Associate Professor, Vanderbilt University, Nashville
4:00-4:15 ARLG Fellowship
Judith Anesi, MD
Assistant Professor, University of Pennsylvania
4:15-4:30 Trialist in Training
Michael Satlin, MD
Associate Professor, Weil Cornell Medical College, New York
4:30-4:45 Wrap-Up
Anthony Harris, MD
Professor, University of Maryland, Baltimore
Session 5
Convener: Ashok Chopra, PhD, Professor, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston
4:45-5:00 Detection of CTX-M-27 β-Lactamases on Two Distinct Plasmid Types in ST38 Escherichia coli from Several US States
Andrew Cameron, PhD
Postdoc, University of Rochester
5:00-5:15 An Outbreak of Candida auris During a COVID-19 Case Surge in Florida
Bhavarth Shukla, MD
Assistant Professor, University of Miami
5:15-5:30 Phenotypic and Genotypic Characterization of Viable Bacteria from Cattle Feedyard Dust
Maribel Leon
Graduate Student, Texas A&M Univeristy
Day 2 – Wednesday, January 27, 2021
Translational and Clinical Aspects of Antibiotic Resistance
7:30-8:30 Career Mentoring: Career Development Awards in Antimicrobial Resistance
Cecilia Tran, PharmD
Assistant Professor, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston
William Miller, MD
Assistant Professor, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston
Blake Hanson, PhD
Assistant Professor, University of Texas Health Science Center, School of Public Health, Houston
Moderators: Cesar Arias, MD, PhD
Professor, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston
William Shafer, PhD
Professor, Emory University, Atlanta
Session 6
Conveners: Tim Palzkill, PhD
Professor, Baylor College of Medicine
Charlene Offiong, PharmD
Houston Health Department
8:30-8:55 Detecting ESBL-carrying Gram-negative Bacteria: the Aftermath of MERINO
Pranita Tamma, MD
Associate Professor, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore
8:55-9:20 Genomics of Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales in the USA
Blake Hanson, PhD
Assistant Professor, University of Texas Health Science Center, School of Public Health, Houston
9:20-9:45 Whole Genome Sequencing and Detection of Resistance in the Routine Clinical Laboratory
Robin Patel, MD
Infectious Disease Specialist, Mayo Clinic, Rochester
9:45-10:15 Vendor Show and Networking
Session 7 T32 Trainee Symposium: Texas Medical Center Training Program on Antimicrobial Resistance (TP-AMR), Emory Training Program on Antimicrobial Resistance, University of Pittsburgh Training Program on Antimicrobial Resistance
Conveners: Luis Vega, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston
Aimee Tierny, PhD
Graduate Student, Emory University, Atlanta
10:15-10:30 LiaX as a Surrogate Marker of Daptomycin Susceptibility in Multidrug-Resistant Enterococcus faecium Recovered from Cancer Patients
Dierdre Axell-House, MD
Infectious Diseases Fellow, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston
10:30-10:45 Mechanism of 50S Ribosomal Subunit Recognition and Modification by the Mycobacterium tuberculosis rRNA Methyltransferase TlyA
Zane Laughlin
Graduate Student, Emory University, Atlanta
10:45-11:00 Identifying Mechanisms of Intrinsic Antimicrobial Resistance in Klebsiella pneumoniae by in vitro Evolution
James Budnick, PhD
Postdoctoral Scholar, University of Pittsburgh
11:00-11:15 Simplified Microbial Communities as a Safe Antimicrobial Treatment Option in Clostridioides difficile infections
Eva Preisner, PhD
Postdoctoral Researcher, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston
11:15-11:30 Whole Genome Sequencing Surveillance for Prevention of Antibiotic-Resistant Infections
Lee Harrison, MD
Professor, University of Pittsburgh
11:30-12:15 Key Note Lecture
Clinical Trials on Antibiotic Resistance
Vance Fowler, MD
Professor of Medicine, Duke University, Durham
12:15-12:30 Break
Convener: April Nguyen, Graduate Student, University of Texas Health Science Center Houston
12:30-1:05 Rapid Fire Presentations
Predictive Regulatory and Metabolic Network Models for Systems Analysis of Clostridioides difficile
Mario Arrieta-Ortiz, Postdoc, Institute for Systems Biology
Poster 43
Amino Acid Substitutions in Key Regions of BlaI and BlaR Correlate with the Cefazolin Inoculum Effect in Methicillin Susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA)
Sara Gomez-Villegas, Postdoc, UT Health Science Center Houston
Poster 44
Chemical Genetic Exploration of Clostridium difficile Toxin Metabolism, Toward Defining Anti-virulent Drug Targets
RaviKanthReddy Marreddy, Postdoc, Texas A&M IBT
Poster 45
Target Validation of Novel Antibiotic, Peptide-Conjugated Phosphorodiamidate Morpholino Oligomers (PPMOs)
Amila Nanayakkara, Postdoc, UT Southwestern
Poster 46
Discovery of Inhibitors of the KPC-2 Carbapenemase Using a Focused DNA-Encoded Library
Jane Park, Graduate Student, Baylor College of Medicine
Poster 47
Anti-Viral Resistance and Phage Counter Adaptation to Pandemic E. coli
Keiko Salazar, Graduate Student, Baylor College of Medicine
Poster 48
Annotation-Agnostic Metagenomic Biomarkers of Infectious Disease Susceptibility
Charlie Seto, Postdoc, Baylor College of Medicine
Poster 49
1:05-1:45 Poster Session Posters 26-28, 30-49, 62
1:45-2:00 Break
Session 8
Conveners: German Esparza, MSc
Professor, Universidad Javeriana, Bogota, Colombia
2:00-3:00 Challenging Clinical Cases on Antimicrobial Resistance: Susceptibility Interpretation
Jose Munita, MD
Associate Professor, Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile
Helen Boucher, MD
Professor of Medicine, Tufts University, Boston
Robin Patel, MD
Infectious Diseases Specialist, Mayo Clinic, Rochester
Session 9
Conveners: Henry Chambers, MD
Professor, University of California, San Francisco
Vance Fowler, MD
Professor of Medicine, Duke University, Durham
Research Focus Areas for the Antimicrobial Resistance Leadership Group
3:00-3:15 DOTS Study
Tom Holland, MD
Associate Professor, Duke University, Durham
3:15-3:30 RADICAL Study
Ephraim Tsalik, MD, PhD
Associate Professor, Duke University, Durham
3:30-3:45 Diagnostics MASTER-GC
Sarah Doernberg, MD
Associate Professor, University of California, San Francisco
3:45-4:00 “All of Us are Better Than Any of Us”: Early Insights in Global Clinical and Molecular Epidemiology of Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacterales
Minggui Wang, MD
Professor of Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, China
4:00-4:30 Vendor Show and Networking
Session 10: Microbiome Session
Conveners: Herbert Dupont, MD
Professor, University of Texas Health Science Center, School of Public Health, Houston
Charles Darkoh, PhD
Associate Professor, University of Texas Health Science Center, School of Public Health, Houston
4:30-4:55 Microbiome, Bacteria and Cancer
Robert Jenq, MD
Associate Professor, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston
4:55-5:20 Microbiome, Nutrients and Clostridioides Difficile
Robert Britton, PhD
Professor, Baylor College of Medicine
5:20-5:45 Microbiome Transplantation in Chronic Diseases
Netanya Utay, MD
Associate Professor, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston
Day 3 – Thursday, January 28, 2021
Antibiotic Stewardship
7:30-8:30 Career Mentoring: Meet the Professors, Clinical Scientist Track, MDs and PharmDs
Ed Septimus, MD
Professor, Harvard University and Texas A&M College of Medicine, Houston
Trish Perl, MD
Professor, University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas
Vincent Tam, PharmD
Professor, University of Houston, Houston
Session 11
8:30-8:35 Welcome
Ed Septimus, MD
Professor, Harvard University and Texas A&M College of Medicine, Houston
8:35-9:15 Keynote Lecture
The Role of HAI Prevention and Antimicrobial Resistance
Trish Perl, MD
Professor, University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas
9:15-9:45 Pediatrics Surviving Sepsis Campaign
Andrea Cruz, MD
Associate Professor, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston
9:45-10:15 Refocusing Antimicrobial Stewardship Efforts to Optimize Patient Outcomes
Jason Pogue, PharmD
Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, University of Michigan
10:15-10:45 Vendor show and networking
Session 12
Conveners: Kristi Kuper, PharmD
Tabula Rasa/DoseMe Rx
10:45-11:15 The Veteran Health System Experience
Matt Goetz, MD
Chief Infectious Diseases, University of California Veterans Affairs, Los Angeles
11:15-11:45 Hospitalists Role in Antimicrobial Stewardship
Scott Flanders, MD
Professor, University of Michigan
11:45-12:15 Panel: Clinical Cases
Ed Septimus, MD
Professor, Harvard University and Texas A&M College of Medicine, Houston
Daniel Musher, MD
Distinguished Service Professor, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston
Vance Fowler, MD
Professor of Medicine, Duke University, Durham
Convener: Ayesha Khan, PhD, Post-doctoral Research Fellow, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston
12:15-12:45 Rapid Fire PresentationsUrine Culture High Contamination Rates call into Question the Gold Standard for Urinary Tract Infections
Michael Hansen, Assistant Professor, Baylor College of Medicine
Poster 68
Back to The Future: Increasing Penicillin Susceptibility among Methicillin-Susceptible Staphylococcus aureus Osteoarticular Infections in Children
Jonathon McNeil, Assistant Professor, Baylor College of Medicine
Poster 69
Development of Bacteriophages with Anti-Biofilm Properties as Novel Treatment for Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections
Belkys Sánchez, Postdoc, Baylor College of Medicine
Poster 70
Non-carbapenemase Producing Organisms with CTX-M Gene Amplification Account for Majority of Invasive Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales bacteremia in Immunocompromised Patient Population
William Shropshire, Graduate Research Assistant, UT Health Science Center Houston
Poster 72
Characterization of the Antimicrobial Susceptibility Patterns and Virulence Mechanisms Promoting Staphylococcal Medical Device Infections
Jennifer Walker, Assistant Professor, UT Health Science Center Houston
Poster 73
12:45-1:30 Poster Session Posters 29, 50-61, 63-76
1:30-2:00 Panel Discussion: The Houston Response to COVID-19 Lessons Learned
Umair Shah, MD
David Persse, MD
Physician Director, City of Houston
Session 13
Convener: Kevin Garey, PharmD
Professor, University of Houston
2:00-2:30 Update on Rapid Diagnostics
Katherine Perez, PharmD
Assistant Professor, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston
2:30-3:00 HIV Treatment and Resistance
Tom Giordano, MD
Professor & Section Chief, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston
3:00-3:30 Panel Discussion: Immunization
Carol Baker, MD
Professor, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston
Flor Muñoz, MD
Associate Professor, Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston
Robert Atmar, MD
Professor, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston
3:30-3:45 Closing Remarks
Cesar A. Arias, MD, PhD
Professor, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston
Ed Septimus, MD
Professor, Harvard University and Texas A&M College of Medicine, Houston