<figure class="image image-style-align-left"><img src="https://ceirr-public-website-static-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/Roll_up_banner_final_cropped_325x582_7b00b0408f.png?updated_at=2023-09-22T17:04:08.985Z"><figcaption>CEIRR-branded vertical banner.</figcaption></figure>The 2nd CEIRR Annual Network Meeting was a successful event, with over 300 members from the Network attending to discuss and share their research on influenza and SARS-CoV-2. The meeting took place at the Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor Hotel from August 28th - 31st. The first day of the Annual Network Meeting featured five breakout sessions that covered data management, clinical research, risk assessment, communications, and computational modeling. The Influenza Data Processing and Communication Center (<a href="https://www.ceirr-network.org/centers/idpcc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">iDPCC</a>) hosted its first Communications Trainee, Dr. Rabeh El-Shesheny of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital CEIRR (<a href="https://www.ceirr-network.org/centers/sjceirr" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">SJCEIRR</a>), through the CEIRR Training Program, who helped develop the first communications breakout session on Best Practices in Giving a Scientific Presentation. The first day ended with each of our six CEIRR research Centers hosting individual networking sessions.Over the course of the Annual Network Meeting, we heard from over 50 session speakers sharing cutting-edge research across topics related to Immunology, Human-Animal Interface &amp; Animal Surveillance, Molecular Virology &amp; Pathogenesis, Human Cohorts &amp; Surveillance, and Immunology &amp; Vaccines.&nbsp;Two poster sessions highlighted the strong trainee presence at the meeting, with over 165 poster presentations and nearly 50 flash talks. This year, two awards for outstanding posters went to Nahara Vargas-Maldonado, a PhD candidate from Dr. Anice Lowen's lab (<a href="https://www.ceirr-network.org/centers/emory-ceirr" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Emory-CEIRR</a>), and Dr. Faten Okda, a post-doctoral fellow from Dr. Richard Webby's lab (<a href="https://www.ceirr-network.org/centers/sjceirr" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">SJCEIRR</a>), from Poster Sessions 1 &amp; 2, respectively.In addition to scientific research sessions, a variety of social and networking activities took place throughout the meeting. Each CEIRR Center competed for a Teambuilding Prize and earned points from CEIRR trivia, a trading card networking game, outstanding poster presentation nominations, and more! Graduate student Nahara Vargas-Maldonado (<a href="https://www.ceirr-network.org/centers/emory-ceirr" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Emory-CEIRR</a>) took home the prize for most trading cards collected, while SJCEIRR won the Center Competition prize! Overall, it was an amazing experience that brought together experts from around the world who are passionate about advancing our understanding of influenza, SARS-CoV-2, and other emerging viruses with pandemic potential.We look forward to another successful meeting in 2024!

Meetings

Conferences

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SJCEIRR

Emory-CEIRR

iDPCC

CIDER

Penn-CEIRR

JH-CEIRR

The second CEIRR Annual Network Meeting featured over 50 speakers, 165 posters, and plenty of networking among researchers.

CEIRR conference and outreach materials, including postcards, stickers, pins, and topic cards.

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CEIRR Annual Network Meeting 2023

<figure class="image image-style-align-left"><img src="https://ceirr-public-website-static-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/Walter_200x200_636fe39eca.png?updated_at=2023-03-21T15:24:03.651Z" alt="Walter Orenstein, MD"><figcaption>Walter Orenstein, MD, retires from Emory University.</figcaption></figure>Dr. Walter Orenstein’s remarkable contributions to public health and immunization have left an indelible mark on the global healthcare landscape. With a career that spans multiple decades, Orenstein’s dedication to vaccine research, policy development, and vaccination program implementation has undoubtedly saved countless lives. His pioneering efforts have significantly advanced our understanding of infectious diseases and their prevention, making him a true luminary in the field.Orenstein’s leadership at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was instrumental in establishing comprehensive vaccination strategies that have protected generations from preventable illnesses. He served as the Director of the US Immunization program from 1988-2004, and during his time at the CDC, he was involved in groundbreaking vaccination efforts that included the smallpox eradication program in India and multiple measles vaccination programs in the US. As part of his measles vaccination research, Dr. Orenstein was a key contributor to the development of new methodologies for estimating vaccine effectiveness, case classifications, and the establishment of multiple national programs and initiatives, such as the Childhood Immunization Initiative, the Vaccines for Children Program, the National Immunization Survey, and the National Vaccine Advisory Committee. Orenstein’s tireless immunization advocacy efforts have helped bridge the gap between scientific research and public health policy, ensuring that the benefits of vaccines can be more accurately assessed and are accessible to all regardless of socioeconomic background.In 2004 Dr. Orenstein, concluded a distinguished 26-year career at the CDC and embarked on a prosperous and influential academic journey at Emory University. During his tenure at Emory, Dr. Orenstein held a myriad of primary, secondary, administrative, and clinical appointments across multiple academic institutions, corporations, and non-profit foundations. His positions include being the Director of Emory’s Program for Vaccine Policy and Development since 2011, Principal Investigator (PI) of the Emory-UGA Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance (<a href="https://www.niaidceirs.org/centers/emory-uga-ceirs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Emory-UGA CEIRS</a>) from 2014-2021, and PI for the Emory Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Response (<a href="https://www.ceirr-network.org/centers/emory-ceirr" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Emory-CEIRR</a>) since 2021, until transitioning to co-PI in April of this year. As PI/co-PI of Emory-UGA CEIRS and Emory-CEIRR, Orenstein helped guide the Centers’ initiatives to develop new and improve existing influenza control measures, as well as build an international collaborative network for influenza research and surveillance. These efforts led to the publication of over 150 peer-reviewed scientific articles since 2014 across nine institutions on three continents that span a broad range of topics related to influenza and coronavirus vaccines, surveillance, transmission, pathogenesis, and immunology.The impact of Dr. Orenstein’s work on public health and the advancement of vaccines and vaccination programs is incalculable. His nearly 50-year career has seen him hold the position of Assistant Surgeon General of the United States Public Health Service (USPHS), serve in more than 100 committee, chair, or advisory roles for a multitude of institutions and foundations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, help organize nearly 40 national and international conferences, and act as an editor or reviewer for over 50 journals. His research spanned the development of new vaccine effectiveness assessment methodologies, approaches to vaccine hesitancy, and how to maximize vaccine access and uptake, among others. As a prolific researcher, Orenstein published approximately 270 primary research articles and more than 100 scientific review articles and book chapters. Dr. Orenstein is especially proud of his role as co-editor for the last six editions of Plotkin’s Vaccines (previously Vaccines) which serves as the leading textbook in his field.Beyond his professional accomplishments, Orenstein’s commitment to mentorship and knowledge dissemination has inspired countless individuals to pursue careers in public health and epidemiology. He has dedicated countless hours to training the next generation of healthcare leaders and, as a result, his insights continue to shape the way we approach disease prevention and health promotion today. “Mentors who are both brilliant and compassionate are rare. Walt’s unique combination of these traits and his knowledge of vaccines and vaccine policy made him the ideal mentor for me as a mid-career professional with a full-time job,” said Erin-Joi Collins, Center Coordinator for Emory-CEIRR.&nbsp;“Shortly after my MPH thesis defense, I changed my career trajectory and started working for Walt. He continues to be my mentor and hopefully will be for future endeavors to come.” In celebrating Walter Orenstein’s work, we recognize not only his exceptional achievements but also his enduring influence on the well-being of communities around the world. His legacy will undoubtedly continue to inspire advancements in public health for years to come, as we build upon the foundation he has laid.&nbsp;&nbsp;To learn more about Dr. Orenstein's legacy, read <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21645515.2019.1682360" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">“Vaccines don’t save lives. Vaccinations save lives.”</a>

Recognition

Walt Orenstein retires from Emory University on September 1st, 2023, leaving a legacy on the global public health landscape.

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Dr. Walter Orenstein Retires, Leaves a Lasting Legacy

Since late 20211, the U.S. has experienced a Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N1 outbreak that has caused <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/avian-flu-summary.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">tens of millions of commercial poultry deaths</a>. This outbreak has highlighted the importance of animal surveillance efforts, one of the foremost strategies to understand circulating avian influenza viruses and anticipate the potential threats they pose. As part of these surveillance efforts, research scientists annually deploy to areas that have historically exhibited a high prevalence of influenza among susceptible avian species to collect samples from the bird populations, estimate infection rates, and monitor strain evolution. &nbsp;<figure class="image image-style-align-right"><img src="https://ceirr-public-website-static-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/Adobe_Stock_Red_Knot_shorebird_350x233_e67d306a1b.png?updated_at=2023-07-21T13:27:51.422Z"><figcaption>A Red Knot walking on a sandy shoreline.</figcaption></figure>Delaware Bay is a known hotspot within the U.S. for influenza surveillance. Fecal samples are collected yearly between May and June from the shorebird populations as they migrate to the Arctic from South America. Research teams from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the lead institution for the St. Jude Center for Excellence in Influenza Research and Response (<a href="https://www.ceirr-network.org/centers/sjceirr" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">SJCEIRR</a>), have visited Delaware Bay for influenza surveillance for over 3 decades. The researchers collect fecal samples to both better understand the currently circulating influenza viruses within the migrating shorebird population and to try to stay a step ahead of potentially deadly, or highly pathogenic, viral strains. The Delaware Bay surveillance efforts are led by multiple SJCEIRR teams within <a href="https://www.stjude.org/webby" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Dr. Richard Webby's lab</a> and are headed by Dr. Pamela McKenzie and Dr. Lisa Kercher. These efforts were recently highlighted in a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/04/health/birds-flu-h5n1.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">New York Times (NYT) article</a>2. The St. Jude research teams collaborate with wildlife biologist Dr. Lawrence Niles, who leads conservation efforts through his <a href="https://wildrestore.com/who-we-are/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Wildlife Restoration Projects</a> company, to pinpoint the best collection sites and retrieve their samples. The researchers then utilize various strategies to identify droppings from the appropriate bird species, collect the fecal samples using a swab, store it in a cooler, and analyze each sample back in their Memphis laboratories after the birds have continued their migration. The SJCEIRR researchers described 2023 as a “unique year” to the NYT, donning extra personal protective equipment due to the possibility that avian H5N1 influenza, also called A(H5N1), may show up in their Delaware Bay samples for the first time. As of the most recent collection efforts in 2022, HPAI A(H5N1) has not yet been detected in the South American area that the birds migrate from. The anticipated presence of HPAI A(H5N1) in their avian samples also spurred the SJCEIRR teams to boost their collection efforts from the standard 600 samples to a goal of 1000 samples. &nbsp;The samples collected from Delaware Bay may be integral to our understanding of what makes the currently circulating A(H5N1) viruses so pathogenic, as well as allow the research community to observe how the viruses are evolving. These data also make studies, such as the one <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-38415-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">recently published in Nature Communications</a> by Dr. Richard Webby’s group, possible. Kandeil et al. describe how the highly pathogenic A(H5N1) viruses of clade 2.3.4.4b, which are responsible for the recent outbreak, began to rapidly expand in wild and domestic bird populations across multiple continents, including North America, starting in 2021.3 Notably, as the A(H5N1) clade 2.3.4.4b spread intra-continentally in North America it mixed with other influenza viruses circulating in North American wild birds, which broadened the lineage’s genetic and phenotypic diversity. The authors express that concern is warranted based on their findings that a variety of HPAI A(H5N1) 2.3.4.4b viruses exhibited increased disease severity with neurologic involvement in the two mammalian models tested, ferrets and mice. Still, the receptor binding properties of the tested viruses show strong avian specificity, greatly inhibiting their ability to spread to mammals. Such work highlights the importance of collecting animal surveillance samples as it can enhance our understanding of how influenza viruses are changing over time, enables scientists to correlate genetic characteristics with disease phenotypes, and informs our estimations of the risks the viruses pose in causing widespread disease.&nbsp;The unglamorous work conducted by the SJCEIRR teams at Delaware Bay are integral to our understanding of both the current state and potential future trajectory of HPAI viruses. Although the number of humans that have been infected with HPAI viruses remains low, and human to human transmission has not been observed, the high fatality rates associated with human infections makes constant surveillance of emerging HPAI imperative, especially of those that show the proclivity to infect mammalian species.4 Furthermore, the rapid expansion and diversification of HPAI A(H5N1), and specifically clade 2.3.4.4b, suggests it is vitally important that researchers keep close watch through animal surveillance sample collection and analysis. Surveillance efforts ensure that the risk to public health, as well as domestic animal industries, are well understood and guidance is continually updated.&nbsp;&nbsp;To read more about the HPAI H5N1 surveillance, check out:&nbsp;1. <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/avian-flu-summary.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">H5N1 Bird Flu: Current Situation Summary | Avian Influenza (Flu) (cdc.gov)</a>&nbsp;2. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/04/health/birds-flu-h5n1.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The New York Times: For These Bird Flu Researchers, Work Is a Day at the Very ‘Icky’ Beach</a>3. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-38415-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kandeil A et al. (2023) Rapid evolution of A(H5N1) influenza viruses after intercontinental spread to North America. Nat Commun 14, 3082. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38415-7</a>4. <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/spotlights/2022-2023/h5n1-technical-report_june.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Technical Report: Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Viruses (cdc.gov)</a>&nbsp;

In The News

Influenza

Surveillance

Outbreaks

St. Jude CEIRR (SJCEIRR) researchers increase surveillance efforts of Delaware Bay shorebirds in response to the recent outbreak and reported rapid evolution of avian H5N1 influenza in North America.&nbsp;

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Influenza surveillance efforts in North American shorebirds is the start to understanding and anticipating threats posed by A(H5N1)

<figure class="image image-style-align-left"><img src="https://ceirr-public-website-static-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/Bat_350x197_932bbacc1c.png?updated_at=2023-06-22T19:30:49.892Z"><figcaption>SARS-CoV-2 likely originated from bats.</figcaption></figure>Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, substantial interest and research effort has been devoted to identifying the origins of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The complex transmission and genetic recombination dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 between multiple host species, namely bats, pangolins, and humans, has complicated the process of definitively identifying the virus’ origins. Gaining a better understanding of the origin and evolution of SARS-CoV-2 may provide valuable information about future pandemic risk and reveal important details and mechanistic insight into how the disease emerged.&nbsp;<a href="https://publichealth.uga.edu/faculty-member/justin-bahl/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Dr. Justin Bahl</a>, a CEIRR investigator from the Center for Influenza Disease &amp; Emergence Research (<a href="https://www.ceirr-network.org/centers/cider" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">CIDER</a>), was a contributing author on a study conducted by Dr. Jonathan Arnold’s laboratory, a professor from the University of Georgia’s Department of Genetics. The study was recently published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-32622-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Scientific Reports</a>.<figure class="image image-style-align-right"><img src="https://ceirr-public-website-static-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/Pangolin_350x233_d36dccf761.png?updated_at=2023-06-22T19:30:27.327Z"><figcaption>Pangolins are a likely reservoir of SARS-CoV-2.</figcaption></figure>The authors constructed a consensus species tree, a summary of the evolutionary relationships among a group of species based on the analysis of multiple genes. &nbsp;The consensus tree was based on 11 genes from human, bat, and pangolin beta coronavirus samples that were collected before April 2020. The tree was built using maximum likelihood, a method that evaluates possible tree topologies based on the probability of observing the given sequence data. &nbsp;To map the recent exchange of genetic material between bat and pangolin beta coronaviruses before it was transferred to humans, the authors employed coalescent theory, a strategy to improve understanding of the genetic diversity patterns in populations and species. From their investigations, the authors were able to reconstruct an ancestral sequence of human SARS-CoV-2, which differed by only two nucleotides from the Wuhan sequence isolated during the original human outbreak. Additionally, they estimated the time to most recent common ancestor as December 8th, 2019, and determined that it originated from bats. &nbsp;The evidence presented by the authors suggests repeated and ongoing zoonotic transfers between bats and pangolins which highlights the animals’ potential to serve as reservoirs for future zoonotic beta coronavirus transfer to humans. The findings also improve our understanding of the recent evolutionary history and likely origins of SARS-CoV-2 and provide new insight into the viral selection dynamics early in the pandemic. Finally, their work illustrates an advanced phylogenetic approach to assess&nbsp;SARS-CoV-2 origins from multiple genes and a new framework of human SARS-CoV-2 mutation classification.<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-32622-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Yang J et al. (2023) The species coalescent indicates possible bat and pangolin origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. Scientific Reports. 13 (1): 5571.</a>

Publication Commentary

SARS-CoV-2

Phylogenetics

A new study published in Scientific Reports provides new evidence on the origin and evolution of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

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