Bridges Digital Congress on Infectious Diseases and Vaccines

The Bridges Congress started in 2015 as an educational symposium focused on providing the latest information on HIV and viral hepatitis as well as bridging and connecting individuals and sharing expertise between Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. This year we will be changing a few things by expanding the focus to broader infectious disease and vaccines, as well as hosting the Bridges Congress as a fully digital event.

The focus of this symposium will be to provide useful education on a broader scope of infectious diseases and vaccine related topics, while providing a balance between basic scientific knowledge as well as practical medical information that can be translated to daily practice in the healthcare setting.

Day 1
February 21st - 18:00-20:00

Moderator: Prof. dr. Marc van Ranst (Leuven)

The Success Story of Vaccines – general introduction and presentation on how vaccines have changed the medical and social landscape the past decades
Speaker: Prof. dr. Marjolein van Egmond (Amsterdam)

Tailored Vaccination Strategies – providing the right vaccination strategy for the individual patient
Speaker: Prof. dr. Eric van Gorp (Rotterdam)

Vaccine Hesitancy - Lessons learned in Europe
Speaker: Dr. Alex Vorsters (Antwerpen)

Respiratory Infections in a COVID-19 Era – how COVID-19 is affecting other respiratory infections
Speaker: Prof. dr. Marc van Ranst (Leuven)

Day 2
February 22nd - 18:00-20:00

Moderator: Prof. dr. Ab Osterhaus (Hannover/Rotterdam)

What Can we Learn from Viral Hepatitis? – HBV and HCV approaches and success in addressing viral diseases
Speaker: Dr. Mark Claassen (Arnhem)

Learnings – from COVID-19 for the Next Pandemic
Speaker: Prof. dr. Ab Osterhaus (Hannover/Rotterdam)

HIV in the COVID-19 Era – What do you need to know and what has changed?
Speaker: Dr. Gilles Darcis (Liege)

Bacterial Infections and Vaccines – new and upcoming bacterial infection vaccines and therapies (e.g. bacteriophages)
Speaker: Prof. dr. Marc Bonten (Utrecht)

Belgium/Luxembourg:

For medical questions contact Suzi Lavenne at: slavenne@its.jnj.com
and for logistical questions contact Hanne Janssen at: hjanss17@its.jnj.com

The Netherlands:

For medical questions contact Faizel Sukhrie at: hsukhrie@its.jnj.com
and for logistical questions contact Marjon Brokx at: mbrokx@its.jnj.com