In a post-pandemic world, emerging positive-strand RNA viruses continue to cause significant threat to human health. Major gaps persist in understanding how positive-strand RNA viruses cause disease, and broad-spectrum vaccines, antivirals, and therapies remain limited for preventing or dampening disease against many of these viral threats.

Attendees of this Keystone Symposia conference on Positive-Strand RNA Viruses: Mechanisms of Viral Pathogenesis, Host Immunity, and Countermeasures will learn about current and emerging basic-science approaches to positive-strand RNA virus infection biology and how these insights guide countermeasure development. The conference will highlight cutting-edge research on positive-strand RNA virus emergence, pathogenesis mechanisms, host factors that counter disease, novel vaccine strategies, and antiviral approaches.

This conference will be held jointly with the Keystone Symposia conference on Biosecurity and Infectious Diseases: Pandemic Threats, Frontline Research, and the Path Forward, creating a timely and first-of-its-kind forum for virologists to discuss how to harmonize and set standards in high-containment virology research, biosafety, and transparency with the broader public in mind. Its innovative design will support forward-looking discussions on the future of virology while convening a diverse audience across career stages and sectors, including graduate students, postdoctoral trainees, junior through senior faculty, and early- and late-career professionals from industry and government.

The conference will offer a unique opportunity to meet and network with international leaders in the field from Asia, Europe, and North America in a smaller, dynamic, and more intimate conference setting compared to larger meetings. Given the recent role of positive-strand RNA viruses in global pandemics, conference attendees will help shape conversations around setting global biosafety standards in high-risk infectious disease research and learn about the most recent research updates of positive-strand RNA viruses.

Unique Career Development Opportunities

This meeting will feature a Career Roundtable where trainees and early-career investigators will have the opportunity to interact with field leaders from across academic and industry sectors for essential career development advice and networking opportunities. Find out more about Career Roundtables here: https://www.keystonesymposia.org/diversity/career-development-initiatives