7th Annual Children’s National-NIAID Symposium: “A New Paradigm: Infection-Associated Chronic Illnesses Affecting Children”

The Children’s National Hospital-NIAID symposium is an annual event to explore recent advances in research on allergic, immunologic, and infectious diseases in children. Registration has now closed for this event, which will be held in-person at the Children’s National Research & Innovation Campus in Washington, D.C. This year’s theme, which will be explored through talks from experts, poster presentations, and other events, is "A New Paradigm: Infection-Associated Chronic Illnesses Affecting Children.”

NIAID Director Jeanne Marrazzo, M.D., M. P. H., will introduce the symposium. Dr. Marrazzo, who is internationally recognized for her research and outreach addressing women’s health and sexually transmitted infections, has led NIAID since the fall of 2023. Over the course of her career, including in her position as Director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Dr. Marrazzo has led interdisciplinary teams conducting vital biomedical research. Her work has focused on approaches to detect non-cultivatable or highly fastidious bacteria in bacterial vaginosis (BV) and oral and vaginal pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV infection in women. She has authored or edited more than 250 scientific publications. Her introduction to the symposium will explore the day’s central theme: Infection-associated chronic illnesses affecting children.

Dr. Jeffrey Cohen, Chief of the NIAID Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, will deliver a talk titled “Pathogen reactivation including latent herpesvirus reactivation.” Dr. Cohen’s research focuses on the development of vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, and therapeutics against human herpesviruses, as well as exploring the pathogenesis of viral infections.

View the full agenda for the symposium.