Monday, 14th September 25th International Pathogenic Neisseria Conference 2026

Keynote Speaker: William Shafer - Emory University School of Medicine, USA

• Gonococcal antimicrobial resistance - William Shafer
• Increasing antimicrobial resistance in Neisseria meningitidis: Ciprofloxacin resistance, macrolide non-susceptibility, and outbreak of a multi-drug-resistant strain in the United States - Rebecca L. Howie
• The Compensatory Mutation with homology to the mleN malate-lactate antiporter that increases the fitness of antibiotic resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae is a lysine transporter - Robert A Nicholas
• Emergence of cefotaxime resistance in Neisseria meningitidis clonal complex 11 is driven by a novel penA allele and loss of mtrR function - Charlene Kahler

• Increased Neisseria gonorrhoeae antimicrobial resistance trends in Thailand and emergence of XDR isolates - Adriana Le Van
• In vitro transfer and expression of azithromycin resistance from Neisseria subflava - Sunil Maharjan
• Development of a cell-to-cell transformation model to induce ceftriaxone resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae mediated by horizontal gene transfer from commensal Neisseria species - Johan H Melendez

• Development of Next-Generation Ionophoroantibiotics Targeting Metal Homeostasis in Multidrug-Resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae - Freda E.-C. Jen
• Investigating the R‑loop resolving enzyme RNase HI as a novel drug target in Neisseria gonorrhoeae - Kate Pennycuick
• An Integrated Discovery Programme for New Therapeutics Against Multidrug‑Resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae - Evgeny A Semchenko
• Development of an ethically-approved first-in-human oropharyngeal gonorrhoea controlled human infection model - James McCarthy

• Emerging azithromycin resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolated from males in central Uganda: findings from a surveillance program - Fiona Mutesi Magololo
• A small molecule and its derivatives inhibit Neisseria gonorrhoeae Type IV pilus expression and Gc survival - Kathleen R. Nicholson
• Sweet potential: Vaccination with the honeybee gut commensal Snodgrasella alvi significantly protects against Neisseria gonorrhoeae - Anthony Soc and Ann E Jerse

The Neisseria Gonorrhoea ECR Lunchtime Workshop will take place in the Level 1 Foyer.

Collect your lunch from Level 2 and take it with you to level 1 for a 12:45pm start.

• Antigen Discovery and vaccine development in Neisseria - Isabel Delany
• Meningococcal B (4CMenB) vaccination for the prevention of gonorrhoea in men who have sex with men: the GoGoVax randomised placebo-controlled trial   - Kate L Seib
• A Trial to test the Efficacy of Immunization With 4C-MenB in Preventing Experimental Urethral Infection With Neisseria gonorrhoeae - Joseph Duncan

• Utilization of an inducible porB-CRISPRi knock-down strain of Neisseria gonorrhoeae to decrease PorB expression in OMVs - Alexis H Branch
• Characterization of three integral outer membrane proteins as gonococcal vaccine candidates when delivered in a novel VesiVax® liposomal system - Kathryn A Matthias
• Selection of a gonococcal strain panel for assessing meningococcal vaccine 4CMenB induced antibodies - Viola Viviani

• Structure-guided and phylogeny-informed engineering of TbpB immunogens enables broadly protective vaccines against Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Neisseria meningitidis - Jamie Fegan
• Epitope Mining and Immunological Validation Yields Prioritized Antigens for Multi-Component Gonococcal Vaccine Development - Junaid Nazir
• How Neisseria gonorrhoeae contends with both zinc limitation and zinc excess during infection - Alison K Criss
• CARB-X and our work to address gonorrhea - Richard Alm

• Modelling the impact of introducing the 4CMenB vaccine to Australian adolescents on Neisseria gonorrhoeae transmission - Ben B Hui
• Sialic acid-mediated immunomodulation of neutrophils by Neisseria gonorrhoeae  - Alexandra Torres Maisonet
• Controlled Human Infection Studies for Gonorrhoea: Current Status and Future Directions: Outputs from the Inaugural Gonococcal Challenge Network Meeting - Susanne H Hodgson
• Impact of immunisation route on systemic and mucosal immunity induced by a gonococcal outer membrane vesicle vaccine, GonoVac - Ilaria Onofrio

• Characterization of IgG/IgM depleted pooled human complement and performance in meningococcal serogroup B human serum bactericidal activity assays - Margaret C Bash
• Surviving the Metal War: MntX-Mediated Manganese Detoxification in Neisseria gonorrhoeae - Julie Stoudenmire
• A non-canonical role for a toxin-antitoxin system in pilus variation in Neisseria gonorrhoeae - Joanna Hicks

FLASHTALK POSTERS INCLUDED IN POSTER SESSION A:

Characterization of IgG/IgM depleted pooled human complement and performance in meningococcal serogroup B human serum bactericidal activity assays - Margaret C Bash #009

Utilization of an inducible porB-CRISPRi knock-down strain of Neisseria gonorrhoeae to decrease PorB expression in OMVs - Alexis H Branch #011

A non-canonical role for a toxin-antitoxin system in pilus variation in Neisseria gonorrhoeae - Joanna Hicks #033

Controlled Human Infection Studies for Gonorrhoea: Current Status and Future Directions: Outputs from the Inaugural Gonococcal Challenge Network Meeting - Susanne H Hodgson #035

Modelling the impact of introducing the 4CMenB vaccine to Australian adolescents on Neisseria gonorrhoeae transmission - Ben B Hui #039

Emerging azithromycin resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolated from males in central Uganda: findings from a surveillance program - Fiona Mutesi Magololo #055

In vitro transfer and expression of azithromycin resistance from Neisseria subflava - Sunil Maharjan #057

Sialic acid-mediated immunomodulation of neutrophils by Neisseria gonorrhoeae  - Alexandra Torres Maisonet #061

Characterization of three integral outer membrane proteins as gonococcal vaccine candidates when delivered in a novel VesiVax® liposomal system - Kathryn A Matthias #063

Development of an ethically-approved first-in-human oropharyngeal gonorrhoea controlled human infection model - James McCarthy #067

Development of a cell-to-cell transformation model to induce ceftriaxone resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae mediated by horizontal gene transfer from commensal Neisseria species - Johan H Melendez #069

A small molecule and its derivatives inhibit Neisseria gonorrhoeae Type IV pilus expression and Gc survival - Kathleen R. Nicholson #075

Impact of immunisation route on systemic and mucosal immunity induced by a gonococcal outer membrane vesicle vaccine, GonoVac - Ilaria Onofrio #081

Surviving the Metal War: MntX-Mediated Manganese Detoxification in Neisseria gonorrhoeae - Julie Stoudenmire #093

Increased Neisseria gonorrhoeae antimicrobial resistance trends in Thailand and emergence of XDR isolates - Adriana Le Van #097

Selection of a gonococcal strain panel for assessing meningococcal vaccine 4CMenB induced antibodies - Viola Viviani #099

• Serogroup Replacement in Meningococcal Disease in Northen Ghana: NmW toNmX (2016–2020) - Abass Abdul-Karim
• Serum bactericidal assay standardization for Neisseria gonorrhoeae in High-Risk Individuals in Nairobi and Its Application to Bexsero Cross-Reactivity - Olabisi Akinlabi
• Antimicrobial Susceptibility Pattern of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and Clinical Profiles of Suspected Sexually Transmitted Infections in Selected Health Centers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - Tesfaye Andualem
• Developing ultra-rapid specific isothermal assays for Neisseria gonorrhoea including detection of SNP resistance markers to inform appropriate antimicrobial treatment - Carlos Aya-Bonilla
• A translational preclinical data package supporting Phase I/II clinical evaluation of the investigational pentavalent MenACWY-7B vaccine - Silvia Principato
• The role of the FitAB toxin-antitoxin system in Neisseria gonorrhoeae - Willow Collier
• Nothing beats the real thing: The airborne survival of Neisseria meningitidis in human and artificial saliva - Mia Dierks-Treece
• In vivo adaptation of Neisseria gonorrhoeae through phase variation of the methyltransferase ModA - Sophie Dyzenhaus
• Profiling cross-reactive immune responses to Neisseria gonorrhoeae following 4CMenB vaccination - Viola Viviani
• Surveillance-reported invasive meningococcal disease cases worldwide, 2015–2025 - Jamie Findlow
• Unravelling the role of nucleoid associated proteins in the polyploid Neisseria gonorrhoeae - Chloe Flemming
• Antigenicity in mice of multiple antigen peptides containing B-cell/T-cell epitopes of the Neisseria gonorrhoeae MafA 2/3 protein - Michael M. Girgis
• Activity of gibbilimbol analogues combined with silver nanoparticles against Neisseria gonorrhoeae - Michael M. Girgis
• Profiling lipooligosaccharide diversity of clinical Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolates - Zhenyi Gu
• Characterizing transferrin binding proteins in Neisseria animaloris - Samantha Hunter
• The role of PCR in the biological confirmation of meningitis in the Democratic Republic of Congo from 2024 to April 2026 - Ickel I KAKONGO KABANGWA
• Emergence and genomic evolution of capsular group Y ST-1466 Neisseria meningitidis (NmY) causing invasive disease and urogenital infections: a role of norB - Poonam Kanojiya
• Metal–organic frameworks as targeted antimicrobial agents against drug-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae - Ravi Kant
• Safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of meningococcal combined MenACWY-7B vaccine in healthy infants: a randomized, partially blinded phase 2 study - Pavitra Keshavan
• A Genetically Engineered OMV-based Vaccine Candidate (DX-107) for the Prevention of Neisseria gonorrhoeae Infection - Qiubin LIN
• Sustained ST-35 Complex Neisseria meningitidis Outbreak in Sri Lanka: Molecular Epidemiology, Antimicrobial Resistance Profiles, and Public Health Implications from a Three-Year Multi-Regional Surveillance - Gurumoorthy M
• Community Perceptions and Treatment-Seeking Behaviour Driving Antimicrobial Resistance in Gonorrhoea in Ebonyi State, Nigeria - Ugochukwu Chinyem Madubueze
• Understanding the Rise of Gonorrhea among Female Sex Workers in Rajshahi City, Bangladesh: Epidemiology and Implications for STI Prevention - Mohamed Mandour
• Conserved cell division antigens enabling cross-species bactericidal immunity across pathogenic Neisseria - Andreas AHM Holm Mattsson
• Differences in Urinary Host Response Signatures between Participants Susceptible and Resistant to Experimental Neisseria gonorrhoeae Infection - Michael P Motley
• A Resistance That Travels: How Informal STI Care in Peri-Urban Ghana Feeds the Global Gonorrhoea AMR Crisis - Sualah Haris Musah
• Sulfur metabolism in Neisseria gonorrhoeae  - Stacy van Niekerk
• Epidemiological patterns and surveillance gaps in primary health care-level epidemic response during the 2025 Neisseria meningitidis serogroup C outbreak in Sokoto State, northern Nigeria.   - Ikechukwu Nnaji
• Planned Phase 1 study to assess the safety and immunogenicity of a native gonorrhoea outer membrane vesicle vaccine, GonoVac, administered with and without Aluminium hydroxide in healthy UK adults - Ilaria Onofrio
• Strengthening Meningitis Surveillance Quality in West Africa: Collaborative Validation of a Standard Operating Procedure for Epidemiological Bulletins - Veronica Pinell-McNamara
• Epidemiology of Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolated from clinical specimens: temporal trends and specimen types distribution, “Institut national d’hygiène”, Togo, 2010-2026 - Adodo Yao AY SADJI
• Clonal Expansion of Azithromycin Resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae with Enhanced Virulence: A Genomic Insight from an Indian Reference Centre. - Devanshi DS Sharma
• Host Derived Acetate Imparts Antimicrobial Tolerance in Neisseria meningitidis - Divya Tripathi
• Predicting the duration of cross-protection by 4CMenB against gonorrhoea - Allison Taylor Walker
• Pulmonary Abscess Caused by Neisseria meningitidis: A Rare Case Report - Rukesh Yadav