speakers

Join us as we bring together leading experts, researchers, and industry pioneers from around the world for the 8th ISIRV-AVG Meeting & 3rd IMRP 2025. This year’s distinguished lineup features some of the most influential voices in the field of respiratory virus research, antiviral strategies, and pandemic preparedness.

The below speakers will be partaking in the 8th ISIRV-AVG Meeting.

AVG Meeting PLENARY Speakers

Robert Allen

Robert Allen, Ph.D. has served as our Chief Scientific Officer since April 2023. He brings over 30 years of experience across the infectious disease space, most recently as the Chief Scientific Officer of SmartPharm Therapeutics, a subsidiary of Sorrento Therapeutics, from 2020 to 2023. During that time, he led efforts to develop gene-encoded monoclonal antibodies for COVID-19 that could be quickly adapted to respond to emerging variants of concern. He also served concurrently as Senior Vice President, Antiviral and Oncolytic Immunotherapy Development, at Sorrento Therapeutics. Prior to his time at SmartPharm Therapeutics, he held multiple senior scientific roles across the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries including Sorrento Therapeutics, SIGA Technologies, and the Oregon Translational Research and Development Institute. Robert holds a Ph.D. in Microbiology from Columbia University, an M.S. in Applied Biology from Georgia Institute of Technology, and a B.S. in Biology from Rhodes College. He has published extensively in the field of virology and completed his postdoctoral training in virology at Washington University in St. Louis and Emory University.

Benjamin Cowling

Prof Cowling is currently a Professor in the WHO Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Control at the School of Public Health at the University of Hong Kong, and a member of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics at Harvard School of Public Health. He is a consultant for the World Health Organisation and serves on the editorial boards of Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses, PLoS ONE and PLoS Currents: Outbreaks. In 2015 he was awarded a Croucher Senior Research Fellowship for his work on influenza virus epidemiology. Prof Cowling conducts research into the epidemiology of influenza and other respiratory viruses. His research team has characterized how easily seasonal and pandemic influenza viruses can spread in households, and the measures which can reduce transmission such as face masks and improved hand hygiene. His recent research has focused on the effectiveness of influenza vaccines and the complex transmission dynamics of respiratory viruses. He has authored more than 270 peer-reviewed publications.

Elena Govorkova

Dr. Elena Govorkova heads the research team on influenza antiviral studies in the Department of Host-Microbe Interactions at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA and is a leading scientist in the NIAID Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Response. She received a medical degree from Moscow Medical Academy and a PhD in Virology at the DI Ivanovsky Institute of Virology, Moscow, Russia. For a number of years Dr. Govorkova worked at The DI Ivanovsky Institute of Virology in the Influenza laboratory collaborating with the World Health Organization.

In 1993 she joined the laboratory of Professor Robert G. Webster at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Dr. Govorkova’s research interests are primarily focused on evaluation of antiviral drugs against highly pathogenic influenza viruses on enzymatic and cellular levels, as well as in the animal models. Her work has involved investigation of advantages/disadvantages of combinations of antiviral drugs that target different viral proteins and have different mechanisms of action on the reduction of influenza virus replication in vitro, protection in animals and emergence and fitness of resistant variants.

She is the author of over 150 original research publications and review papers in peer-reviewed journals, in addition to patents and awards. Dr. Govorkova is a member of a number of professional societies and is a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Antiviral Research, The Journal of Infectious Diseases, Vaccines. She is actively sharing her expertise to mentor and train graduate students and Postdoctoral Fellows.

Frederick G Hayden

Dr Hayden is Stuart S. Richardson Professor Emeritus of Clinical Virology and Professor Emeritus of Medicine at the University of Virginia School of Medicine in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA. He received his medical degree from Stanford University School of Medicine in 1973 and completed his clinical training in internal medicine and infectious diseases at Strong Memorial Hospital, University of Rochester, New York. Dr Hayden joined the faculty of the University of Virginia in 1978, became Richardson Professor in 1990, and transitioned to emeritus status in 2015. During 2006-2008 he served as a medical officer in the Global Influenza Programme at the World Health Organization, Geneva and during 2008-2012 as influenza research coordinator at the Wellcome Trust, London.

His principle research interests have been on respiratory viral infections with a particular focus on the development and application of antiviral agents for influenza, rhinovirus, and coronavirus infections. He has conducted studies of influenza antivirals for over four decades and contributed to the development of seven agents approved for clinical use in one or more countries. During the COVID-19 pandemic he collaborated with colleagues in China to conduct the first controlled trials of candidate antivirals in hospitalized patients in Wuhan and has served as a consultant to platform studies (UK CTAP- RECOVERY, ACTIV), academic groups, and industry regarding the selection of therapeutics for clinical trials. He has published over 450 peer-reviewed papers, chapters, and other articles, and co-edits the textbook Clinical Virology. In 2019 Dr Hayden received the Lifetime Achievement Award for Influenza Research from International Society for Influenza and Other Respiratory Viral Diseases.

Stacey Schultz-Cherry

Stacey Schultz-Cherry, PhD, is a Full Member and Professor in the Department of Infectious Diseases at St Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN as well as Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the St Jude Graduate School of the Biomedical Sciences. She serves as Co-Director of not only the Center for Excellence in Influenza Research and Response but also the Collaborative Influenza Vaccine Innovation Center, both research centers supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Dr. Schultz-Cherry received her PhD in Molecular and Cellular Pathology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham investigating extracellular matrix and growth factor interactions. After a short postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison studying influenza virus-induced apoptosis and cellular responses, she served as a Lead Scientist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory in Athens, GA, doing research on emerging highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses and astroviruses. She subsequently joined the faculty in the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison Medical School rising to become tenured Associate Professor before moving to St Jude Children’s Research Hospital in 2009.

Dr. Schultz-Cherry is recognized internationally for her studies on the pathogenesis of influenza and enteric viruses, especially astroviruses, in high-risk populations, and on the interactions of influenza viruses among different avian species and other animals and humans. She is the author and co-author of over 200 research articles, reviews, and book chapters and has lectured internationally. She has been a member of the editorial boards of several prominent journals and is now the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Virology.

Dr. Schultz-Cherry has served on the National Institutes of Health study sections and other of its institutional committees. She was elected President of the American Society for Virology in 2017, is the current chair of the Public and Scientific Affairs Committee for the American Society for Microbiology and is an American Academy of Microbiology Fellow. Since 2012 she has been Deputy Director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Studies on the Ecology of Influenza in Animals and Birds.

Takeki Uehara

Dr. Takeki Uehara received his DVM degree from the Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Japan, in 2002. He then joined SHIONOGI, where he has worked for over 20 years.

As a research scientist, Dr. Uehara has authored multiple publications and, in 2008, earned a PhD in Veterinary Medicine from Osaka Prefecture University. His research career includes serving as a visiting research scientist in Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

In SHIONOGI’s Development Department, Dr. Uehara serves as the Global Project Leader for baloxavir and ensitrelvir, contributing to the successful development of these antivirals. Currently, he holds the position of Corporate Officer, Senior VP at Shionogi, serving as the Global Head of Development and Regulatory Affairs.

Dr. Uehara has published approximately 100 peer-reviewed papers and has organized international workshops and educational courses at several global conferences.

Jim Wu

Dr. Jim Wu is founder, chairman and CEO of Shanghai Ark Biopharmaceutical Co. (Ark Bio). Ark Bio is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, focusing on discovery and development of innovative drugs for treatment of respiratory and lung diseases, and pediatric diseases. Its R&D pipeline covers full cycle of acute, chronic and end-stage respiratory and lung diseases, especially in the areas of respiratory viral infection, pulmonary fibrosis and pediatric diseases, with 10 drug candidates. Among them, ziresovir has a breakthrough designation, conducts the pivotal clinical trial with a promise to become first drug to treat respiratory syncytial virus infection globally.

Dr. Wu obtained his BSc from University of Science and Technology of China, his PhD from Brown University, and conducted postdoctoral research at Harvard Medical School. He worked at Schering-Plough, Valeant Pharmaceuticals, and Roche with various R&D management and leadership roles. He has co-authored >70 scientific papers, served as a member of editorial advisory board of Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, was an adjunct professor at Fudan University School of Pharmacy and Shanghai Medical College.