The 11th National Infection Biology (NIB) meeting 2025 was held between 20-21 October at Aronsborg Konferenshotell in Bålsta. This meeting brought together over 120 researchers from across Sweden to explore cutting-edge developments in infection biology. The program featured a dynamic mix of presentations from leading scientists in Sweden and abroad, as well as young researchers, fostering inspiring discussions and valuable networking opportunities.

Group photo of the participants at the 11th National Infection Biology (NIB) Meeting 2025, held at Aronsborg Konferenshotell in Bålsta. Photo: staff at Aronsborg.

Participants represented all major Swedish universities, from Umeå University in the north to Lund University in the south. The aim of the meeting was to promote cross-disciplinary research and to strengthen the national network of scientists working within infection biology and microbiology.

The scientific program showcased research across a wide range of sub-disciplines, including:

• Bacteriology
• Virology
• Eukaryotic Microbiology
• Host-microbe interactions
• Environmental Microbiology
• Data Driven Life Science

In addition to the talks, poster walks provided a platform for participants to present and receive feedback on their own research projects in an informal and engaging setting.

Award winners for Best Short Talk or Poster Presentation at NIB 2025! Congratulations to our top presenters, Miren Urrutia Iturritza (Stockholm University), Elin Svedholm (Uppsala University), and Nuno Rufino De Sousa (Karolinska Institutet)! Photo: Ingrid Söderbergh.

Thank You to All Participants, Co-organizers, and Sponsors!

This meeting was co-organized by:

We gratefully acknowledge the support of our funding sources and sponsors:

The tenth National Infection Biology and Swedish Microbiology Meeting 2023 was held at Aronsborgs Konferenshotell in Bålstad during 23-24 October 2023. The meeting was co-organized by the National Doctoral Programme in Infections and Antibiotics (NDPIA; www.ndpia.se) and the Swedish Society for Microbiology (SFM; www.mikrobiologi.net/sfm) with the aims to enhance cross-disciplinary research in Sweden within the fields of infection biology and microbiology as well as to strengthen the Swedish network of scientists within these fields.   

Microorganisms are found nearly everywhere, and their versatile activities greatly impact our health and the environment, both positively and negatively. Microbiology research, now an integrative science, is vital for addressing certain global ambitions and challenges, such as disease prevention and treatment, maintaining our health, and protecting our food and water. 

Current state-of-the-art microbiology research in Sweden will be presented by invited speakers within the sub-disciplines of bacteriology, virology, eukaryotic microbiology, host response, and environmental microbiology. In addition, 16 oral presentations have been selected from the poster abstract submissions and poster walks are organized allowing participants to present and discuss their work with other participants. 

Many thanks to the organizing committee 

The 9th National Infection Biology / Swedish Microbiology meeting and NDPIA’s 6th network meeting took place on 16-18 November 2021 with a total of 237 registered participants, including 39 poster presenters and 15 speakers. The meeting was a virtual meeting that provided a broad vision on current state-of-the-art microbiology techniques and research in Sweden.

During the 21st Century, the influence of microorganisms on our health and the environment has been realized in ways, both good and bad, that have never been imagined before. Microbiology is now an integrative science where discoveries in microbial pathogenesis may impact studies of various other sub-disciplines of microbiology, such as microbial ecology. Microbiologists now understand that microorganisms utilize similar molecular mechanisms for diverse purposes in both the host and the environment.

Keynote speakers were Swedish researchers working within the sub-disciplines of bacteriology, virology, parasitology, host response, clinical infection biology, environmental microbiology, zoonotics, and new methods.

Online lecture on “Developing alpaca nanobodies for the fight against COVID-19”, given by Gerald McInerney, professor at Karolinska Institutet. Photo: Hanna Eriksson.

Online lecture on “Registered-based sepsis research-opportunities and limitations”, given by Malin Inghammar, associate professor at Lund University. Photo: Hanna Eriksson.

Online lecture on “Host-directed therapy against respiratory tract infections”, given by Peter Bergman, clinical microbiologist/ immunodeficiency physician at Karolinska Institutet. Photo: Hanna Eriksson.

To involve junior researchers, additional talks were selected from the submitted poster abstracts.

Poster presentations were organized as digital poster walks that allowed participants to present and discuss their work with other participants.

Students were presenting and discussing their work during online poster walk sessions. Photo: Hanna Eriksson.

The meeting was co-organized by the National Doctoral Programme in Infections and Antibiotics (NDPIA) and the Swedish Society for Microbiology (SFM) with the aims to enhance cross-disciplinary research in Sweden within the fields of infection biology and microbiology as well as to strengthen the Swedish network of scientists within these fields.

Many thanks to the organizing committee:

Debra Milton, Umeå University, NDPIA National Director
Helen Wang, Uppsala University, NDPIA
Pontus Nordenfelt, Lund University, NDPIA
Edmund Loh, Karolinska Institutet, NDPIA
Keira Melican, Karolinska Institutet, Representative for SFM
Per-Eric Lindgren, Linköping University, SFM Vice-Chair

The fifth network meeting of the National Doctoral Programme in Infections and Antibiotics (NDPIA) was held in Aronsborg (Bålsta) 14-15 October, 2019. For this meeting, NDPIA joined forces with the National Infection Biology network (NIB) and Swedish Society for Microbiology (SE-SFM) to co-organize a National Infection Biology Meeting. The long-term goal is for these networks to continue organizing joint NIB-meetings biannually. The meeting had more than 110 participants. This co-organized meeting provided an opportunity for Swedish researchers working within infection biology to network and to find collaborators with common interest.

The keynote speakers included:

• Raphael Valdivia (Chlamydia, Duke University, USA),
• Jost Enninga (micropinosomes Salmonella, Institute Pasteur, France),
• Joan Geoghegan (S. aureus and atopic dermatitis, Trinity College, Ireland),
• Eva Gluenz (Leishmania, University of Oxford, UK),
• Susanne Häussler (Pseudomonas aeruginosa transcriptional profiling, Rigshospitalet, Denmark),
• Helle Krogh Johansen (P. aeruginosa adaptation, Rigshospitalet, Denmark),
• Mikael Sellin (Salmonella invasion, Uppsala, Sweden), and
• Boris Striepen (Cryptosporidium, University of Pennsylvania, USA).

Along with the invited speakers, 22 short oral presentations on a wide-variety of topics in infection biology were selected. The posters (61) were presented via poster walks, which included a short presentation of the main findings of the work followed by a short question period. The poster walks were done in groups and lots of lively conversations were heard in the poster areas.

A “Meet the Speakers” event was scheduled after the lunches. Small groups of students met with speakers of their choice to discuss scientific topics or experiences. This provided a wonderful opportunity for students to meet face-to-face with outstanding researchers to discuss infection biology.

The abstract book for the meeting can be found following this link.

Many thanks go to the organizing committee:

Oliver Billker, Umea University, MIMS
Eva-Maria Diehl, Umea University, MIMS/NDPIA
Ake Forsberg Umea University, NDPIA
Fredrik Kahn, Lund University, NDPIA
Keira Melican, Karolinska Institutet, SFM
Barbara Sixt, Umea University, MIMS
Staffan Svard, Uppsala University, SFM

The next co-organized NIB meeting is tentatively scheduled to be held in the Fall of 2021.
See you there!

On 1-2 October, NDPIA organised a workshop on English writing and a joint meeting, the 4^th NDPIA/SFM Day, together with “Svenska föreningen för mikrobiologi” (SFM) at Hjortviken Konferens, beautifully located at the west coast outside of Gothenburg. Young investigators provided very positive feedback to NDPIA/SFM management with comments like ”excellent workshop, a great poster walk, good networking opportunities” and suggest that similar events should be organised in the future.

Continue reading Appreciated NDPIA workshop and 4th NDPIA/SFM Day 1-2 October 2018 →