Preparing for the Next Pandemic: Evolution, Pathogenesis and Virology of Coronaviruses, AWAJI, JAPAN

Awaji Yumebutai Conference Center, JAPAN


December 2-5, 2024

Abstract deadline: October 11, 2024


Organized by:

Kei Sato, The University of Tokyo

Yunlong Cao, Peking University

Ravindra Gupta, University of Cambridge

Zhengli Shi, Guangzhou Laboratory (Virtual)

Alex Sigal, Africa Health Research Institute


We are pleased to announce the Cold Spring Harbor Asia conference on Preparing for the Next Pandemic: Evolution, Pathogenesis and Virology of Coronaviruses will be held in Awaji, Japan, located approximately 60 km west of Osaka city.

The conference will begin in the evening of Monday December 2, 2024, and will  conclude after lunch on December 5, 2024The conference will include eight oral sessions and one poster session covering the latest findings across many topics in Coronaviruses. Many talks will be selected from the openly submitted abstracts on the basis of scientific merit and relevance. Posters will be up for viewing and discussion throughout the conference. Social events throughout the conference provide ample opportunity for informal interactions. 


Conference Venue & Accommodation
Cold Spring Harbor Asia conferences in JAPAN are arranged in Awaji Yumebutai International Conference Center (https://www.yumebutai.co.jp/lang/en.html), which is part of a one-of-a-kind “environment creation” project equipped with professional conference facilities and blended into the magnificent landscape, designed by the famous architect Tadao Ando. Meeting participants are strongly recommended to stay at the conference hotel, Grand Nikko Awaji (https://www.okura-nikko.com/japan/awaji/grand-nikko-awaji/) during the meeting with the rest of the participants if possible. The accommondation booking URL will be sent to you after completion of meeting registration.


Major Topics:

1. Understanding the virological characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 variants and other coronaviruses

2. Role of viral proteins in expression of viral phenotypes

3. Novel experimental models for coronavirus studies

4. Evolutionary biology and molecular phylogenetic

5. AI and machine learning for understanding coronaviruses

6. Development of antivirals and vaccines

7. Discovery of novel coronaviruses


Keynote Speakers:

Ralph Baric, The University of North Carolina

Maria Van Kerkhove, World Health Organization


Invited Speakers: 

Jesse Bloom, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center

Wendy Burgers, University of Cape Town

Yunlong Cao, Peking University

Christian Drosten, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin

George Fu Gao, Institute of Microbiology, CAS

Ravindra Gupta, University of Cambridge

Edward Holmes, The University of Sydney

Clare Jolly, University College London

Vineet Menachery, The University of Texas Medical Branch

Melanie Ott, University of California, San Francisco

Stanly Perlman, University of Iowa

Stefan Pöhlmann, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen

Lit Man Leo Poon, The University of Hong Kong

David Robertson, University of Glasgow

Kei Sato, The University of Tokyo

Olivier Schwartz, Institut Pasteur

Zhengli Shi, Guangzhou Laboratory

Alex Sigal, Africa Health Research Institute

Cherilyn Sirois, Cell Press

Volker Thiel, University of Bern

Greg Towers, University College London

Linfa Wang, Duke-NUS Medical School

Xiangxi Wang, Institute of Biophysics, CAS

Jincun Zhao, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University



We encourage abstracts to contain new and unpublished materials. The abstracts must be submitted electronically by the abstract deadline. Selection of material for oral and poster presentation will be made by the organizers. Status (fellow's talk/poster) of abstracts will be posted on our web site as soon as decisions have been made by the organizers. 

Fellowship: 
We are eager to have as many young people as possible to attend our international meetings since they are likely to benefit most from meeting other international colleagues in the same field. A certain number of presentations by graduate students and postdocs in this conference will be selected as fellowship (USD $100-$500) awards after the meeting to off set the registration fee. Announcements of the awardees will be made during the Banquet of the meeting.


We look forward to seeing you at Awaji, Japan in December, 2024.


Sponsored by: