2023 Acute Flaccid Myelitis Symposium

01 Nov 2023, 09:00 to 04:00

Hybrid - Rangos Research Center Auditorium

Save the date for the 2023 Acute Flaccid Myelitis (AFM) Symposium on Wednesday, November 1, 2023 at the Rangos Research Center Auditorium in UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh!

Two years ago, the Richard King Mellon Foundation, wanting to continue their legacy in polio research, generously awarded our team a $1.5M grant focused on vaccine development and understanding the mechanisms behind AFM. Dr. Terence Dermody, Chair of Pediatrics, was featured on WTAE discussing the grant here. The AFM Symposium will bring together over 100 researchers, clinicians, patient families, and philanthropists from across Pitt and other institutions to highlight research on AFM. Participants will have the opportunity to network with potential collaborators. We strongly encourage participants to attend in person, though a virtual option will be available.

The event will include a continental breakfast and lunch. The symposium will have two sessions. The morning session will be tailored towards a general audience which will include our keynote speaker followed by Q&A session and a panel discussion with AFM experts. After lunch, the afternoon session will be focused on technical scientific presentations. A detailed schedule will be released closer to the symposium date.

Keynote Speaker - Peter Salk, MD

Peter L Salk, MD
President, The Jonas Salk Legacy Foundation
Professor (part-time), Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health

Peter Salk has served as president of the Jonas Salk Legacy Foundation in La Jolla since 2009 and as a visiting professor (2015-18) and part-time professor (2018-present) in Pitt's Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology.

He graduated from Harvard University in 1965 and from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1969, and undertook two years of house staff training in internal medicine at the University Hospitals of Cleveland. He then worked in his father’s laboratory at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies from 1972-1984 conducting research on the biology and immunotherapy of cancer and autoimmune disease and strategies for vaccine production. He worked again with his father from 1991-1995 on a project to develop an inactivated vaccine for HIV infection, and subsequently engaged in the introduction of AIDS treatment programs in Africa and Asia.

His current activities include educating the public regarding his father’s life and work and exploring approaches to reducing the severity of various public health problems and to improving prospects for smoothing the transition to a sustainable human future.

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2023 Acute Flaccid Myelitis Symposium

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Keynote Speaker - Peter Salk, MD

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