Jairo Mendez, Luiz Alcantara, Tulio de Oliveira, Juan Miguel Pascale, Ana Riviere, Luis Sucre
16:40
to
17:00
Keynote lecture 1: Genomic pathogen surveillance in Panama, from research to public health, Gorgas Memorial Institute experience
Alexander Martinez
17:00
to
17:20
Keynote lecture 2: PAHO Genomic Surveillance Regional Networks: genomics to support public health response for the world
Juliana Leite
17:20
to
17:30
Questions & Answers
A. Martinez and J. Leite
17:30
to
19:00
Keynote lecture 3: Collaboration in South Africa to help the world on the characterisation of pandemics and epidemics
Tulio Oliveira
19:00
to
21:30
VEME Cocktail
Monday 22 AUGUST
8:30
to
9:00
Welcome and practical instructions.
L Franco and L. Alcantara
9:00
to
10:30
Introduction to next generation sequencing.
R. Scheuermann
10:30
to
11:00
Coffee break.
11:00
to
12:30
Introduction to NGS software.
R. Torrieri
12:30
to
14:00
Lunch.
14:00
to
15:00
Reference alignment and SNP calling.
C. Mavian, T. Paisie, M. Tagliamonte
15:00
to
16:00
Software practice for reference alignment and SNP calling.
C. Mavian, T. Paisie., M. Tagliamonte
16:00
to
17:00
Coffee break + poster session.
17:00
to
17:40
Keynote lecture 4: A transdisciplinary approach to pandemic preparedness
A-M Vandamme
17:40
to
18:20
Keynote lecture 5: Portable DNA sequencing: impacting the response to emerging and re-emerging viral pathogens on the ground
M. Giovanetti
Tuesday 23 AUGUST
8:30
to
9:30
De novo assembly.
H. Schmidt
9:30
to
10:30
Bacterial and Viral Bioinformatics Resource Center (BV-BRC).
R. Scheuermann.
10:30
to
11:00
Coffee break.
11:00
to
12:30
Nanopore-based sequencing for routine genomics surveillance
JE. San, V. Fonseca, H. Tegally
12:30
to
13:30
Lunch.
13:30
to
14:30
Nanopore-based sequencing for routine genomics surveillance
JE. San, V. Fonseca, H. Tegally
14:30
to
15:30
Software practice for de novo assembly.
Y. Zhang, T. Paisie, M. Tagliamonte
15:30
to
16:00
Coffee break.
16:00
to
16:50
Free computer time.
Y. Zhang, T. Paisie, M. Tagliamonte, R Kato, L Paixao and S Ortiz.
16:50
to
17:10
Keynote lecture 7: Project VigenDA: Genomic Surveillance of Dengue in the Americas.
Jorge L. Munoz
17:10
to
18:10
Keynote lecture 8: Putting ecology into virus evolution.
Edward Holmes
Wednesday 24 AUGUST
8:00
to
8:30
Keynote lecture 9: Modernizing Pathogen Surveillance with Fully Automated Genomic Sequencing and Data Ecosystem
Sasan Amini
8:30
to
9:30
Transcriptomics, RNASeq, scRNAseq.
R. Scheuermann
9:30
to
10:30
SARS-CoV-2 sequence analysis and mutation profiling with Genomedetective
H. Tegally, JE. San, K. Deforche, V. Fonseca
10:30
to
11:00
Coffee break.
11:00
to
12:30
Keynote lecture NGS: Rapid, Fully Automated Genomic Surveillance Platform, for Actionable Insights for Public Health Laboratories
Sasan Amini
12:30
to
13:30
Lunch.
13:30
to
14:30
Software practice for transcriptomics, RNASeq
R. Scheuermann, Y. Zhang
14:30
to
16:00
Free computer time
R. Scheuermann, Y. Zhang, R Kato, L Paixao and S Ortiz.
16:00
to
17:00
Coffee break + poster session.
17:00
to
17:40
Keynote lecture 10: Quick and Accurate identification of SARS-CoV-2 Variants and Lineages in Africa
H Tegally
17:40
to
18:20
Keynote lecture 11: Modeling and forecasting virus evolution and pathogenesis in the XXI century: from genomic epidemiology to single cell sequencing
M Salemi
Thursday 25 August
8:00
to
8:30
Keynote lecture 6: Molecular Epidemiology based on Ampliseq Technology: SARS-CoV 2 and Beyond.
Gonzalo Sepulveda
8:30
to
9:30
Metagenomics
H. Schmidt.
9:30
to
10:30
Antimicrobial Resistance - AMR
S. Marini
10:30
to
11:00
Coffee break.
11:00
to
12:30
Galaxy for HIV
S. Pond
12:30
to
13:30
Lunch.
13:30
to
14:30
Software practice for metagenomics
C. Mavian, H. Schmidt, M. Tagliamonte
14:30
to
15:30
Free computer time.
C. Mavian, H. Schmidt, M. Tagliamonte, R Kato, L Paixao and S Ortiz.
15:30
to
16:00
Coffee break.
16:00
to
17:30
Free computer time.
C. Mavian, M. Tagliamonte, R Kato, L Paixao and S Ortiz.
18:30
to
20:30
Course teachers dinner
Important VEME Update
2025 Workshop Cancelled
2026–2027 Secured
Dear VEME applicants,
We regret to inform you that, due to a global decline in international funding, we will need to cancel VEME2025. Despite our best efforts to secure financial support for this exceptional workshop, we were unable to obtain the necessary commitments to host the event at the Institut Pasteur de Dakar (IPD) this year.
While this is disappointing news, we are pleased to share that funding has been secured for VEME2026—and most likely for 2027 as well. The 2026 edition is expected to take place in Stellenbosch, South Africa, and the 2027 workshop in Dakar, Senegal. Both events will be supported through the CERI and IPD African Stars Fellowship Program, in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation. Unfortunately, these funds could not be applied to the 2025 event, as it was reliant on a different funding source.
We thank you for your patience and regret we cannot give you better news. We encourage you to apply again for next year’s VEME. Now more than ever, it is essential that our VEME training continues to prepare the next generation of scientists to respond to global health challenges.
