Events Dates: March 11–15, 2025 25th International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID) in the Pacific Rim

The 25th International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID) in the Pacific Rim was held in Tokyo from March 11 to 15, 2025. This event was co-hosted by AMED and NIAID, with support from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). It also marked the 60th anniversary of U.S.-Japan Cooperative Medical Sciences Program (USJCMSP).

The theme of the 25th EID Conference was "Global Partnerships for Protecting Against Infectious Diseases." The five-day conference was a resounding success, with 607 registered participants from 21 countries. Over the five days, the total number of on-site attendees reached 1,605, while online participants totaled 933.

There were lively discussions and interactions among researchers from various countries, enhancing collaboration. Young researchers, especially from Asian countries, were notably present and actively participated in panel meetings and poster sessions.

The first day of the conference took place on March 11 and featured a welcome session to commemorate the 60^th anniversary of the program. The welcome session included to commemorate the 60^th anniversary of the program. The welcome session included opening remarks from five individuals. Dr. Yoshinao Mishima, President of AMED; Ms. Katherine Elizabeth Monahan, Deputy Chief of Mission to Japan from the U.S. Embassy; and Dr. Masahiro Sasaki, Senior Assistant Minister for Crisis Management and Medical Technology, Minister’s Secretariat, MHLW of Japan, delivered their addresses at the venue. Dr. Tara Schwetz, Deputy Director of NIH, and Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, Director of NIAID, delivered remarks via pre-recorded videos.

*From left to right; Dr. Yoshinao Mishima, President of AMED; Ms. Katherine Elizabeth Monahan, Deputy Chief of Mission from the U.S. Embassy; Dr. Masahiro Sasaki, Senior Assistant Minister for Crisis Management and Medical Technology, Minister’s Secretariat, MHLW of Japan.
 

*Recorded remarks: Dr. Tara Schwetz, Deputy Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (left)
Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) (right).

After the opening remarks, Dr. Ichiro Kurane and Dr. Christopher Walker gave special lectures on the history and future of the USJCMSP from the Japanese and U.S. perspectives, respectively. Their presentations were followed by a presentation by this year’s La Montagne-Heilman Lectureship speaker, Nobel laureate Dr. Charles M. Rice. 

*Lecture on the history and future prospects of the U.S.-Japan Medical Cooperation Program: Dr. Ichiro Kurane, former chairperson (left), and Dr. Christopher Walker (right, via live web lecture)

*La Montagne-Heilman Lectureship by Dr. Charles M. Rice

The first day also featured an evening reception at Tokyo Kaikan. The reception began with greetings from Dr. Mishima and a toast, or 'Kan-Pai,' by the USJCMSP Chairs from Japan and the United States, Dr. Hiroshi Kiyono and Dr. Richard Kuhn. Dr. Shigeyuki Kano explained the 60th anniversary logo he designed, and plaques were awarded to key contributors to the USJCMSP. The participants enjoyed a warm and friendly atmosphere, reconnecting with old friends and making new connections.

*Greetings and Toast at the Reception: From left to right, Dr. Yoshinao Mishima (President of AMED), Dr. Richard Kuhn (U.S. Chair), Dr. Hiroshi Kiyono (Japanese Chair), Make a toast ‘Kan-Pai’ by Dr. Kiyono

*Dr. Shigeyuki Kano, the logo designer, explaining the logo (Japanese Chair of the Parasitic diseases Panel)

　*Award Ceremony for Distinguished Contributors to the USJCMSP (left) and the Award Plaque (right)

*Warm Atmosphere at the Reception

The Plenary Meeting began on March 12^th, with opening remarks by Dr. Hiroshi Kiyono and Dr. Richard Kuhn, Chairs of the USJCMSP, and a tribute to the late Dr. Diane Griffin, the former USJCMSP U.S. Chair, who sadly passed away in October 2024. The tribute featured a moment of silence to honor Dr. Griffin’s memory and contributions to the program and a heartfelt memorial speech by Dr. Kuhn. This was followed by a Special Lecture by Dr. Hiroaki Mitsuya.

*Opening Remarks by Dr. Kiyono and Dr. Kuhn, and Tribute to Dr. Griffin

*Special Lecture by Dr. Hiroaki Mitsuya

Under the theme "Global Partnerships for Protecting Against Infectious Diseases," the Plenary Meeting featured six cross-disciplinary sessions across three days (March 12-March 14): 　

• SESSION 1: One Health Approach to Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases
• SESSION 2: The Effect of Climate and Environment Changes on Infectious Diseases
• SESSION 3: Microbiome and Infectious Disease Control
• SESSION 4: Vaccine, Adjuvant, and Immunoprofiling for Novel Infectious Disease Prevention and Control
• SESSION 5: Pathogen Persistence, Clearance and Immunity
• SESSION 6: AI-based surveillance and modern multi-layered analytics for advancing knowledge of emerging and re-emerging infections and immunity

*Scenes from the Plenary Session

The venue was vibrant, with constant interactions and discussions among participants. Each session featured enthusiastic Q&A sessions.
 
In addition, young investigators were featured in flash talk sessions and poster sessions on March 12 and March 13. There were over 100 poster presentations, leading to a lively exchanges of ideas. The poster presentations were evaluated by panel chairs and members, who selected nine presenters to receive an Outstanding Poster Award. The nine award recipients are as follows:

2025 EID OutstandingPoster Award Recipients:

• Charlotte Poussier, Division of Bioresources, Hokkaido University, International Institute for Zoonosis Control, Japan

• Title: Gepotidacin as a promising treatment alternative against fluoroquinolone-resistant
  SalmonellaTyphimurium infections

• Tong-Tong Pei, Southern University of Science and Technology, China

• Title: Fha modulates type 6 secretion system activity in Vibrio cholerae

• Nattarika Chaichana, Prince of Songkla University, Thailand

• Title: Anti-virulence effects of pyridoxine on biofilm-producing Escherichia coli:Transcriptomic and
  proteomic insights

• Kenichi Takeshita, University of Mississippi Medical Center, USA

• Title: The molecular lung pathogenesis caused by vaccine-escaping serotype 3 Streptococcus

• Md Shafiul Islam, icddr,b, Bangladesh

• Title: Real-Time Drug Efficacy Monitoring against Mycobacteria using AkaLuc

• Wakako Furuyama, National Research Center for the Control and Prevention of Infectious
  Diseases, Nagasaki University, Japan

• Title: Characterization of the Ebola virus soluble glycoprotein secretion pathway

• Hideo Negishi, IMSUT, The University of Tokyo, Japan

• Title: Immunogenic cell death and nucleocytosis toward the cGAS-IFN-I axis

• Akira Kawashima, AIDS Clinical Center, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Japan

• Title: Optimization of TaqMan-based quantitative PCR diagnosis for Entamoeba histolytica using Droplet
  Digital PCR

• Walied Kamel, National Cancer Center, Tokyo, Japan

• Title: Rb and PHLDA3 Dual Inactivation Drives Aggressive C-Cell Carcinoma via Stemness Activation

*Scenes from the Poster Session and Lunch Venue

*Outstanding Poster Award Ceremony

Individual panel meetings and joint panel meetings were held on the afternoon of March 14^th and on March 15^th. Similar to the Plenary Meeting, the panel meetings witnessed lively discussions and informative presentations on critical infectious disease research.

*Scenes from the Lively Panel Meetings

The five-day conference reaffirmed the 60-year bond and partnership between Japan and the United States and demonstrated the importance of ongoing collaboration.

*Venue Entrance, Reception Desk and Original 60th Anniversary Logo