Day One
Thursday, February 5th 2026
Day Two
Friday, February 6th 2026
Day Three
Saturday, February 7th 2026
08:00 am Registration & Welcome address
Session - 1: Viruses & the Immunocompromised
Chairperson(s) : Dr. Prasad Mathews, CMC Vellore & Dr. Ruchika Goel, CMC Vellore09:00 am Introduction of Chairpersons
09:05 am CMV in allogenic Haematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT)
Dr. Sharon Anbumalar Lionel Ninan
09:25 am Oncogenic viruses after renal transplantation
Dr. Jeethu Joseph Eapen
09:45 am Virology testing markers in transplantation settings
Dr. Asha Mary Abraham
10:05 am Why should we care about respiratory viruses?
Dr. Sanjay Bhattacharya
10:25 am Q & A Session
10:40 am Tea/Coffee Break
Inaugural Function
10:55 am Introduction of Chairpersons
11:00 am Inaugural function
DG-ICMR Address by Dr. Rajiv Bahl
Felicitation of Dr. T. Jacob John & Dr. G. Sridharan
Session - 2: Neurotropic viruses
Chairperson(s) : Dr. Padma Srikanth, Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute, Chennai & Dr. Ajith Sivadasan, CMC Vellore11:50 am Introduction of Chairpersons
11:55 am Beyond the Rash: Recognizing Neurological Complications of Varicella
Dr. Angel Miraclin
12:15 pm Rabies-Free India: The Envisioned Role of Clinical Microbiologists
Dr. Monil Singhai
12:35 pm White Matter Under Siege: Neuropathology of JC Virus Infection
Dr. Anita Mahadevan
12:55 pm Q & A Session
01:10 pm Sponsored Presentation: Hepatitis C: Broadening Diagnostic Options for better patient Care
Dr. Mandakini Sarmah, Manager-Medical & Scientific Affairs, Roche Diagnostics India
01:25 pm Lunch Break
(11:30 AM to 2:30 PM) POSTER PRESENTATION Session 1
Session - 3: National Programs for viral diseases (New initiatives & future directions)
Chairperson(s) : Dr. Jayanthi Shastri, Maharashtra University of Health Sciences, Mumbai & Dr. Sunita Upadhyaya, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention New Delhi02:15 pm Introduction of Chairpersons
02:20 pm National Viral Hepatitis Control Program
Dr. Sandhya Kabra
02:40 pm Virus Research Diagnostic Laboratories (VRDL) Network in India
Dr. Nivedita Gupta
03:00 pm Elimination of mother to child transmission of HIV and HBV
Dr. Reshu Agarwal
03:20 pm Strengthening Laboratory services for HIV and STI under National AIDS and STD Control Programme
Dr. Bhawna Rao
03:40 pm Q & A Session
03:50 pm Tea Break
Session - 4: Pandemic preparedness - Panel discussion
Chairperson(s) : Dr. V. Ravi, TATA Medical and Diagnostics, Bengaluru04:05 pm Introduction of Chairpersons
04:10 pm Emerging high risk pathogens and India’s effort
Dr. Pragya D. Yadav
04:20 pm Biosafety and Biosecurity Across the Pandemic Continuum: Building Resilient Systems
Dr. Antony Schwartz
04:40 pm Critical steps in Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness in the Global South
Dr. Ankur Mutreja
05:00 pm Role of VRDLs in pandemic preparedness
Dr. Bharti Malhotra
05:20 pm FLYING VIRUSES: Bat borne viruses infecting humans and animals
Dr. Shanmugam J
05:40 pm ISCV Executive Committee Meeting
06:15 pm ISCV General Body Meeting
07:00 pm Networking Dinner
08:00 am Oral presentations (Session-1)
Session - 5: Arthropod borne infections and Emerging & Re-emerging infections
Chairperson(s) : Dr. Shashikala Nair, Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences, Dr. Nidhi Prasad, Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences Patna09:00 am Introduction of Chairpersons
09:05 am From Arboviral to Re-emerging Infection: Acute Encephalitis Syndrome at Gorakhpur and the CMC story
Dr. Valsan Philip Verghese
09:25 am Translating Virology into Therapeutics: Drug Development Efforts for Chikungunya Virus
Dr. Deepti Parashar
09:45 am Recent Updates on Dengue in India: Molecular Epidemiology, DIagnostics, Prognostics and Antiviral Approaches
Dr. K. Alagarasu
10:05 am Role of Non-coding RNAs in Dengue Virus Pathogenesis
Dr. Bhupendra Verma
10:25 am Tea Break
Session - 6: Vaccines
Chairperson(s) : Dr. Rajeev Zachariah, CMC Vellore & Dr. Jacob John, CMC Vellore10:40 am Introduction of Chairpersons
10:45 am Single dose HPV vaccination: the way forward
Dr. Vinotha Thomas
11:05 am Adult Vaccination
Dr. Priscilla Rupali
11:25 am Newer Hepatitis B Virus Vaccine
Dr. Amit Goel
11:45 am Q & A Session
12:00 pm Presidential Oration
Prof Dr. Amita Jain, Executive Director and CEO, AIIMS Raebareli
12:20 pm 15th Fieldhouse – Myers Oration
Prof Dr. Kanta Subbarao, Professor and Research Chair, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
01:10 pm Sponsored Presentation: Revolutionizing HCV diagnosis: The role of HCV core antigen testing
Dr. Hussain Ali, Associate Director-ID & Immunology, Abbott-APAC Medical and scientific Research, Core Diagnostics
01:25 pm Students Quiz (Dr. Faraaz Khan)
01:55 pm Lunch
(2:00 PM to 4:00 PM) POSTER PRESENTATION Session 2
Session - 7: HIV/Hepatitis & STI
Chairperson(s) : Dr. Dincy Peter, CMC Vellore & Dr. G John Fletcher, CMC Vellore02:30 pm Introduction of Chairpersons
02:35 pm How do I manage an HIV and hepatitis co infected person?
Dr. B. B. Rewari
02:55 pm Plasma exchange to treat hepatitis A virus related acute liver failure – experience from 13 centres across India.
Dr. C.E. Eapen
03:15 pm Role of newer markers in the diagnosis and management of Hepatitis B Virus Infection
Dr. Ekta Gupta
03:35 pm Immune responses to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in people with HIV.
Dr. Luke Elizabeth Hanna
03:55 pm HIV & HPV – The double whammy
Dr. Sheela V. Godbole
04:15 pm Q & A Session
04:30 pm Tea Break
Session - 8: Basic sciences/Computational biology
Chairperson(s) : Dr. Anand Anbarasu, VIT, Vellore & Dr. Saravanabhavan. T, CMC Vellore04:45 pm Introduction of Chairpersons
04:50 pm Role of host cellular proteins in Chikungunya virus restriction
Dr. E Sreekumar
05:10 pm Systems Biology and Structure-based Computational Approaches for Antiviral Drug Repurposing
Dr. Sarah Cherian
05:30 pm Correlates of protection in dengue: findings from clinical and community-based settings
Dr. Guruprasad Medigeshi
05:50 pm Vitamin D inhibits HBV replication
Dr. Vivekanandan Perumal
06:10 pm Q & A Session
07:30 pm Gala Dinner at Desmond Pool
08:30 am Oral presentations (Session-2)
Session - 9: Gastrointestinal viruses & Polio
Chairperson(s) : Dr. George M Varghese, CMC Vellore & Dr. Ebby Simon, CMC Vellore09:40 am Introduction of Chairpersons
09:45 am Solving the Enigma of Rotavirus Gastroenteritis in Children from Low- and Middle-Income Countries: What Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Evidence Reveals
Dr. Suman Kanungo
10:05 am Emergence of Vaccine Derived Polio Viruses in Children with Primary Immunodeficiency in India and Implementation of iVDPV Surveillance
Dr. Madhu Chhanda Mohanty
10:25 am Long-Term Trends in Norovirus Genotypes Among South Indian Children
Dr. Tintu Varghese
10:45 am Q & A Session
10:55 am Tea Break
Session - 10: Respiratory viruses
Chairperson(s) : Dr. V. Balaji, CMC Vellore & Dr. Thambu David Sudarsanam, CMC Vellore11:15 am Introduction of Chairpersons
11:20 am Advances in the treatment and prevention of RSV infections in children
Dr. Sneha Titus
11:40 am Beyond the conventional IgM: Rubella diagnostics in a low incidence setting
Dr. Mini P Singh
12:00 pm Untold story of uncommon respiratory viruses
Dr. Baijayantimala Mishra