The 7th Stevens Conference on Bacteria-Material Interactions
About
June 11-12, 2025 at Stevens Institute of Technology
The 7th Stevens Conference on Bacteria-Material Interactions will address the many dimensions associated with how different stakeholder communities can converge to push the rate of device-associated infection towards zero over the coming decade.
2025 Conference Topics
Clinical - the patient/clinician experience
Prevention - antimicrobial coatings and bacteria-responsive surfaces
Detection - advanced sensing platforms to diagnose device-associated infection
Cure - biofilms and biofilm disruption
Inclusion - healthcare disparities associated with devices and device infections
Translation - how new devices with anti-infective properties can be translated to clinical use.
Stay tuned for our full digital program soon.
Program
Wednesday, June 11, 2025
Time | Event | Presenter | Affliation |
|---|---|---|---|
8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. | Registration and light breakfast | -- | -- |
9:00 a.m. - 9:10 a.m. | Welcome and Conference Overview | Matt Libera | Stevens Institute of Technology |
SESSION 1: Clinical & Patient Perspectives
Moderator: Matt Libera, Stevens Institute of Technology
Time | Title | Presenter(s) | Affliation |
|---|---|---|---|
9:10 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. | The pathology of device-associated infection in plastic and reconstructive surgery | Peter Taub, MD | Mt. Sinai Health System |
9:45 a.m. - 10:20 a.m. | Case studies of infection associated with soft-tissue reconstruction | Anna Kaltsas, MD | Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center |
10:20 a.m. - 10:50 a.m. | Break and Poster Viewing | -- | -- |
10:50 a.m. - 11:25 a.m. | Patients with Biofilm Infections: Big Decisions, Imperfect Data | Andy Miller, MD | Hospital for Special Surgery |
11:25 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. | Interactive discussion: Living with a device-associated infection | Patient A w/ Drs. Miller and Kaltsas | -- |
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. | Lunch | -- | -- |
SESSION 2: Interventions
Moderator: Greg Caputo, Rowan University
Time | Title | Presenter(s) | Affliation |
|---|---|---|---|
1:00 p.m. - 1:45 p.m. | The journey from concept to patient for a commercially available antibacterial surface for permanent implants | Jordan Katz Gene Kulesha | Orthobond Onkos Surgical |
1:45 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. | Computational approaches to identify next-gen antimicrobials | Shika Nangia | Syracuse University |
2:00 p.m. - 2:05 p.m. | Rapid-Fire Session: Novel Bioactive Glass S53P4 cream and its eluate: A promising strategy against Staphylococcus aureus biofilm and bone infection | Deeksha Rajkumar | Amsterdam UMC |
2:05 p.m. - 2:10 p.m. | Rapid-Fire Session: Polymyxin B Peptide Hydrogel Coating: A Novel Approach to Prevent Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia | Milan Wouters | University of Antwerp |
2:10 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. | Rapid-Fire Session: Bioinspired fouling control with mucin-coated active topography | Zehui Han | Syracuse University |
2:15 p.m. - 2:20 p.m. | Rapid-Fire Session: Quantitative diagnosis of periprosthetic joint infection via time-gated single-photon Raman spectroscopy | Yehong Li | Stevens Institute of Technology |
2:20 p.m. - 2:25 p.m. | Rapid-Fire Session: Synthesis and Characterization of Antimicrobial Elastomeric Material | Karishni Veerabahu Pillai | Cornell University |
2:25 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. | Rapid-Fire Session: Structure-Property Relationships and Antimicrobial Activity of Synthetic Peptide-Mimetic Polyurethanes | Zixi Chen | Northeastern University |
2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. | Conference Photo & Poster Session 1 | -- | -- |
SESSION 3: Broader Perspectives
Moderator: Steve Nicoli, City College of New York
Time | Title | Presenter(s) | Affliation |
|---|---|---|---|
3:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. | Using Patient-Level Infection Data to Improve Device Design | Joan Robinson | City College of New York |
4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. | Panel Discussion: Why aren't we moving forward faster? | TBD | TBD |
6:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. | Hudson River Dinner Cruise | -- | -- |
Thursday, June 12, 2025
Time | Event | Presenter | Affliation |
|---|---|---|---|
8:15 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. | Registration and light breakfast | -- | -- |
SESSION 4: Biofilm Control 1
Moderator: Dacheng Ren, Syracuse University
Time | Title | Presenter(s) | Affliation |
|---|---|---|---|
9:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. | Modulating innate immunity to combat Staphylococcus aureus biofilm infection | Tammy Keilian | University of Nebraska Medical Center |
9:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. | Biofilm Dispersion and its Role in Infection Control | David Davies | Binghamton University |
10:00 a.m. - 10:05 a.m. | Rapid-Fire Talk: Decoupling Physicochemical and Chemical Interactions of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa using Nanoculture Systems | Huda Usman | Carnegie Mellon University |
10:05 a.m. - 10:10 a.m. | Rapid-Fire Talk: Impact of attachment to a surface on macrophage engulfment of nosocomial pathogens: insights into immune evasion mechanisms | Bharti Sharma | Binghamton University |
10:10 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. | Rapid-Fire Session: Characterizing the molecular details underlying biomaterial-associated infections | Laure van Hofwegen | Amsterdam UMC |
10:15 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. | Poster Session 2 | -- | -- |
SESSION 5: Biofilm Control 2
Moderator: Karin Sauer, Binghamton University
Time | Title | Presenter(s) | Affliation |
|---|---|---|---|
11:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. | Coacervate Dense Phase Displaces Surface-Established Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms | Abraham Joy | Northeastern University |
11:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. | Viscoelastic Failure Triggers Bacterial Adaptivity to Environmental Stresses | Brandon Peterson | University Medical Center Groningen |
11:45 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. | Cyclic strain loading of resin composites triggered the pathogenicity of Streptococcus mutans and Enterococcus faecalis | Santiago Orrego | Temple University |
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. | Lunch | -- | -- |
SESSION 6: Translation
Moderator: Julie Stenken, University of Arkansas
Time | Title | Presenter(s) | Affliation |
|---|---|---|---|
1:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. | Navigating the interconnected path of model design, standard test method validation, and regulatory decision making | Darla Goeres | Montana State CBE |
1:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. | Galleria mellonella larvae: a promising animal model to study biofilm maturation in orthopaedic infections | Martijn Riool | University Medical Centre Regensburg |
2:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. | Developing a next generation of resorbable scaffolds for tissue engineering | Hongjun Wang | Stevens Institute of Technology |
2:15 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. | Sustained Dual-Antibiotic Polymer Implant for Infection Prevention – in vivo Evaluation | Mohammed Labib | NovaFlux |
2:30 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. | Designing a high-throughput platform for assessing microbial dynamics in native environments | Tagbo Niepa | Carnegie Mellon University |
2:45 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. | Break | -- | -- |
SESSION 7: Concluding Discussion
Moderator: Hongjun Wang, Stevens Institute of Technology
Time | Title | Presenter(s) | Affliation |
|---|---|---|---|
3:00 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. | Engineering Opportunities to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance | Anita Shukla | Brown University |
3:45 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. | Conference Closure | Matt Libera | Stevens Institute of Technology |