Local hosts bring ASV 2026 to campus

More than 1,700 scientists and trainees gathered on campus this year as the University of Minnesota hosted the 45th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Virology (ASV). Wei Zhang, PhD, and Louis Mansky, PhD, director of the Institute for Molecular Virology and ASV president-elect, served as two of the meeting's local faculty hosts.

This was the third time the conference was held at the University, with previous meetings in 2011 and 2019. “Hosting this year’s meeting built on the successes of the previous two,” Mansky explained.

"It was a real honor to serve as a local host to welcome virology colleagues from all around the US and 37 different countries to the University of Minnesota," Zhang shared. As the local hosts, Mansky and Zhang were proud to see the campus bring together researchers from across the field, giving attendees a chance to exchange ideas, reconnect with colleagues and feel part of the broader virology community.

“A successful meeting is not only about science, but also about creating an environment where people feel welcome and connected to the place where the meeting is held,” Zhang reflected. “It was wonderful to see ideas the local hosts had suggested incorporated into the meeting, like a visual art show featuring work from students and faculty, displayed on the meeting's app and on screen at Northrop Auditorium.”

What caught Zhang's attention this year's meeting was the growing integration of structural, functional and computational approaches in virology research. She pointed to de novo protein design, using computational and AI-based methods to build entirely new proteins with specific structures and functions, as a particularly exciting direction. "That knowledge lets us design new proteins or molecules that can intervene in viral infection," she explained.

For Mansky, a highlight of the event was a talk by Temple Grandin, MS, PhD, professor of animal science at Colorado State University and a prominent autism advocate. She shared on the topic, “Great minds are not all the same.” 

Conferences like ASV offer something publishing alone cannot, Zhang added. "They provide a much more real-time and interactive environment for scientists to exchange ideas, share preliminary findings, receive immediate feedback and establish new collaborations. As local hosts, we hope attendees took home a broader perspective on virology and a stronger sense of community. The meeting's career workshops and informal conversations gave early-career scientists new ways to think about their futures.”
Reflecting on the young people whose careers are just beginning, Mansky said that the conference “may be the beginning of a lifelong career as a virologist” for some of them. “It is amazing that one meeting could inspire a young person to pursue a scientific experience, but it commonly happens—and it likely happened at this year’s meeting.” 

This conference also underscored the School of Dentistry's growing role in the broader field of virology. As a sponsor of the meeting, the School helped bring a major national gathering of researchers to campus, reflecting its ongoing investment in science. With faculty leading national conversations in the field, the School continues to strengthen its presence at the intersection of dentistry and virology research.