New symposium seeks ways to defeat viruses, protect human health

 On April 9–10, The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota was the gathering place for virologists from across the Upper Midwest. The occasion was the 2026 Virology Nexus Symposium—hosted in partnership with the Institute for Molecular Virology— which created the opportunity to share research, exchange ideas, build scientific collaborations and support research trainee development. Their shared goal: find ways to keep viruses in check and protect human health.

The two-day program featured speakers showcasing their latest research on structural virology, virus replication, virus-host interactions, viral epidemiology and emerging viruses. Their talks offered insights on decades of chlorovirus research, treatment and prevention strategies for viral and neurodegenerative diseases, better understanding of ebola virus transmission, plant virus insights, and much more.

“It’s great career development for students. Being able to engage with other colleagues, in-person and eye-to-eye, it’s profoundly different than in a Zoom room. Many of the things you can learn aren’t just in presentations, but in the conversations you can have with others in corridors,” Louis Mansky, PhD, said. Mansky is a co-organizer of the event, professor and director of the Institute for Molecular Virology, and director of the Minnesota Training Program in Virology.

“It’s a great benefit for students and trainees to have symposiums like this. It gives them a chance to present their research and posters. It gives students, postdocs, and faculty a chance to mix, mingle, and exchange ideas,” Susan Hafenstein, PhD, said. Hafenstein is also co-organizer of the event, as well as cryoEM director at The Hormel Institute and associate director of the Minnesota Training Program in Virology.

The Virology Nexus Symposium’s location at The Hormel Institute also meant that virologists across the region got an  up-close introduction to the Institute’s newly expanded cryoEM (cryogenic-sample electron microscopy) facilities, capable of viewing subjects at the subatomic level under the right conditions. Tools and resources like these are allowing researchers to look at microscopic subjects like viruses and how they operate more closely than ever before—and they’re helping researchers find new strategies to defeat them.

Research trainee perspectives

Of course, to make any important progress, powerful tools need insightful experts at the helm. This is why supporting research trainee development is an integral part of the symposium. Both early-career and established researchers were able to present their work and exchange ideas with one another, gaining more experience in their respective fields and more ground against harmful viruses.

“I’ve enjoyed meeting new people, other researchers, and seeing what’s going on at other universities. It’s pretty cool,” Brigitte Flannery, graduate student at the Medical School, said. “To understand viruses, you also have to understand everything about the cell, so you get to develop a diverse set of skills to understand this small organism. That’s the point of studying them: to contribute to human health, prevent the next pandemic; these kinds of things are the goal.”

“I think it’s really cool to see research happening in the Midwest, and also research that’s broader than what we each get into personally,” Caroline Langley, graduate assistant at The Hormel Institute, said. “It’s so interesting how something so small can have such an effect on our health, and for us, to learn specifically what that looks like and how it does that.”

“I found the keynote speakers fascinating, and I really appreciate that we’re seeing great depth in the viruses that we’re talking about,” Natalie Cmejla, PhD candidate at the College of Veterinary Medicine, said. “In my opinion, viruses are one of the most mysterious biological agents that exist. I feel it’s important for us to understand them, and look at what might possibly be a good treatment to combat the effects these viruses have. That’s just good science: to see a problem and look at it more closely.”

Ebere Orji, graduate assistant at The Hormel Institute, shared that one of the things that initially drew her to researching the infection mechanisms of the human papillomavirus (HPV) was learning that some viruses could be cancer-causing and wanting to find ways to interrupt that.

“It’s cool to know you can contribute to science and that it can actually be applied to your local community and the world at large. It’s beautiful. It’s like a calling,” Orji said. 

The common cause

“The driving force for everyone here is to find ways to defeat viruses,” Hafenstein said. “They cause human illness. They compromise human health and wellbeing in other ways, too. There are plant viruses that have horrible consequences; there are viruses that attack honey bees, which pollinate many of the food crops we depend on. The overall mission is to expand our safeguards against viruses.”

The 2026 Virology Nexus Symposium is an integral part of the career development of trainees supported by the National Institutes of Health-supported Minnesota Training Program in Virology (T32 AI083196).

This story was initially published by the Hormel Institute and adapted for the School of Dentistry.