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In line with the NIB network’s ambitions, the meeting provided opportunities for young researchers to present their research and to network with scientists from all the various fields of infection biology research. The NIB 2017 programme featured international keynote talks, selected talks from submitted abstracts and two poster sessions. Among a total of 47 posters submitted by NDPIA members, 10 were selected for short presentations during meeting.

“The NIB network meetings are of great value for strengthening infection biology research in Sweden,” says Anna Holmström, who is National Director of Studies of NDPIA. “The presentations from the young researchers were impressive and much appreciated by the more senior researchers including keynote speakers.”

In regards to , participants expressed that they appreciated the mix of different topics, speakers and formats and that the meeting’s intimate size was well suited for networking.

“This is the best national meeting for microbiologists,” said Maarten Coorens, a postdoc at Karolinska Institutet and meeting participant.

During the NDPIA workshops, well-renowned professional trainers Billy Uber and Sarah Blackford provided interactive workshops on science communication and career planning. The workshop topics were selected to be highly relevant and useful for researchers at the PhD-student/postdoc career level. .  

The is open to PhD students and postdocs active in infection biology research. NDPIA includes more than 300 registered young researchers, who participate in a number of specialised meetings and courses/workshops organised throughout the country and with international collaboration. NDPIA is supported by The Swedish Research Council (VR) 2014-2021 and is coordinated by The at Umeå University, in collaboration with Karolinska Institutet, Linköping University, Lund University, Uppsala University and the University of Gothenburg.

The first NIB network meeting was held 2005 in Linköping, initiated as a follow-up event to the “Infection and Vaccinology” programme, which was supported by the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF). The following three NIB network meetings, held in Umeå (2006), Uppsala (2007) and Malmö/Lund (2008), were funded by a special grant for research networks obtained from VR. Since 2011, the NIB network has been supported and coordinated by MIMS. The fifth NIB meeting was held in Umeå in 2011 and the sixth meeting in Göteborg/Marstrand in 2014. NIB 2017 organisers were very pleased that participants eagerly looked forward to future NIB network meetings coordinated by MIMS.

Photos by Eva-Maria Diehl

Editor: Daniel Harju