Gallery

Every year, ESCMID members are celebrated with grants and awards. Here, you can read more about some of the awardees below.

ESCMID is, to me, the backbone of international clinical microbiology and infectious diseases.

Gunnar Kahlmeter
ESCMID 2023 Excellence Award

This award has increased my motivation to keep doing research.

Jacob Bodilsen
ESCMID Young Investigator Award 2023

I believe that everyone should find their true passion.

Belén Gutiérrez-Gutiérrez
ESCMID Young Investigator Awards 2023

Awardees

2025

  Jan Verhoef

Jan Verhoef

Zeist, The Netherlands

2024

  Evelina Tacconelli

Evelina Tacconelli

EUCIC Chairperson
University of Verona
Verona, Italy

2025

  Arturo Casadevall

Arturo Casadevall

Johns Hopkins School of Public Health
New York, United States

2025

  Marion Koopmans

Marion Koopmans

Erasmus Medical Centre
Rotterdam, Netherlands

2025

  Anthony Bai

Anthony Bai

Queen’s University
Kingston, Canada
  Xin Hui Chan

Xin Hui Chan

University of Oxford
Oxford, United Kingdom
  Simon Feys

Simon Feys

University Hospital Leuven
Leuven, Belgium
  Matthaios Papadimitriou-Olivgeris

Matthaios Papadimitriou-Olivgeris

Cantonal Hospital of Sion and Lausanne University Hospital
Switzerland

2024

  Nathan Brendish

Nathan Brendish

Southampton General Hospital
United Kingdom
  Pieter De Cock

Pieter De Cock

Ghent University
Belgium
  Henning Grüll

Henning Grüll

University Hospital Cologne
Germany
  Rasmus Leistner

Rasmus Leistner

Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Germany

2025

  Ikechukwu Benjamin Moses

Ikechukwu Benjamin Moses

Ebonyi State University
Abakaliki, Nigeria

2024

  Ira Praharaj

Ira Praharaj

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
India

2025

  Laura Jung

Laura Jung

Leipzig University Medical Center
Germany

2024

  Marija Kusulja

Marija Kusulja

University Hospital for Infectious Diseases Zagreb
Croatia

2024

  Bieke Tack

Bieke Tack

KU Leuven University
Belgium

Applicant name

Applicant Origin

Project title

Aleksandra Pettke

Stockholm, Sweden

Development of serological methods for MPXV to advance the sero-epidemiology field and close diagnostic gaps between high- and low-income countries

Anna Boté Casamitjana

London, United Kingdom

Prevalence of Asymptomatic Malaria in Pregnant Women from Africa

Antonia Walther

Munich, Germany

Prevalence and Health Impact of Schistosomiasis in CYPSAR (Children and Young People Seeking Asylum and Refugees) in Germany - A prospective Cohort study

Axel Dietschmann

Jena, Germany

Trained resilience to fungal infections: Unravelling how macrophages teach each other to fight off Candida albicans

Brice Autier

Rennes, France

MacSeq-AE: Deciphering heterogeneity of macrophages involved in alveolar echinococcosis by single-cell RNA sequencing

Camilla Albano

Turin, Italy

Lipid Metabolism in HSV-1 Infection: Insights into Viral Replication and Potential Therapeutic Targets

Camille Kolenda

Lyon, France

Development of the next generation of phage therapy: understanding bacterial determinants of phage activity and overcoming resistance

Cunha Baptista Vitória

Braga, Portugal

LIHEME: Unraveling lipid-dependent mechanisms in heme detoxification

Daniel Pan

Leicester, United Kingdom

Exhaled immune markers in COVID-19 and household transmission: towards defining individual infectivity in respiratory virus infection

Filippo Favretto

Verona, Italy

Repurposing non-immunosuppressive cyclosporin A analogs for targeting Strongyloides stercoralis cyclophilins

Francelise Bridi Cavassin

Curitiba, Brazil

An open-label, randomized, non-inferiority trial comparing itraconazole and terbinafine for the treatment of Cat-Transmitted Sporotrichosis (CTS) in pediatrics: a pilot study in Curitiba, Brazil

Francisco Olmo Arévalo

Granada, Spain

Unravelling protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi infection in the nervous system

Gloria Griffante

Torino, Italy

ZNF638 controlling Epstein-Barr virus latency as determinant of multiple sclerosis pathogenesis

Huma Khan

Swabi, Pakistan

Implementation of a pilot Capacity building progrAm in Pakistan, a Cystic EchInococcosis endemic country based on ulTrasound pOpulation surveys for prevalence and Risk factor assessment – the CAPACITOR-A study

Ikechukwu Benjamin Moses

Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Nigeria

LIHEME: Unraveling lipid-dependent mechanisms in heme detoxification

Jacopo Angelini

Udine, Italy

Real-life data to Better characterIze exposure to Acyclovir in pregNant women with Cytomegalovirus infection: A clinical need for the present and an opportunity for the future. The BIANCA study.

Jana Van Dycke

Leuven, Belgium

Investigating Hepatitis E Virus Infection in a Gut on Chip Model

Joao Canto-Gomes

Braga, Portugal

REVERT-MS - Studying the Repertoire of Epstein-Barr Virus-specific HLA-E-Restricted CD8+ T-cells in Multiple Sclerosis

Lander De Herdt

Leuven, Belgium

Eosinophil-induced airway remodelling as novel gateway and therapeutic target for Cryptococcus neoformans dissemination

Laura Seldeslachts

Leuven, Belgium

Inflammasomes in influenza-associated pulmonary aspergillosis: from mechanisms to host-directed therapy

Marius Ahm Stauning

Copenhagen, Denmark

Changes in molecular markers related to malaria vaccine susceptibility in Plasmodium falciparum and changes in Plasmodium species composition after introduction of malaria vaccines in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Matteo Augello

Milan, Italy

Association between ultra-low level soluble p24 and adverse clinical outcomes in virologically supressed people with HIV (SpARROW)

Mélanie Burette

Montpellier, France

Deciphering the mechanisms behind rhoptry secretion in the Apicomplexa parasite Toxoplasma gondii

Mitchell Pallett

London, United Kingdom

Stopping Cryptosporidium in its tracks: A high-throughput screen for identifying neutralising nanobodies

Paola Saltini

Milano, Italy

Safety and immunogenicity of RSV vaccine RSVPreF3 OA among immunocompromised hosts: a single centre cohort study (FURIOUS study)

Patil Rutuja Hiraji

Prague, Czech Republic

Aspergillus-Pseudomonas Interaction Modulated by Human Neutrophils

Philippa Mcdermid

Nsw, Australia

Enhancing patient and visitor hand hygiene to reduce the risk of healthcare-associated infections

Rhea O'Regan

Dublin, Ireland

Investigating the diagnostic utility of PhIP-Seq in the management of Acute Undifferentiated Febrile Illnesses

Salvatore Scarso

Negrar Di Valpolicella, Italy

Optimizing the diagnosis of Female Genital Schistosomiasis through self-sampling and molecular detection: the OPTI-ShWAB study

Samuel Martins Gonçalves

Braga, Portugal

Dissecting cholesterol-mediated mechanisms of antifungal immunity in invasive pulmonary aspergillosis

Siegel Eric

Massachusetts, United States

Targeting Borrelia burgdorferi's Inosine Monophosphate Dehydrogenase (IMPDH/GuaB) for Lyme Disease Control: Foundational Studies on Therapeutic Testing Infrastructure and Risk Assessment Applications

Simon Feys

Leuven, Belgium

LAVA (Lymphocytic Assessments in Viral-associated pulmonary Aspergillosis)

Sissy Lamprecht-Sonnleitner

Graz, Austria

Exploration of the Diversity and Diagnostic Potential of Burkholderia pseudomallei-specific Phages from Environmental and Clinical Sources: A Nanopore Sequencing and Prophage Induction Approach

Tatjana Schwarz

Berlin, Germany

Uncovering HEV Immune Responses Through Enhanced Serological Diagnostics and Epitope Mapping

Thomas Roodsant

Bilthoven, Netherlands

Wastewater Surveillance of Cryptosporidium

Wouter Smit

Ankeveen, Netherlands

Assessment of perioperative Torque Teno Virus load dynamics as a prognostic biomarker in plasma of ICU patients following elective high-risk surgical procedures

Wouter Van Genechten

Leuven, Belgium

Unraveling the role of Candida albicans and its G-protein coupled receptor, Gpr1, in the gastrointestinal tract microbiome.

Yuan Seng Wu

Bandar Sunway, Malaysia

Development of antiviral molecules based on embelin scaffold against Dengue

Applicant name

Study Groups

Project Title

Year

Patrick Finzer

ESGHAMI, ESGB, EFISG

Interkingdom interactions in vulvovaginal infection

2025

Michael Beeton

ESGMAC, ESGEM, ESGMD

Developing a novel method for assessing global genetic diversity and molecular surveillance of Mycoplasma pneumoniae during its re-emergence after the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond

2024

Frederic Laurent

ESGS, ESGIAI, ESGB, ESGNTA

”MUSKETEERS” project: an ESCMID initiative for a better understanding and management of S. aureus prosthetic joint infections using large scale phenogenomic analyses

2023

Applicant name

SG

Project Title

Antonio Oliver

ESGARS, ESGEM

Genomic epidemiology, resistome analysis and prediction of susceptibility profiles from whole genome sequences in Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from European hospitals

Kartika Maharani

ESGIB

Metagenomic next generation sequencing for diagnosis of central nervous system infections in Indonesia

Dolores Serrano López

ESGB, ESGIAI

Understanding biofilm formation on medical device surfaces

Ulrik Stenz Justesen

ESGAI

Metronidazole resistance in European Bacteroides fragilis - a ReSuBacfrag 2024 substudy

Onya Opota

ESGMYC, ESGMD

Advancing rapid phenotypic DST (pDST) for BPAL (M) regimen, novel/shorter drugresistant tuberculosis regimens

Applicant Name

Country

Abdoul Aziz Amadou Bawa, Aminatou

Senegal

Abdullahi Salman, Abdulmalik

Nigeria

Abou Daher, Chasinga

Congo, the Democratic Republic of the

Acheampong, Anabel

Ghana

Adhikari, Aayush

Nepal

Akililu, Kibrewossen

Ethiopia

Ali, Sofia

Sudan

Angra, Vani

India

Ansong, Dhaud odei

Morocco

Appiah, Pious

Ghana

Badie, Asmaa

Egypt

Baharanyi, Chasinga

Congo, the Democratic Republic of the

Bordoloi, Tamanna

India

Chiome, Chrispen

Zimbabwe

Eguale, Tadesse

Ethiopia

El Ftouh, Sobha

Morocco

El Meski, Nour

Lebanon

Elkasaby, Mohamed Hamouda

Egypt

El-Kholy, Mohammed A.

Egypt

Gadelmawla, Maha

Egypt

Handapangoda, Nelum

Sri Lanka

Hasivirwe Vakaniaki, Emmanuel

Congo, the Democratic Republic of the

Hema, Alimatou

Burkina Faso

Ihezie, Rose Chimezie

Nigeria

Jaidane, Nadia

Tunisia

Kabir, Md Shafiul

Bangladesh

Kalasa, Hope

Zambia

Kameni, Mary Ngongang

Cameroon

Kamusiime, Daisy

Uganda

Khan, Sohail

Pakistan

Khanom, Jannat Ara

Bangladesh

Koffi, David

Ivory Coast

Kubai, Edna

Kenya

Kumar, Sanjay

Pakistan

Mademilov, Maamed

Kyrgyzstan

Mamo, Biniyam Tedla

Ethiopia

Mirxoshimov, Mirbobir

Uzbekistan

Mujuni, Dennis

Uganda

Mwangi, Jemimmah

Kenya

Nguyen, Trang, Vietnam

 

Odetoyin, Babatunde

Nigeria

Onwuasoanya, Uche

Nigeria

Pinlac, Vienne

Philippines

Rao, Richa

India

Rathnayake, Nipun

Sri Lanka

Rouissi, Hana

Tunisia

San Diego, Micaela

Philippines

Saraf, Himanshu

India

Sayari, Sarra

Tunisia

Shaikh, Quratulain

Pakistan

Sharma, Deepanjli

India

Shelke, Akshay

India

Singano, Nathan

Zambia

Terry Anderson, Ongaria

Uganda

Thapa, Sandeep

Nepal

Trigui, Ahmed

Tunisia

Tsayem fouemene, Roméo

Cameroon

Vu, Thu-Trang

Vietnam

Wesangula, Evelyn Nelima

Tanzania

Zeeshan, Faiza

Pakistan

   
   

Applicant Name

Country

Abdellaoui, Chaima

United Kingdom

Acosta-España, Jaime David

Germany

Afeera Zainulabid, Ummu

Malaysia

Agüloğlu-Bali̇, Elif

Turkey

Aldeia, Claudia

Switzerland

Almeida-Santos, Ana C.

Portugal

Alva, Amelia Lopez

Peru

Arca-Suárez, Jorge

Spain

Baez-Barroso, Gabriela-Alejandra

Spain

Baltas, Ioannis

United Kingdom

Barnacle, James R.

United Kingdom

Bennett, Vicky

United Kingdom

Blake, Neil

United States

Blanco-Arevalo, Alejandro

Spain

Blanco-Martín, Tania

Spain

Bozdeveci, Arif

Turkey

Braspenning, Anouk

Belgium

Brunner, Viktoria

United Kingdom

Caponcello, Maria Giulia

Spain

Caronni, Stefania

Italy

Chakraborty, Anwesha

India

Chen, Carmen

Switzerland

Chow, Jo Yi

Singapore

Cipolla, Lucía

Argentina

Cooke, Amy

United Kingdom

Corti, Nicolò

Italy

Daffa Imtiyaz, Farras

France

Degreze, Matthieu

France

Delanote, Valentine

Belgium

Di Pilato, Vincenzo

Italy

Doeleman, Susanne

Netherlands

Dudareva, Maria

United Kingdom

Echegorry, Mariano

Argentina

Eger, Elias

Germany

Ellis, Samuel

United Kingdom

Fama, Federico

Italy

Franconi, Iacopo

Italy

Fuhs, Dominika

Australia

Garlasco, Jacopo

Italy

Geethakumari, Anupriya M.

Qatar

Goelen, Jan

United Kingdom

Goladze, Sophia

Finland

Granata, Guido

Italy

Gupta, Saptorshi

New Zealand

Haas, Allison

United States

Hall, Victoria G.

Australia

Hammond, Robbie

United Kingdom

Hang Lee, Alfred Lok

Hong-Kong SAR, China

Hannaford, Alisse

United States

Hayward, Sally E.

United Kingdom

Herrera-Espejo, Soraya

Spain

Hirvonen, Aurora

Italy

Hughes, Gareth

United Kingdom

Jadhav, Krishna

India

Jamard, Simon

France

Jamus, Andzoa

United States

Jansåker, Filip

Sweden

Kamboj, Nidhi

India

Kantor, Jakub

Czech Republic

Kim, Chaelin

United Kingdom

Krajcar, Nina

Croatia

Le Terrier, Christophe

Switzerland

Le Turnier, Paul

French Guiana

Letafati, Arash

Iran, Islamic Republic of

Lin, Xi

China

Ling, Zhuoren

United Kingdom

Lingscheid, Tilman

Germany

Lipworth, Samuel

United Kingdom

Liu, Yang

Singapore

Lopes, Bruno Silvester

United Kingdom

López De Egea, Guillem

Spain

Lopez-Alvarez, Marina

United States

Lopez, Maria

Spain

Lorenzin, Giovanni

Italy

Lotfi, Maryam

Egypt

Luo, Qixia

China

Lymperatou, Diamantina

Greece

Macphail, Aleece

Australia

Mahajan, Akanksha

Australia

Maldonado, Natalia

Spain

Marino, Andrea

Italy

Martin, Alexander

United Kingdom

Martínez-Álvarez, Sandra A.

Spain

Mathias, Jordan A. T.

United Kingdom

Mcloughlin, Jessica

United Kingdom

Mei-Wah Chan, Linda

Hong-Kong SAR, China

Meijer, Eelco

Netherlands

Miah, Roni

Norway

Mishra Baishnab, Shyam Kumar

Australia

Molina Panadero, Irene

Spain

Monge-Olivares, Laura

Spain

Moore, Andrew

United States

Murillo-Torres, Marina

Spain

Nagy, Dorottya

United Kingdom

Nguyen, Thomas

United States

Olie, Sabine E.

Netherlands

Ong, Sean

Canada

Pan, Daniel

United Kingdom

Park, Kuenyoul

Korea, Republic of

Pauwels, Ines

Belgium

Petri, Francesco

Italy

Piccirilli, Alessandra

Italy

Pordone, Nicola

France

Praharaj, Ira

India

Prieto Martín Gil, Sonia

Spain

Rai, Gargi

India

Rando, Emanuele

Italy

Rasouli, Paria

Belgium

Rauschenberger, Vera

Germany

Reimer Jensen, Anne Marie

Denmark

Roch, Mélanie

Switzerland

Rodríguez Coello, Arianna

Spain

Rodriguez, Killian

France

Rosendal, Ebba

Portugal

Ruether, Ferenc Darius

Germany

Ruiz-Molina, Ana

Spain

Rzaska, Julia

United Kingdom

Salto-Alejandre, Sonsoles

Spain

Sánchez-Peña, Lucía

Spain

Schwabe, Anna

Germany

Sewell, Max

United Kingdom

Shankar, Chaitra

United States

Shukla, Ashish

India

Singhal, Chaitali

India

Sintondji, Kevin

Benin

Song, Baolin

Hong-Kong SAR, China

Sosa, Elisa

Switzerland

Sprute, Rosanne

Germany

Doeleman, Susanne

Netherlands

Tarrés-Freixas, Ferran

Spain

Tasdurmazli, Semra

Turkey

Taylor, Steven

Australia

Valcek, Adam

Belgium

Van Kleef-Van Koeveringe, Stefanie

Belgium

Vashist, Tanvi

India

Vatansever, Cansel

Turkey

Verhagen, Eline

Netherlands

Volk, Cecilia

United States

Wei, Jia

United Kingdom

Westgeest, Annette C.

Netherlands

Xanthopoulou, Kyriaki

Germany

Xu, Justin

United Kingdom

Yetiş, Özge

United Kingdom

Yuan, Kevin

United Kingdom

Zahavi, Itay

Israel

Zhao, Jinxin

Australia

Zhao, Yixin

United Kingdom

Zhong, Yang

Singapore

Applicant Name

Country

Adedeji, Roqeeb Olamide

Nigeria

Ahaik, Islam

Morocco

Ahamed, Aadhil

Sri Lanka

Ali, Kashif

Pakistan

Amponsah, Obed Kwabena Offe

Ghana

Asghar, Sidrah

Pakistan

Barahona, Eimy

Honduras

Ben Moussa, Mouna Louiza

Tunisia

Bhandari, Saugat

Nepal

Birmeka, Jelalu Kemal

Ethiopia

Buenafe, Barbara Cariza

Philippines

Bulto, Mikiyas

Ethiopia

Chaudhary, Pankaj

Nepal

Chelbi, Yasmine

Tunisia

Chheun, Phally

Cambodia

Dela Cruz, Christine

Philippines

Dlamini, Andiswa

Eswatini

Dwivedi, Ved Prakash

India

Ekusai-Sebatta, Deborah

Uganda

Ekwem Amarachi, Doris

Uganda

Eshun, Vida

Ghana

Fru, Magdany

Cambodia

Ghosh, Asish Kumar

Bangladesh

Ha, Le Thanh

Vietnam

Harley, Benjamin Kingsley

Ghana

Heikal, Ashraf

Egypt

Iheukwumere, Chidiogo

Nigeria

Ikhlaq, Fakhra

Pakistan

Insaidoo, Georgina Naa Ayele

Ghana

Jain, Juhi

India

Joyee, Jannatul Bushra

Bangladesh

Kanagiri, Tejasvi

India

Kaweesa, Daniel

Uganda

Kocher, Deepak

India

Kyagulanyi, Eddy

Uganda

Labaclado, Ralph John Gil

Philippines

Lakanwall, Mohammad Naeem

Afghanistan

Limwado, George Dalitso

Malawi

Liyanapathirana, Veranja

Sri Lanka

Maduna, Liteboho

Lesotho

Makpemikpa, Ginette

Benin

Manyahi, Joel

Tanzania

Mashedi, Olga

Kenya

Mohapatra, Atish

India

Mthembu, Melusi Welcome

Eswatini

Mutisya, Fredrick

Kenya

Naik, Vaishnavi Vishram

India

Nassa, Guétawendé, Job Wilfried

Burkina Faso

Ndubueze, Chidiebere

Nigeria

Ngere, Ndege

Kenya

Ngozo, Bongiwe Elizabeth

Eswatini

Nguyen, Van-Dong

Vietnam

Nguyen Mong, Hoai Thu

Vietnam

Okot, Patrick

Gambia

Osaigbovo, Iriagbonse

Nigeria

Pani, Shreya

India

Paththamperuma, Arachchige Sachika Rangani

United Kingdom

Pham, Dang Hai

Vietnam

Rahumath, Sibra

Sri Lanka

Raju, Rosy

India

Salem, Salma

Egypt

Sarikonda, Meghana

India

Shahada, Mevin

Kenya

Si, Seyha

Cambodia

Sumon, Shariful Amin

Bangladesh

Syed, Muhammad Asif

Pakistan

Tangpuz, Jofen Ann

Philippines

Urinov, Eldor

Uzbekistan

Varghese, Tintu

India

Yahya Ebrahim Zaawari, Abdullah

India

Zaman, Farzana

Bangladesh

Zwane, Sifundo

Eswatini

2025

  Sara Grillo

Sara Grillo

Hospital de Sant Pau
Barcelona, Spain
  Katharina Last

Katharina Last

University Hospital Bonn
Bonn, Germany