BatID 2025-International Symposium on the Infectious Diseases of Bats

Coming to the University of Chicago, from July 9-11, 2025!

This page last updated October 13, 2024.

Bats are the recognized reservoir host of several of the world’s most high profile emerging zoonotic diseases; yet they appear not to experience substantial disease from infections that cause high pathology in other mammals. This 4th Triennial BatID 2025 meeting brings together an interdisciplinary array of virologists, immunologists, geneticists, ecologists, and evolutionary biologists to interrogate the role of bats as pathogen hosts.


Logistics

📝 Abstracts

February 1, 2025: Abstract submissions open for talks and posters
March 31, 2025: Abstract submissions close

Submitted abstracts will be notified of their status by mid-April 2025.

🎟️ Registration

Early February 2025: Registration opens for BatID 2025
April 30, 2025: Registration closes for BatID 2025

Registration fees will be the same as for BatID 2022:

  • Faculty/Industry/Government Scientists: $300
  • Postdocs: $200
  • Graduate students: $150
🏠 Lodging

Dormitory lodging will be available for all interested attendees and will be reserved concomitant with conference registration. The University of Chicago has not yet posted rates for dormitory lodging for summer 2025, though last year rates for a single room were <$100 per night per person and rates for a double room were <$80 per per per night. We anticipate a similar range for BatID 2025.

For those not desiring to lodge in the dorms, registrants can book other options independently.

There are three hotels available in the Hyde Park, Chicago area, which can be accessed esily on foot from the University of Chicago: the Sophy, the Hyatt Place Chicago-South, and the Study.

A variety of other hotel options are available in the Chicago Loop, which can be accessed easily from the University of Chicago via a 20-minute ride on the Metric Electric lightrail (at the 55th-56th-57th Street stop).

✈ Travel

Two international airports offer easy metro/lightrail access to the University of Chicago: O’Hare International Airport (ORD) and Midway International Airport (MDW).

MDW is a little closer to UChicago and therefore our recommendation if you are able to find equivalent flight options to either airport.

A limited number of travel grants will likely be available for young investigators from underserved populations (low- and middle- income countries and/or underrepresented minority backgrounds) to attend this program. Application details for these travel awards will be posted in early January 2025.


Scientific Program

The conference will open with a welcome reception the evening of Wednesday, July 9, 2025, followed by two full day sessions, including scientific talks, a poster session, and a brainstorming session to delineate future research priorities in the field.

Scientific talks will be organized into five main scientific themes, after the following basic outline:

Thursday, July 10, 2025

Theme I: Bat immunology and within-host dynamics

Session Chair: Dr. Cara Brook, University of Chicago
Plenary Speaker: Dr. Liliana Davalos, Stony Brook University

Theme II: Bat pathogen discovery

Session Chair: Dr. Stephanie Seifert, Washington State University
Plenary Speaker: Dr. Simon Anthony, University of California-Davis

Theme III: Bat pathogen evolution

Session Chair: Dr. Arinjay Banerjee, Vaccine and Infectious Diseases Organization, University of Saskatechwan
Plenary Speaker: Dr. Benhur Lee, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Friday, July 11, 2025

Theme IV: Bat pathogen persistence and transmission dynamics

Session Chair: Dr. Daniel Becker, University of Oklahoma
Plenary Speaker: Dr. Daniel Streicker, University of Glasgow

Theme V: Reconciling bat infectious diseases and conservation

Session Chair: Dr. Hannah Frank, Tulane University
Plenary Speaker: Dr. Winifred Frick, Bat Conservation International


Thanks to the support of our Advisory Committee:

Stay tuned for more updates in the months ahead!