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 April 17, 2025.

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

Abstract submissions are now closed.
Abstract submissions are now closed, and applicants have been notified of their status.
We will post the symposium schedule in June 2025.

💸 Scholarships

Applications for registration fee waivers and travel scholarships are now closed, and applicants have been notified of their status.
We are working with scholarship applicants to arrange conference attendence.

🎟️ Registration

Registration for BatID 2025 is now closed.

🏠 Lodging

Registration for dormitory lodging is now closed.

Conference attendees who have not already booked dormitory lodging should book alternative lodging options independently.

There are three hotels available in the Hyde Park, Chicago area, which can be accessed easily 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.


Scientific Program

Conference registration will open the evening of Wednesday, July 9, 2025. Scientific programming will take place over two full day sessions, including 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. Tigga Kingston, Texas Tech University


Thanks to the support of our Advisory Committee:

Stay tuned for more updates in the months ahead!