Oxford Nanopore at ESCMID Global 2026

With over 15 years in the field of microbiology, Anna Maria Niewiadomska combines a deep knowledge of experimental and in silico methods for the generation and analysis of genomic and bioinformatic data, with wide-ranging experience in scientific communication and outreach.

Dr Niewiadomska has worked on multiple projects focusing on innate immunology, host/virus interactions, viral phylogenetics, mathematical modeling of antimicrobial resistance, and emerging infectious disease outbreaks. More recently, she has worked on pandemic response to multiple viral outbreaks such as SARS-CoV-2 and Mpox virus and collaborated with the SAVE and SPHERES consortia to identify emerging SARS-CoV-2 viral variants of concern.

Dr. Jose Alexander obtained his medical degree from the Central University of Venezuela and trained as a Medical & Public Health Microbiologist.

Dr. Alexander is board certified by the American Board of Medical Microbiology (ABMM) and a Fellow from the Canadian College of Microbiologists; he also is certified as Specialist in Microbiology and Molecular Biologist by the American Society for Clinical Pathologists (ASCP). Dr Alexander is Board Certified in Infection Control and Epidemiology (CBIC) and Board-Certified Medical Affairs Specialist by the American Council for Medical Affairs (ACMA).

He currently is the Clinical & Technical Director of the Microbiology, Virology, and Immunology Laboratories at AdventHealth Orlando.

His main area of experience is in antimicrobial resistance, implement of next-generation sequencing, and data-driven lab optimization protocols.

Sofia Brunet is a PhD student in Clinical Microbiology at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Sweden. Her research focuses on applying next-generation sequencing technologies to clinical microbiology. Most recently, she has evaluated the diagnostic potential of Nanopore sequencing for bacterial identification, exploring its feasibility and implementation in routine laboratory workflows.

Dr. Jason A. Hendry is a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin, Germany. His work focuses on developing cost-effective and field-deployable methods for genomic surveillance of P. falciparum malaria leveraging nanopore sequencing. In 2019, he drove a mobile laboratory (based in a Land Rover) 7,500km across sub-Saharan Africa successfully piloting nanopore sequencing for malaria surveillance. Since then, his team has developed novel nanopore laboratory protocols and bioinformatic methods for malaria and established them widely in Africa.

Martin McHugh is an NHS Principal Clinical Scientist in NHS Lothian where he leads reference laboratories for bacterial sexually transmitted infections and pathogen genomics. Martin completed his PhD at the University of St Andrews using genomics to investigate enterococci from Scottish healthcare settings. He is an NHS Research Scotland funded Clinical Researcher with a focus on applying genomics to understand and mitigate antimicrobial resistance. Martin holds Honorary Fellowships with the University of Edinburgh and the University of St Andrews.