The 35th Annual Meeting of the Society of Virology (GfV) in Heidelberg: uniting virology research across German-speaking countries.

Abstract

The Society of Virology (GfV) is a non-profit association and academic society dedicated to promoting virology across all disciplines in the German-speaking countries of Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. This mission is pursued through a variety of activities, most notably its annual meeting, which provides a stimulating environment-particularly for young scientists and students-to exchange ideas, establish new collaborations, and learn from leading virologists in an informal setting. This year, the GfV held its annual meeting in the picturesque city of Heidelberg, bringing together more than 1,000 participants. The program featured five plenary sessions with distinguished speakers presenting their latest research findings. Topics included virus evolution, the cell biology of viral infection, novel approaches to studying and preventing viral infections with a focus on innovative vaccine strategies, the use of imaging technologies to investigate virus-host interactions, and the development of potent antiviral therapies for chronic viral infections, illustrated by curative therapy of chronic hepatitis C and long-term prevention of HIV-1 infection. The plenary sessions were complemented by 21 parallel workshops covering all areas of virology, as well as several satellite sessions. Many of these were organized by the Young Society of Virology (jGfV), which is dedicated to promoting the next generation of virologists. This report summarizes the presentations delivered by the plenary speakers and provides a brief overview of the activities in the various sessions, including the prize-winning contributions presented at the meeting.