Joakim Bloch

MD, Dpt. of Children and Adolescents, Rigshospitalet

Title of talk: Borrelia burgdorferi; Diagnosis and treatment

Bio: I'm a medical doctor graduated from Copenhagen University in 2018. I have a broad interest in infectious paediatrics with a particular eye for paediatric nervous system infections. Thus, the focus of my PhD has been the diagnosis, treatment, and pathophysiology of neuroborreliosis in children. Concurrently, I am involved in a research project involving antimicrobial stewardship in Kyrgyzstan.

Christina Gyllenhammar Kilander

Pediatrician, Karolinska University Hospital

Title of talk: Tuberculosis: Epidemiology globally and in the Nordic countries. Tuberculosis: Screening of risk groups and treatment of TB infection (latent TB).

Pediatrician with a longstanding passion for global health. Currently working at the Pediatric Tuberculosis Clinic and Pediatric Emergency Unit at Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm, Sweden. Board member of Pediatric Health Initiative.

Anna Henningsson

Senior Consultant, Senior Associate Professor, Region Jönköping and Linköping University

Title of talk: Lost in Serology? Navigating Laboratory Testing in Lyme Borreliosis

Dr. Henningsson is a specialist in infectious diseases and clinical microbiology with a position as senior consultant in Region Jönköping County, Sweden, and also as senior associate professor at Linköping University. Since 2016, she is the Medical Director of the Department of Clinical Microbiology, Region Jönköping County, and leader of the Swedish National Reference Laboratory for Borreliosis and Other Tick-Borne Bacteria in Jönköping. She has pursued research in the field of tick-borne diseases for over 20 years and has a special interest in laboratory diagnostics and immune response in borreliosis. Since 2024, she is chair of ESGBOR, the ESCMID Study Group for Tick-Borne Diseases.

Mette Bondo Mønster

MD, PhD student, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet

Title of talk: Saving the Central Venous Catheter: A Randomized Trial of Hydrochloric Acid Lock Therapy

Central venous catheter-related infections remain a major challenge in patients requiring long-term vascular access. While catheter removal is often recommended, it is not without risks and may lead to additional complications. In Saving the Central Venous Catheter: A Randomised Trial of Hydrochloric Acid Lock Therapy, I present the results of a randomised trial investigating an unconventional approach to catheter salvage. Could a simple hydrochloric acid lock challenge current practice and help preserve central venous catheters?

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Ulrikka Nygaard

Professor, consultant, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet

Title of talk: will be confirmed later

Professor and Consultant in Pediatric Infectious Diseases. Leader of CHILD, the Danish nationwide research platform in Pediatric Infectious Diseases.

Nadja Vissing

Consultant, Ass. professor, Dept. of Pediatrics, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen

Title of talk: Febrile Neutropenia - Early switch of antibiotics

Consultant in Pediatric Infectious Diseases with a special focus on immunocompromised children. Main clinical and research interests include severe infections, pediatric hematology/oncology and invasive fungal infections. Involved in randomized clinical trials throuh the Danish research platform CHILD, aiming to optimize antibiotic use and infection management in children with cancer.

Emma Malchau Carlsen

Consultant, PhD, Department of Neonatology, Rigshospitalet

Title of talk: Individualised antibiotic treatment in probable early-onset sepsis - a nationwide randomised non-inferiority trial

Emma Malchau Carlsen is a consultant neonatologist and Clinical Associate Professor at Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, and the University of Copenhagen. Her main academic and research interest is neonatal infectious diseases, with a particular focus on neonatal sepsis, antibiotic stewardship, and optimisation of antibiotic treatment in neonates. She chairs the Danish Neonatal Committee and contributes to national and international research collaborations and initiatives within neonatal infectious diseases. Her clinical work encompasses neonatal intensive care, congenital heart disease, ECMO, neonatal transport, and the management of neonatal infections

Arto Palmu

MD, PhD, university lecturer in clinical epidemiology, specialist in public health medicine

Chief Sientific Officer, FVR - Finnish Vaccine Research

Title of talk: Update on pneumococcal conjugate vaccines in children

Dr Palmu’s key research interests are in respiratory infections and their prevention by vaccines. He has published over 100 papers in peer-reviewed journals.

His primary expertise is on clinical trials and register-based research, and he has been pivotal in the development of pragmatic vaccine field trials.

He graduated from the Medical University of Tampere in 1993 and has worked at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) since 1995. Since April 2022, he joined FVR.

Lauri Ivaska

Academic paediatrician, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku

Title of talk: Pertussis vaccination during pregnancy and the development of childhood immunity.

Lauri Ivaska, MD, PhD, is a specialist in paediatric infectious diseases working as a clinician-scientist at Turku University Hospital and the University of Turku. He serves as clinical lead of the Pertussis Research Group, collaborating closely with the EU reference laboratory for pertussis and diphtheria in the University of Turku. He recently completed a research fellowship at the Oxford Vaccine Group, University of Oxford. He was principal investigator in the MIFI study examining how pertussis immunisation during pregnancy shapes infants' protection and later childhood immunity.

Hanna Nohynek

Professor, Chief physician, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare

Title of talk: Current situation and future prospects of the childhood immunization programmes in the Nordics

Professor, Chief physician, MD PhD vaccinologist with special competencies in international health and travel medicine. Works in Department of Public health of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) in team of Vaccines and Prevention, Unit of Prevention of Health Threats of THL. Was secretary of THL NITAG for 14 years, chair of WHO SAGE covid-19 vaccination working group until 12/2022, and chair of SAGE until 12/2025. Research interests are in vaccine policy decision making, vaccine impact studies (efficacy, effectiveness, safety), RSV, influenza, avian influenza, covid-19, pertussis, pneumococcus. Politically active as 2.vice chair of the board of the Päijät-Häme Well Being Services County.