Heidelberg, March 17–20, 2026
Researchers from the Wagner Lab at the University of Regensburg participated in the 35th Annual Meeting of the Society for Virology (GfV) in Heidelberg, contributing a selected talk and several poster presentations. The conference brought together leading international experts in basic research, clinical virology, and emerging technologies and provided an important forum for scientific exchange.
Dr. Martina Pfranger presented the work on a novel vaccine approach against Lassa fever based on the Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) platform. The study demonstrated protective efficacy against heterologous challenge in Hartley guinea pigs. In addition, she presented a poster on the immunogenicity of an MVA-based vaccine candidate against Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, showing strong induction of both humoral and cellular immune responses and supporting further efficacy studies and clinical development. Both projects focus on bivalent poxvirus-based vaccine strategies targeting emerging viral pathogens such as Lassa fever virus and Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus.
Michael Schachtner presented an abstract talk on Griffithsin-based peptide cages, a novel antiviral strategy designed to target mannose residues on viral surface glycoproteins. He also contributed a poster on the group’s DNA-origami-based virus neutralization platform. Both projects are part of the Virofight Consortium, funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research program.
Further poster presentations from the Wagner Lab addressed topics including novel vaccine candidates, antiviral strategies, and mechanisms of immune activation:
- Franz Attenkofer – Adenoviral vaccine candidate expressing the pentameric complex of human cytomegalovirus
- Christina Leupold – Effects of the Sepivac SWE™ adjuvant on immune responses to germline-targeting envelope vaccines
- Daniel Loibl – Impact of antigenic drift on antibody binding to Influenza A H1N1
- Florian Muck – Cell surface display of the human cytomegalovirus pentameric complex after DNA- and mRNA-based delivery
- Antonia Senninger – Immune activation mediated by extracellular phase separation of the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein
The meeting provided valuable opportunities for discussion and networking with colleagues from across the international virology community. The Wagner Lab thanks all visitors for their interest and looks forward to future GfV meetings.
Additional information:
GfV website
Program of the GfV Annual Meeting 2026
