Scientific Program
Preliminary version – updates in progress.
| Day 1 - October 1, 2026 | |
| Time | Session |
| 09:00 - 11:00 | Epidemiology of Fungal Infections in the Balkans |
| 09:00 - 09:20 | The incidence of invasive mycoses (globally, regionally and locally and consequently the increased need for diagnostics and monitoring) Timoleon-Achilleas VYZANTIADIS (Greece) |
| 09:20 - 09:40 | Epidemiology of Mucormycosis in the Balkans Anna SKIADA (Greece) |
| 09:40 - 10:00 | Contemporary epidemiologic insights into fusariosis, scedosporiosis, and other uncommon invasive mold infections (beyond mucormycosis) Maria DROGARI-APIRANTHITOU (Greece) |
| 10:00 - 10:20 | Candidozyma auris in the Balkans Simona PARASCHIV (Romania) |
| 10:20 - 10:40 | Trichophyton indotineae: epidemiology and current situation in the Balkan region Georgia VRIONI (Greece) |
| 10:40 - 10:55 | TBC TBA |
| 10:55 - 11:00 | Discussions |
| 11:00 - 11:15 | Coffee Break |
| 11:15 - 13:20 | Superficial Fungal Infections |
| 11:15 - 11:35 | T. indotineae in Austria: WGS to detect resistance mechanisms Birgit WILLINGER (Austria) |
| 11:35 - 11:55 | Chronic and recalcitrant dermatophytosis: A perfect storm Macit ILKIT (Türkiye) |
| 11:55 - 12:15 | Dematiaceous fungi: contaminants, opportunists or pathogens? Ioana COLOSI (Romania) |
| 12:15 - 12:35 | Non-dermatophytic Superficial Fungal Infections Maria ALEXANDROU (Cyprus) |
| 12:35 - 12:55 | Prediction, prevention, and patient’s participation in diagnosis of selected fungal infection Valentina ARSIC ARSENIJEVIC (Serbia) |
| 12:55 - 13:10 | TBC TBA |
| 13:10 - 13:15 | Discussions |
| 13:15 - 14:00 | Break |
| 14:00 - 16:00 | Candida and other yeasts |
| 14:00 - 14:20 | Update on current recommendations and challenges in laboratory diagnosis of invasive Candida infections Sevtap ARIKAN-AKDAGLI (Türkiye) |
| 14:20 - 14:40 | Candida parapsilosis - new epidemiological trends? Raquel SABINO (Portugal) |
| 14:40 - 15:00 | Candida parapsilosis: A Journey from Plastic Surfaces to Septic Shock Ruxandra MOROTI (Romania) |
| 15:00 - 15:20 | Management of Candidozyma auris outbreaks Joseph MELETIADIS (Greece) |
| 15:20 - 15:40 | Emerging nosocomial outbreaks with rare yeasts Jacques MEIS (Netherlands) |
| 15:40 - 16:00 | Global Maps, Human Maps: Tracking Cryptococcus neoformans and C. gattii Ruxandra MOROTI (Romania) |
| 16:00 - 16:15 | Coffee Break |
| 16:15 - 18:35 | Session 4 - TBD |
| 16:15 - 16:35 | TBD Oliver CORNELY(Germany) |
| 16:35 - 16:50 | Epidemiological patterns of onychomycosis in athens, greece: a retrospective study (2023–2025) Anna-Danae PANOPOULOU (Greece) |
| 16:50 - 17:05 | A One Health Consortium Approach to Investigate the Environmental-Animal-Human Interface of Candidozyma (Candida) auris in Türkiye: A Multidisciplinary Project and Consortium-Building Model Ayse KALKANCI (Türkiye) |
| 17:05 - 17:20 | Screening for candida (candidozyma) auris colonization in a greek university hospital: tracking the emergence of echinocandin resistance Maria SIOPI (Greece) |
| 17:20 - 17:35 | Candida auris fungemia in immunocompromised hosts: experience from a romanian hospital Anca DAMALAN (Romania) |
| 17:35 - 17:50 | Distribution of candida species causing bloodstream infections, assessment of their antifungal susceptibility, and determination of their biofilm properties, and correlation with clinical outcomes Betül CEYHUNI (Türkiye) |
| 17:50 - 18:05 | Clinical spectrum and outcomes of mucormycosis: experience from a romanian hospital Lăcrămioara MOHOREA (Romania) |
| 18:05 - 18:20 | Rhinosinusal mucormycosis as a possible promoting factor for bacterial brain abscesses Rareș - Mircea BÎRLUȚIU (Romania) |
| 18:20 - 18:35 | Emergence of trichophyton indotineae in slovenia (2024–2026): first slovenian case series and evidence of possible local transmission Jelena TODOROVIC (Slovenia) |
| Day 2 - October 2, 2026 |
|
| Time | Session |
| 09:00 - 11:00 | One Health Mycology |
| 09:00 - 09:20 | Environmental footprints of Candidozyma auris: from wastewater signals to One health surveillance Ayșe KALKANCI (Türkiye) |
| 09:20 - 09:40 | From water to air – Monitoring fungal presence and abundance in hospital environment Monika BABIC NOVAK (Slovenia) |
| 09:40 - 10:00 | Fungal pathogens in veterinary medicine: a One Health perspective Suzana HADINA (Croatia) |
| 10:00 - 10:20 | What is hidden in the sand and seawater: Romanian side Mihai MAREȘ (Romania) |
| 10:20 - 10:40 | Enemies during high season beach holidays Andra-Cristina BOSTĂNARU-ILIESCU (Romania) |
| 10:40 - 11:00 | TBD TBA |
| 11:00 - 11:15 | Coffee Break |
| 11:15 - 13:20 | Molecular Mycology |
| 11:15 - 11:35 | Fungal outbreak typing Ferry HAGEN (Netherlands) |
| 11:35 - 11:55 | Translational Molecular Mycology: bridging Molecular Diagnostics and antifungal resistance Ozlem DOGAN (Türkiye) |
| 11:55 - 12:15 | Molecular detection of fungal pathogens in clinical specimens Adrian MAN (Romania) |
| 12:15 - 12:30 | Emergence of candidozyma auris in Greece: laboratory surveillance data (2019–2025) Georgia VRIONI (Greece) |
| 12:30 - 12:45 | Genetic variants in antifungal susceptibility genes of candidozyma auris from Northern Greece: the first long-read whole genome sequencing analysis Katerina POULOPOULOU (Greece) |
| 12:45 - 13:00 | Respiratory tract infection caused by Neoscytalidium dimidiatum. Phylogenetic analysis of clinical and environmental isolates from the European region Anna SIDIROPOULOU (Greece) |
| 13:00 - 13:20 | Sponsored Symposium 2 Droplet Digital PCR: A novel and performing tool for advancing microbiology research Alexandra LIVESCU (Dialab Solutions – Romania) |
| 13:20 - 14:00 | Break |
| 14:00 - 16:00 | Antifungal susceptibility testing |
| 14:00 - 14:20 | EUCAST AFST basics and beyond Maiken ARENDRUP (Denmark) |
| 14:20 - 14:40 | Susceptibility testing interpretive criteria for Candidozyma auris Joseph MELETIADIS (Greece) |
| 14:40 - 15:00 | Fungi and antiseptics - susceptibility data and possible effects on antifungals Birgit WILLINGER (Austria) |
| 15:00 - 15:20 | New strategies to discover antifungal synergies: the example of amphotericin B and betulinic acid Tamás PAPP (Hungary) |
| 15:20 - 15:35 | Preliminary evaluation of a Mucorales DNA extraction protocol for Whole-Genome Sequencing using Nanopore Technology Anna SIDIROPOULOU (Greece) |
| 15:35 - 15:50 | Antifungal treatment in autism / autistic disorder syndrome (asd) Dumitru CÂRSTINA (Romania) |
| 15:50 - 16:05 | The Wall of Resistance: A 23-Year Retrospective Analysis of Antifungal Resistance in Fusarium spp. in a Turkish Tertiary Care Center Tugce UNALAN - ALTINTOP (Türkiye) |
| 16:05 - 16:20 | Coffee Break |
| 16:20 - 18:00 | Antifungal resistance |
| 16:20 - 16:40 | From where do the antifungal - resistant fungi come? Esther SEGAL (Israel) |
| 16:40 - 17:00 | Resistance and antifungal combination Eric DANNAOUI (France) |
| 17:00 - 17:20 | The trends in antifungal resistance in Eastern and South Europe Timoleon-Achilleas VYZANTIADIS (Greece) |
| 17:20 - 17:40 | Antifungal Resistance and Proteomic Insights into Virulence of Clinical and Household-Derived Fusarium Isolates Maja ŠEGVIĆ KLARIĆ (Croatia) |
| 17:40 - 18:00 | Discussions |
| Day 3 - October 3, 2026 |
|
| Time | Session |
| 09:00 - 11:00 | Aspergillus and other moulds |
| 09:00 - 09:20 | The diagnostic challenges in invasive fungal infections of the respiratory system Panagiotis SIASIOS (Greece) |
| 09:20 - 09:40 | Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis: community or hospital acquired? Malcolm RICHARDSON (United Kingdom) |
| 09:40 - 10:00 | Viral-fungal co-infections beyond COVID-influenza Jon SALMANTON-GARCIA (Germany) |
| 10:00 - 10:20 | An Aspergillus outbreak in a Danish tertiary hospital Maiken ARENDRUP (Denmark) |
| 10:20 - 10:35 | Diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis in haematological patients using 1,3-β-d-glucan combined with galactomannan and aspergillus dna detection: routine laboratory data (2023-2025) Georgia VRIONI (Greece) |
| 10:35 - 10:55 | Seeing the impossible: macroconidia in direct koh mount from human skin scrapings, a case series and call for collaborative documentation Maryna ZHURAVLOVA (Egypt) |
| 10:55 - 11:00 | Discussions |
| 11:00 - 11:20 | Coffee Break |
| 11:20 - 13:20 | Antifungal treatment and prophylaxis |
| 11:20 - 11:40 | Pipeline of novel antifungal agents for adults and children Emmanuel ROILIDES (Greece) |
| 11:40 - 12:00 | Antifungal stewardship in immunocompromised patients Murat AKOVA (Türkiye) |
| 12:00 - 12:20 | Antifungal prophylaxis in clinical practice Nijaz TIHIC (Bosnia & Herzegovina) |
| 12:20 - 12:40 | Fungal infections in aortic stents and treatment algorithms with antifungal therapy and replacement of thoracic or thoraco-abdominal aorta Michael SABETAI (United Kingdom) |
| 12:40 - 13:00 | Practical advances in cryptococcal infection for the clinical setting Oana SĂNDULESCU (Romania) |
| 13:00 - 13:20 | Risk of invasive fungal infections among patients treated with biologic therapies Mihaela LUPȘE (Romania) |
| 13:20 - 14:00 | Break |
| 14:00 - 16:40 | Old and New Insights |
| 14:00 - 14:20 | Fungal nomenclature Ferry HAGEN (Netherlands) |
| 14:20 - 14:40 | How to set a registry Jon SALMANTON-GARCIA (Germany) |
| 14:40 - 15:00 | Global Candida guidelines - What’s new? Riina RAUTEMAA-RICHARDSON (United Kingdom) |
| 15:00 - 15:20 | From Bench to Bedside: Current Perspectives on Pneumocystis jirovecii infection Enrique CALDERON (Spain) |
| 15:20 - 15:40 | Pediatric mycology: needs, challenges and achievements through the years Emmanuel ROILIDES (Greece) |
| 15:40 - 16:00 | Antibiotic use as a driver for fungal infections: Evidence and implication for clinical practice Arjana ZERJA (Albania) |
| 16:00 - 16:20 | Invasive fungal infections in allogeneic HCT: from Aspergillosis to emerging Molds Alina TĂNASE (Romania) |
| 16:20 - 16:40 | Mycobiome and human health Mihaela LUPȘE (Romania) |
| 16:40 - 17:00 | Coffee Break |
| 17:00 - 18:30 | Mycotoxins |
| 17:00 - 17:20 | Mycotoxins: a public health concern Georgios SAMONIS (Greece) |
| 17:20 - 17:40 | Transfer rate of aflatoxin B1 in two types of edible insects Mădălina GEORGESCU (Romania) |
| 17:40 - 18:00 | Aflatoxins in nuts and dried fruits packaged in plastic: Evidence from the Romanian market Adrian MACRI (Romania) |
| 18:00 - 18:20 | Fusarium-related mycotoxins Mihai MAREȘ (Romania) |
| 18:20 - 18:30 | Discussions |
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