The week of February 22-27, Dr. Amali Samarasinghe attended the Biology of Acute Respiratory Infection Gordon Research Conference 2026, a prestigious international meeting that brings together researchers studying respiratory pathogens and host immune responses. At the conference, Dr. Samarasinghe shared and discussed exciting advances in respiratory immunology, including research exploring how immune cells such as eosinophils shape inflammatory responses during viral and bacterial infections of the lung. These discussions highlighted how allergic inflammation and respiratory infections intersect in ways that influence disease severity and recovery.
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Dr. Samarasinghe has been deeply involved in the leadership of this conference series. She was elected Co-Vice Chair at the 2024 meeting, where she spent the past two years working with the conference Chairs to help plan the 2026 meeting. At this year’s conference, the leadership of the series was officially passed on to Dr. Samarasinghe and her colleague Kevin, who will now serve as Co-Chairs organizing the 2028 conference.
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Our lab loved seeing our work and ideas shared with such an amazing community of scientists, and we are especially excited to see Dr. Samarasinghe take on this new leadership role. We are looking forward to continuing these scientific conversations and helping shape the next Gordon Research Conference in 2028!