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Programme Booklet
Look beyond the programme. The booklet has a few surprises tucked between the sessions, speakers and science.
As you browse, keep an eye out for Epithelix fun facts, anniversary moments, Easter eggs and other details celebrating 20 years of innovation.
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Programme at a glance
Browse the schedule by category.
Day 1 – Main Congress
Thursday, 8 October 2026
Registration
Arrival of participants in the venue and poster hanging
Welcome
Dr. Samuel Constant
CEO, Epithelix
Advanced in vitro and ex vivo models for the development of respiratory therapeutics
PD Dr. Katherina Sewald
Division Co-Director of Preclinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Head of Department of Pre-clinical Pharmacology & Infection and Immunology, Experimental Medicine (ITEM).
Patient-Derived Airway Organoids for Modelling COPD
Miss Serena Bateman (BSc)
Scientist, Complex In Vitro Models, Human Biology, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)
Adopting and deploying the precision-cut lung slice model for airway constriction studies – challenges, pitfalls, and lessons learned
Prof. Ynuk Bossé
Professor, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval
Coffee Break, Visiting Exhibition Area, Poster Viewing
From Mechanistic Insights to Antiviral Discovery: over a Decade of Respiratory Virus Research in Human Airway Epithelia
Prof. Caroline Tapparel
Professor, Medical faculty, University of Geneva
Long-term inflammatory consequences of SARS-CoV-2 infection
Sang Hyun (Ryan) Chun (M.S)
Ph.D. Student, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio
Development of a PBMC-bronchial MucilAir™ co-culture model to decipher asthma exacerbation mechanisms induced by Respiratory Syncytial Virus infection
Dr. Pereira De Oliveira
Researcher, International Research Laboratory RespiVir France-Canada, CIRI- Centre International de Recherche en Infectiologie, Faculté de Médecine RTH Laennec
Lunch Break, Visiting Exhibition Area, Poster Viewing
An autologous human iPSC-derived multicellular Alveolus-on-Chip reveals early pathological events of M. tuberculosis infection
Dr. Jakson Luk
Researcher, Laboratory of Host-Pathogen Interactions in Tuberculosis, The Francis Crick Institute
Mechanistic insights into the early stage of Bordetella pertussis respiratory infection using fully-differentiated human nasal epithelial cells
Dr. Nathalie Mielcarek
Deputy Director, Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille
A Primary Human ALI Infection Model with Bioluminescent MDR Pathogens for Real-Time Antimicrobial Efficacy Assessment
Dr. Marc Vandamme
R&D program manager, ERBC Group
Coffee Break, Visiting Exhibition Area, Poster Viewing
Beyond "Human-Relevant": Decision-Relevant Inhalation Toxicology by Design
Dr. Shaun D. McCullough
Team Lead and Senior Principal Scientist, Predictive Toxicology and Exploratory Biology, RTI International
Long-term in vitro exposure of an air-liquid interface immunocompetent tri-culture human bronchial cell model to traffic-related ambient air
Dr. Mathilde Delaval
Research team leader, Helmholtz Munich / Lung Health and Immunity institute
A Hypothesis-driven Framework for Screening Potential Respiratory Sensitizers
Dr. Nikaeta Sadekar, DABT & Dr. Jake Muldoon
Research Institute for Fragrance Materials (RIFM)
PSCI X Epithelix Awardee Announcement
Closure of Day 1
Departure to Sunset Dinner Experience at Panoramiques du Salève from the Conference Center
Meet our keynote speakers
PD. Dr. Katherina Sewald
Division Co-Director, Preclinical Pharmacology and Toxicology
Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine (ITEM)
Division Co-Director of Preclinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Head of Department of Pre-clinical Pharmacology & Infection and Immunology, Experimental Medicine (ITEM).
Prof. Caroline Tapparel
Professor
Medical Faculty, University of Geneva
Specialist in molecular virology and the pathogenesis of respiratory and neurotropic viruses, with research focusing on virus–host interactions, viral diversity, and mechanisms of virulence and tissue tropism to support the development of broad-spectrum antiviral strategies.
Dr. Jakson Luk
Researcher
Laboratory of Host-Pathogen Interactions in Tuberculosis, The Francis Crick Institute
Postdoctoral training with Max Gutierrez on molecular strategies to study host–pathogen interactions in tuberculosis. Established a human iPSC-derived alveolus-on-chip platform modelling respiratory infections and lung diseases.
Dr. Shaun D. McCullough
Team Lead and Senior Principal Scientist, Predictive Toxicology and Exploratory Biology
RTI International
Senior Respiratory Scientist leading human-relevant in vitro inhalation toxicology and respiratory biology programs. Research advances in vitro model development, mechanistic toxicology, and experimental exposure methods to support regulatory decision-making.
Prof. Olivier Guenat
Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Bern University
Head of Organs-on-Chip Technologies at ARTORG Center, developing lung-on-chip models mimicking healthy and diseased lung microenvironments. Founder of AlveoliX biotech startup, with prior roles at Harvard Medical School, CSEM, and École Polytechnique de Montréal.
Dr. Clive Roper
Director
Roper Toxicology Consulting Limited
Consultant toxicologist with 30+ years developing animal-free in vitro models for skin, dermal, and respiratory toxicology testing. Founder of Roper Toxicology Consulting, VP of ESTIV, and board member of NC3Rs, US 3Rs Collaborative, and PeptiMatrix.
Dr. Lydia Esteban Enjuto
Chief Scientific Director
Rheonova | Medical Devices Expertise
Scientist and R&D leader specialising in multi-scale rheology of pathological pulmonary mucus. Expertise spanning biophysical characterisation, scientific application management, and the study of therapeutic proteins in drug reconstitution devices.
Dr. Lauriane Cabon
Group Lead, Applied Organoid Technologies
Institute of Human Biology (IHB), Roche
Leads translational efforts converting organoid platforms into robust assays supporting drug development and therapeutic discovery. Advances human in vitro models across disease modelling, immunology, and oncology to bridge preclinical evidence.
Sponsors
Discover our sponsors and exhibiting companies
Platinum
Epithelix
Epithelix is a Swiss biotech company and the organiser of LIVe2026. For 20 years, Epithelix has been developing ready-to-use primary human airway tissues, including nasal, bronchial, small-airway, and alveolar models — with immunocompetent variants. Their MucilAir™, SmallAir™, and AlveolAir™ tissue systems are reference models in the field, used globally for drug efficacy testing, inhalation toxicology, and respiratory infection research. Epithelix also provides CRO services for a broad range of respiratory applications.
emka TECHNOLOGIES
emka TECHNOLOGIES develops advanced solutions for preclinical physiological monitoring, with a strong focus on respiratory, cardiovascular, and neurological function. Their instrumentation and data acquisition systems support toxicology and safety pharmacology research, making them a trusted partner for scientists working at the interface of in vivo and in vitro respiratory science.
Precisionary Instruments
Precisionary Instruments specialises in tissue sectioning technology, notably the Compresstome® vibrating microtome. Their patented compression technology enables the consistent production of high-quality precision-cut lung slices (PCLS), a key model type in in vitro respiratory research. The Compresstome® is widely used across lung, brain, and other tissue applications in both academic and industry settings.
VITROCELL Systems GmbH
VITROCELL specialises in in vitro exposure technology, notably its air/liquid interface exposure systems for inhalation toxicology and skin testing. Its patented modules enable the precise, reproducible exposure of cell cultures to aerosols, gases, and smoke, a key capability for in vitro respiratory and dermal research. VITROCELL's systems are widely used across lung, skin, and other tissue applications in both academic and industry settings.
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