# News & Events ![2019 Virology Retreat](/sites/g/files/omnuum5516/files/styles/hwp_21_9__1920x825/public/virologyphd/files/news_events_banner_retreat_group_2019.jpg?itok=SEx67O_i) ## **2025-26 Microbiology Virology Seminar Series** Tuesdays, 12:30 PM ET in Veritas Science Center (formerly NRB) 1031 For Zoom link, please email [Virology@hms.harvard.edu](mailto:///Virology@hms.harvard.edu). 16 Sep **Elaine Hsiao**, University of California, Los Angeles *Marco Jost* 30 Sep **Brandon Jutras**, Northwestern University *Tanner deHart, Bernhardt lab* 14 Oct **Brian Conlon**, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill *Sophie Helaine* 21 Oct **Jason McLellan**, University of Texas at Austin *Jessica Chen, Wesemann lab* 28 Oct **Pamela Chang**, Cornell University *Marco Jost* 04 Nov **Gisela Storz**, National Institutes of Health *Ann Hochschild* 18 Nov **Marie Elliot**, McMaster University *Tom Bernhardt* 09 Dec **Aimee Shen**, Tufts University *Darren Higgins* 06 Jan **Alexander Meeske**, University of Washington, Seattle *Tien Nguyen, Bernhardt lab* 13 Jan **Thomas Silhavy**, Princeton University *Tom Bernhardt* 27 Jan **Chelsey Spriggs**, University of Michigan *Mélissa Léger-Abraham* 03 Feb **Graham Hatfull**, University of Pittsburgh *Philip Kranzusch* 10 Feb **Michael Diamond**, Washington University in St. Louis *Aaron Schmidt* 24 Feb **Kumaran Ramamurthy**, National Institutes of Health *David Rudner* 03 Mar **Harris Wang**, Columbia University *Jeffrey Moffitt* 17 Mar **Anant Menon**, Cornell University *Suzanne Walker* 24 Mar **Choukri Ben Mamoun**, Yale University *Mélissa Léger-Abraham* 31 Mar **Kimberley Seed**, University of California, Berkeley *Sophie Helaine* 07 Apr **Jöm Coers**, Duke University *Michael Starnbach* 14 Apr **Ian Mohr**, New York University *Samuel Rabkin* 28 Apr **Chun-Jun Guo**, Cornell University *Marco Jost* 05 May **Allison Didychuk**, Yale University *Ben Gewurz* 12 May **Harmit Malik**, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center *Shira Weingarten-Gabbay* 19 May **Géraldine Laloux**, de Duve Institute *Tom Bernhardt* Veritas Science Center (formerly New Research Building), 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA 02115 ## **Virology Student Data Club** The Virology Student Data Club is organized and run by the students of the Virology Program. The club meets every other week, and students in the program present their current research. In the second semester of the first year of study, Virology students present a practice talk of their proposals for the current Virology course. In the first semester of the second year of study, Virology students present a practice talk of their Preliminary Qualifying Exam proposals. The Virology Student Data Club is designed to give students an opportunity to receive feedback from their peers regarding their current research, their proposals for courses and the presentation for the PQE. In addition, the student audience learns about a variety of methods and techniques, as well as current research that takes place in different laboratories on and off campus. ## **Annual Virology Retreat** The annual Virology retreat is organized by the fourth-year students and typically takes place in early September. The event lasts for two days and provides an opportunity for the incoming class to be exposed to current areas of research that are the focus of students and faculty in the Virology Program. Students and faculty are invited by the organizing committee to present their research findings and ongoing projects in the laboratory, respectively, thereby allowing the incoming class to survey thesis lab options prior to starting the fall rotation. The retreat also includes an informal poster session in which students and faculty learn about the work of their peers. The retreat offers an ideal way for incoming students to interact with the rest of the program in an informal, fun setting. ## Virology in the News [### Stopping Cervical Cancer Before It Starts ](/news/2026/05/stopping-cervical-cancer-it-starts) May 12, 2026 A researcher focused on developing therapeutic vaccines for the human papillomavirus (HPV), Alton Gayton will graduate from the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in May 2026 with a PhD in virology. He discusses his pioneering... ![Person working at a lab bench ](/sites/g/files/omnuum5516/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2026-05/Alton%20Gayton.png?itok=udFLNgzR) [### Tour the Veritas Science Center with Jessica Chen ](/news/2025/12/tour-veritas-science-center-jessica-chen) December 03, 2025 Fifth-year PhD student Jessica Chen shows us around the newly renamed Veritas Science Center on the Harvard Medical School campus. See the video here . There are about 90 labs and 1,000 researchers in the VSC, including researchers from HMS affiliate... ![A young scientist gestures towards her lab bench.](/sites/g/files/omnuum5516/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-12/Image.jpeg?itok=K84Ztyrn) [### I'm Worried About the Future of Virology ](/news/2025/08/im-worried-about-future-virology) August 20, 2025 The federal government has terminated numerous federally funded grants and contracts to Harvard and is scaling back investments in scientific and medical research across the country. In this series, Harvard Medical School scientists discuss how these... ![Grant Yang](/sites/g/files/omnuum5516/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-08/a681b341-9250-4863-b3b8-1f874fa63fad.png?itok=Hli2suAN) [### Evolution Tamed Once-Deadly Western Equine Encephalitis. Should We Still Worry? ](/news/evolution-tamed-once-deadly-western-equine-encephalitis-should-we-still-worry) August 22, 2024 Virology student, Wanyu Li, is the first author of the July 24 *Nature publication*, offering important lessons for public health experts looking to prepare for future outbreaks. ![virus](/sites/g/files/omnuum5516/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2024-08/850_virus_0.jpg?itok=reGhLNUI) - Previous page chevron\_left - [1](?page=0 "Current page") - [2](?page=1 "Go to page 2") - [3](?page=2 "Go to page 3") - [ Next page chevron\_right ](?page=1 "Go to next page") [ More arrow\_circle\_right ](/news) ## Virology Twitter [ Follow Virology on Twitter arrow\_circle\_right ](https://twitter.com/VirologyHarvard)