Anne Wyllie, New Haven, United States

Anne Wyllie, Ph.D. completed her BSc (Biomedical Science) and MSc (Medical Science) at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. In 2011, Anne joined the group of Drs. Debby Bogaert and Krzysztof Trzciński as a research technician at the UMC Utrecht, the Netherlands. In 2013, she started her Ph.D. on “Molecular surveillance of pneumococcal carriage in all ages”. In 2017, she started her postdoctoral training under Dr. Daniel Weinberger at the Yale School of Public Health. In 2019, Anne was promoted to Associate Research Scientist and in 2021, after forming her own research group at Yale, she was promoted to Research Scientist.

Anne Wyllie is propelling the use of saliva as a superior sample for high-quality, low-cost community surveillance of respiratory pathogens and exploring their (co-)infection dynamics. Her innovations during the pandemic and commitment to open science have produced freely available PCR protocols, enabling laboratories to rapidly implement accessible testing and surveillance programs.

Dr. Wyllie will receive her award during ECCMID 2023 (15 - 18 April 2023, Copenhagen, Denmark) during the ESCMID Young Investigator Awards session and will give a presentation on her work.

Jacob Bodilsen, Aalborg, Denmark

Jacob Bodilsen (MD, PhD, Associate professor) is an infectious diseases specialist working as a clinician and researcher at Aalborg University Hospital, Denmark. He is a long-time member of ESGIB since 2013 and currently serves as secretary of the executive committee. He is also an Editorial board member at the European Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Jacob Bodilsen is the lead investigator of the ORAL and AMEN randomized controlled trials and is a co-founder and secretary of the nationwide Danish Study Group of Infections of the Brain (DASGIB).

His main research interest is CNS infections with special focus on brain abscess as well as bacterial and viral meningitis. Lately, he has also engaged in pharmacokinetic analyses of antimicrobial treatment of CNS infections using microdialysis in a porcine model. In addition, he has conducted studies on COVID-19.

Dr. Bodilsen will receive his award during ECCMID 2023 (15 - 18 April 2023, Copenhagen, Denmark) during the ESCMID Young Investigator Awards session and will give a presentation on his work.

Oliver Van Hecke, Oxford, United Kingdom

Dr Oliver Van Hecke is an academic GP and Senior Clinical Research Fellow at the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences (University of Oxford). He is a mixed-methods clinical researcher, a Fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners, and practising generalist in the UK’s NHS.

His DPhil (PhD) at Oxford in 2018 filled a major evidence gap by assessing the impact of antibiotic resistance for patients in the community. He is the course module organiser on "Antimicrobial stewardship interventions in primary care": as part of the ESCMID Antimicrobial Stewardship Certificate.

His research broadly focuses on ways to optimise antibiotic prescribing for common infections in the community and reduce the impact of drug-resistant infections. This broadly encompasses four areas: developing clinical decision-support tools; evaluating rapid diagnostic tests for common infections; promoting cross-discipline efforts to improve antibiotic prescribing; and making antibiotic awareness campaigns more impactful.

Dr. Van Hecke will receive his award during ECCMID 2023 (15 - 18 April 2023, Copenhagen, Denmark) during the ESCMID Young Investigator Awards session and will give a presentation entitled: "Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors: the challenges and opportunities of antimicrobial stewardship in South African primary healthcare"

Belen Gutierrez-Gutierrez, Seville, Spain

Belén Gutiérrez-Gutiérrez (M.D., PhD) is a faculty member of the Infectious Diseases Division at the Hospital Universitario Virgen Macarena and Associate Professor of Medicine in the Department of Medicine of the University of Seville (Seville, Spain). She belongs to the research group "Clinical Research in Infectious Diseases" of the Institute of Biomedicine of Seville (IBIS), led by Professor Jesús Rodríguez-Baño. She has an expert degree in epidemiology and new methodologies in clinical research.

Her research interests have focused on the treatment of patients with multidrug-resistant Gram-negative infections. She has been involved in several international and multicenter projects for the treatment and clinical management of multiresistant bacterial infections. For her, clinical research is fundamentally a team-oriented endeavour. Her goal is to continue working on collaborative projects looking for personalized treatment in infectious diseases.

Dr. Gutierrez will receive her award during ECCMID 2023 (15 - 18 April 2023, Copenhagen, Denmark) during the ESCMID Young Investigator Awards session and will give a presentation on her work.