Each year, the Society for Invertebrate Pathology (SIP) holds the “International Congress on Invertebrate Pathology and Microbial Control & the Annual Meeting of the Society for Invertebrate Pathology”, providing a valuable opportunity for the CBC to present our latest results while also connecting with several international experts in the field. This year represented a unique opportunity with a joint conference held with the International Organization for Biological Control (IOBC) incorporating the bi-annual meeting of the IOBC-WPRS Working Group on “Microbial and Nematode Control of Invertebrate Pests”.
The conference, held in the beautiful city of Valencia in Spain, was attended by more than 500 individuals of which 480 presented oral or poster presentations. These presentations covered various aspects of invertebrate disease often in relation to their application as microbial control. Three members of the CBC attended the conference to present some of their latest results while also taking the opportunity to connect with international collaborators and others in the field. Dr Sean Moore, Prof. Caroline Knox and Dr Michael Jukes represented the CBC and presented some of the research being conducted on improving baculovirus based biological control programmes here in South Africa. Additionally, Dr Moore organised and presented a bid to host SIP in South Africa in 2021. This bid was successful and will provide a unique opportunity to members of the CBC and many other South African researchers to attend an internationally recognised conference on our home turf. Watch this space!
Poster session in the main conference hallway at SIP/IOBC 2019.