Agenda at a Glance
Tuesday, May 5, 2026
| Time | Session |
|---|---|
| 8:00 am - 8:30 am Central Daylight Time (CDT) | Registration and Check-In |
| 8:30 am - 9:30 am (CDT) | Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI) Lights from the Field |
| 9:45 am - 10:45 am (CDT) | Artificial Intelligence (AI) In Healthcare: Opportunities to improve health outcomes |
| 11:00 am - 12:00 pm (CDT) | Building Healthy Teams |
| 12:00 pm - 1:25 pm (CDT) | Lunch |
| 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm (CDT) | Evidence-Based Health Communication: Research and Practice to Support Public Health |
| 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm (CDT) | The Evolving Battlefield: Rising Threats of Multidrug Resistance and the Antibiotic Stewardship Response |
| 2:40 pm - 3:40 pm (CDT) | Trauma-Informed Care and Practice |
| 2:40 pm - 3:40 pm (CDT) | Predictors of Hospital-Acquired Condition (HAC) Reduction Program Penalties, FY2025 |
| 3:55 pm - 5:00 pm (CDT) | Measles in the Post-Elimination Era: Implications from the West Texas Outbreak |
Wednesday, May 6, 2026
| Time | Session |
|---|---|
| 8:00 am - 8:25 am (CDT) | Registration and Check-In |
| 8:30 am - 9:20 am (CDT) | Finding Mission and Joy in Public Health |
| 9:30 am - 10:30 am (CDT) | Beyond Accreditation: Implementing a Sustainable and Effective Workplace Violence Prevention Program |
| 9:35 am - 10:20 am (CDT) | Nothing to it but to Flu it: A Surprisingly Simple Approach to Increasing Flu Specimen Submissions. |
| 9:40 am - 10:25 am (CDT) | Legionella Environmental Investigations |
| 10:45 am - 12:00 pm (CDT) | World Cup Collaboration: How Texas is Preparing Response Efforts Involving Higher Volume and Unusual Cases |
| 12:00 pm - 1:20 pm (CDT) | Lunch |
| 1:25 pm - 2:25 pm (CDT) | Mind the Culture: Bridging the Gap Between Diagnostic and Antimicrobial Stewardship |
| 1:35 pm - 2:20 pm (CDT) | Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in Texas Wildlife |
| 1:40 pm - 2:25 pm | Pathogens Perspective: From Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS) to Cryptosporidium - HUS in Texas / Fun in the Sun or Down in the Runs: Cryptosporidium Outbreak Being Linked to a Lake |
| 2:35 pm - 3:50 pm (CDT) | Open-Floor Networking: Poster and Exhibitor Hall |
| 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm (CDT) | Category A Waste is a Critical Weakness in the United States Response Plans for Outbreaks of High Consequence Infectious Diseases (HCID) |
| 4:05 pm - 4:50 pm (CDT) | Transplant Associated Reportable Disease Investigations |
| 4:10 pm - 4:55 pm (CDT) | Engaging Work Around Mpox Prevention and Response |
Thursday, May 7, 2026
| Time | Session |
|---|---|
| 8:00 am -8:25 am (CDT) | Registration and Check-In |
| 8:30 am - 9:15 am (CDT) | Compassion Fatigue and Self-Care: How Working in Trauma-Exposed Settings Affects Us |
| 9:20 am- 10:05 am (CDT) | Pathogens Perspective: From Botulism to Vibrio - Infant Botulism Outbreak Linked to Powdered Infant Formula / The World is Your Oyster: Vibrio Investigation and Shellfish Tags |
| 9:25 am - 10:10 am (CDT) | Overview on the Role of the DSHS Lab |
| 9:30 am - 10:15 am (CDT) | Texas Influenza Surveillance: Coordination, Reporting, and Response Part 1 |
| 10:30 am - 11:15 am (CDT) | Timeliness of Candida auris Reporting in Harris County, Texas, 2021–2024 |
| 10:35 am - 11:20 am (CDT) | Data Collection Improvement for Epidemiology |
| 10:40 am - 11:25 am (CDT) | Texas Influenza Surveillance: Coordination, Reporting, and Response Part 2 |
| 11:30 am - 12:15 pm (CDT) | World Cup Epidemiology: How Epidemiologists are Preparing for the 2026 FIFA World Cup |
| 11:35 am - 12:20 pm (CDT) | Rabies in Texas |
| 11:40 am - 12:25 pm (CDT) | Texas Influenza Surveillance: Coordination, Reporting, and Response Part 3 |
| 12:25 pm - 1:55 pm (CDT) | Lunch |
| 1:55 pm - 3:25 pm (CDT) | Introducing the New Texas National Electronic Disease Surveillance System (NEDSS) |
| 3:40 pm - 4:25 pm (CDT) | Antimicrobial Resistance Lab Network (ARLN) |
| 3:45 pm - 4:30 pm (CDT) | Perinatal Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) Vaccines and Investigations |
| 3:50 pm - 4:35 pm (CDT) | Pertussis: “Whoop” Here It Is |
| 4:45 pm - 5:00 pm (CDT) | Closing Remarks |
Friday, May 8, 2026
| Time | Session |
|---|---|
| 8:00 am - 8:25 am (CDT) | Registration and Check-in |
| 8:30 am - 3:00 pm (CDT) | Tabletop Exercise - High-Consequence Infectious Diseases |
| 8:30 am - 12:00 pm (CDT) | Tabletop Exercise - New World Screwworm |
| 8:30 am - 3:00 pm (CDT) | Tabletop Exercise - Trace Me If You Can: Traceback Investigation of a Salmonella Outbreak |