Dr. Marcela Ferrés is a professor, pediatric infectious diseases specialist, and director of the Infectious Diseases and Molecular Virology Laboratory at the Faculty of Medicine, Universidad Católica de Chile, and Red de Salud UC CHRISTUS, Santiago, Chile. She has more than 29 years of experience in clinicalhantavirus research, working closely with Dr. Pablo Vial’s group (Universidad del Desarrollo). Her research focuses on the epidemiological, cellular, and molecular factors involved in person-to-person transmission of Andes virus (ANDV). She has contributed to landmark studies identifying key transmission risks and advancing early diagnostic methods, including RT-PCR. Her work has also explored viral presence in different body fluids, highlighting potential transmission routes such as saliva and maternal milk. More recently, her team successfully isolated a new ANDV strain (CHI-Hu13724) from a household contact during the incubation period. Dr. Ferrés has authored more than 30 peer-reviewed publications in hantavirus, SARS-CoV-2, and diagnostic virology, and is the author of a Clinical Virology book, currently preparing its third edition. 

Dr. Jay Hooper is the Chief of the Molecular Virology Branch at USAMRIID. He has more than 30 years of research experience working with lethal viruses, mostly in Biosafety Level 3 and BSL-4 high-containment. His research is aimed at thediscovery and development of medical countermeasures targeting high consequence viral diseases of military importance, including hemorrhagic fever and diseases caused by poxviruses. Dr. Hooper received a B.A. in Biology from Colby College in 1986 and a Ph.D. in Virology from Harvard University in 1995. His research has resulted in more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and 15 patents.