3CdF 2025

Welcome

The 3CdF organising committee is happy to welcome you to the 2nd Cross-Channel C. difficile Forum

Here you will find more information about the objectives of the event, the speakers and the schedule.

You can also register and submit an abstract directly through this website.

Objectives

1. Stimulate UK-French collaborations on C. difficile

2. Provide a discussion forum for ECRs researching C. difficile

3. Networking opportunities for ECRs with established PIs

Invited Speakers

3CdF is focused on ECRs who will present their work. We also have 3 invited speakers: Dr Mónica Serrano, from ITQB-Nova in Lisbon, Portugal; Prof Paula Salgado from Newcastle University, UK and A/Prof Johann Peltier from I2BC, Universite Paris-Saclay, France.

Dr Mónica Serrano, ITQB, Nova University, Lisbon, Portugal

Mónica Serrano obtained her PhD in Biology from NOVA University in 2004. She focused her research on the coupling of gene expression and morphogenesis during spore development in the model organism Bacillus subtilis, investigating how cell-type identity is established and the pathways that enable communication between the mother cell and forespore lines of gene expression. More recently, her work has centered on spore formation in the nosocomial pathogen Clostridioides difficile, which uses spores for host-to-host transmission.

Over the years, she has accumulated extensive experience in the field of Microbial Development. Since 2014, she has been an Auxiliary Researcher at the Microbial Development Lab at ITQB NOVA, where she leads her own research line. She also dedicates part of her time to teaching, primarily at the Master’s and PhD levels, in courses on Genetics, Microbiology, Microbial Development, and Bacterial Pathogens.

Prof Paula Salgado, University of Newcastle, UK

Paula Salgado is a structural biologist and biochemist interested in proteins associated with pathogenicity and disease. After a PhD at STRUBI, Oxford, and postdoctoral experience at Birkbeck and Imperial College London, she established and leads the C. difficile Structural Microbiology group at Newcastle University.

Her lab focuses on detailed structural and functional characterisation of proteins involved in C. difficile sporulation, particularly in early stages of spore engulfment and para-crystalline layer surface layer - S-layer - presumed to act as a protective armour and implicated in virulence, host interaction and immune activation. The lab combines biochemistry, microbiology and structural approaches to study these key pathogenicity determinants.

A/Prof Johann Peltier, Université Paris-Saclay, France

Johann Peltier’s scientific training has been in molecular biology and microbial genetics. He is an Assistant Professor at University of Paris-Saclay (France) within the “regulatory RNAs in Clostridia” (UMR9198) group at the Institute for the Integrative Biology of the Cell (CNRS, France). He has worked in the field of Clostridioides difficile fundamental research for more than 17 years. He has detailed knowledge and expertise on the physiopathology, as well as on the genetic manipulation of C. difficile. Within his current research, Johann is interested in identifying new factors involved in the pathophysiology of C. difficile with an emphasis on the role of cyclic dinucleotides.