Call for Abstracts 2023

Tularemia is a rapidly progressive and potentially fatal zoonosis of humans caused by the intracellular bacterial pathogen, Francisella tularensis. Because of its low infectious dose and lethality when inhaled, F. tularensis was developed as a bioweapon by three countries, and remains a potential bioterroist agent. Research and understanding of tularemia pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention have been significantly advanced by the International Conferences on Tularemia, the first of which was held in Umea, Sweden in 1995. Attendance and impact of this triennial series of meetings has grown steadily in subsequent years. At present, this conference is a unique venue that brings together scientists and interested parties from the U.S., Canada, Scandinavia, Europe, Russia, and Japan.

Advancing development of medical countermeasures is an explicit goal of this meeting. Research scientists, clinicians, and trainees at all levels attend; attendees with knowledge and interests outside the Francisella community per se also bring perspective and instructive comparisons. To advance scientific research and promote public health, the conference is designed to provide an environment that fosters collaboration and a free exchange of ideas. Highlights from past meetings include announcing the discoveries of:

• the Francisella pathogenicity island (FPI);
• the Type VI secretion system encoded by the FPI;
• development of new animal models; detailed genomic and proteomic characterizations that inform epidemiology of disease and development of new therapeutic options;
• identification of immune evasion strategies of the bacterium that advance vaccine development

Working session and abstract submission topics:

• Human infections, diagnosis, prophylaxis and treatment
• Vaccine development
• Host immune responses
• Epidemiology and ecology
• Bacteriology, taxonomy and omics
• Pathogenesis, virulence and interactions with host cells

If you participated in the 2023 meeting (even as a co-author), your contact information should still be in the TULISOC Membership database. We now have one single sign-on integrated online system for membership, registration and abstracts. 

If you already created a profile as a member or past-member, please login in below as a RETURNING USER. If you are completely new to the TULISOC online membership system, please CREATE A PROFILE and then you will be able to submit abstracts. To register, as well as join the society or renew your dues (to save $100 on academic/government registration and $60 on Student registration), please click here. If you are a current or past member, you will be able to login using your member email address which was sent to all members and past members on 26 August, 2025.

Submission Steps:

1. The first step is to input the Title of the abstract in sentence case, (example: Towards a global phylogeography of Francisella tularensis subspecies holarctica). Use TEXT ONLY, no special formatting except for italics where needed. Do not to include the authors or any additional information. Then type (or paste from Word), the Body of the Abstract (350 word limit), in sentence case, NOT to include the abstract title, authors, affiliations or contact information. 
2. The next step is to add your Co-Authors (which should NOT be included in Step 1). Each Co-Author will also receive a confirmation email with your contact information, the title of the abstract and ID number and their login information. All Co-Authors have Read only access. Presenters have Read/Write access. To prevent duplicate contacts, please confirm the person you are trying to add is not already in the system. To use a new contact (or if the information found in the TULISOC database is incorrect), click “My Co-Author Isn’t Listed – Add A New Contact“. This system will ensure accurate indexing of all authors in the abstracts/proceedings book. You can go back to the Authors field at any time to change the order of the co-authors. If one of your co-authors is already in the database, but has changed their affiliation or email address, you will not be able to change their information. Please contact Joan Oefner to edit their information for you. Alternatively, if they have a new email address, you can Add A New Contact. 
3. The third and final step is to review your submission and submit. All presenting authors must be registered for the meeting by 11 May, 2026. 
   https://member.tularemia.org/registration 

If you have any questions about abstract submissions, please contact the Conference Manager, Joan Oefner 

When you’ve finished the submission

Submitted abstracts will be reviewed and selected by abstract review groups that include members of the Organizing Committee for oral or poster presentation. You will receive a confirmation email with your Abstract ID number after your abstract submission has been successfully submitted. You can view or edit your abstract by returning to your profile in the TULISOC Abstract Management system at any time before the submission deadline. If you do not receive this confirmation email, please contact Joan Oefner 

Important Information:

• Abstract Body must be no longer than 350 words
• Abstracts must be in English.
• Abstracts must be submitted by the presenting author, advisors may not submit an abstract for another person under their own login.

Contact the Meeting Organizer: