MDPI proudly hosted the Antibiotics 2026: Advances in Antimicrobial Action and Resistance conference. Taking place in Barcelona, Spain, the in-person event ran from 11 to 14 May 2026, bringing together industry professionals, researchers and students in the field of antimicrobial research.

This article covers everything you need to know about this conference.

MDPI’s Conference Team at the Antibiotics 2026 conference stand around a branded banner.

What is the purpose of Antibiotics 2026?

The Antibiotics conference gathered researchers, industry professionals, and experts from around the globe to share the latest advancements, exchange ideas, and foster collaborations in the field.

The event programme was designed to offer an engaging platform for discussing cutting-edge research, emerging challenges and future directions in the antimicrobials discipline.

“Having a more personal connection is crucial because, nowadays, we have these online events, webinars, but the experience is never going to be the same as having an in-person event.” – Dr. Márió Gajdács, Editorial Board Member of Antibiotics

Schedule overview

The conference hosted sessions on:

• Antimicrobial resistance mechanisms
• Antimicrobials, antimicrobial resistance, and One Health
• Ethnopharmacology in antimicrobial research and treatment
• Conventional and novel approaches in the discovery of new antimicrobial agents
• Innovation in antimicrobial stewardship and optimised clinical strategies

A speaker at the Antibiotics 2026 conference presenting to a crowded audience.

Speaker profiles

The sessions were delivered by 2 keynote and 10 invited speakers, comprising esteemed scholars from 11 different countries of Europe, Africa and the USA:

• Mariana Castanheira – Element Materials Technology, JMI Laboratories, USA
• Timothy R. Walsh – Department of Biology, University of Oxford, UK, and Chief Scientific Advisor, ICARS
• Jean-Michel Bolla – INSERM and UMR-MD1, Faculty of Pharmacy, Aix-Marseille University, France
• Dr. Efstathios Giaouris – Univeristy of Aegean, Lemnos, Greece
• Catherine Lefay – Institut de Chimie Radicalaire, Aix-Marseille University, France
• Dr. Walter Luyten – Walter Luyten Lab, Department of Biology, KU Leuven, Belgium
• Dr. Luísa Peixe – Vice-Director of Applied Molecular Biosciences Unit (UCIBIO), Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Porto, Portugal
• Dr. Patric Nordmann – Molecular and Medical Microbiology Unity, Department of Medicine, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
• Dr. Adnane Remmal – Faculty of Science, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Morocco
• Dr. Evelina Tacconelli – ID-CARE, University of Verona, Italy, and Chief Scientific Officer, ECRAID
• Dr. Aurélie Tasiemski – Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille, Pasteur Institute, France
• Dr. Carmen Torres Manrique – Department of Agriculture and Food, Leader of One Health UR group, University of La Rioja, Spain
• Markus Weingarth – Bijvoet Centre for Biomolecular Research, Chemistry Department, Utrecht University, The Netherlands

“I think it’s quite important to have people from different fields, because that way they may exchange different ideas.” – Prof. Dr. Patrice Nordmann, Invited Speaker

Participation in Antibiotics 2026

The conference was a great success, attracting 145 attendees from 42 different countries and receiving 265 submissions.

MDPI is pleased to have been able to present 4 awards for participants of Antibiotics 2026, sponsored by the journal Antibiotics, for best poster and best oral presentation:

• Angiola Guidone (best poster presentation)
• Miguel García-Ferrús (best poster presentation)
• Alessio Fontanot (best oral presentation)
• Francesca Berini (best oral presentation)

To find out more details about this conference, you can visit the homepage on Sciforum. Keep an eye on our conferences blog page to stay up to date with any future conferences that MDPI will be involved in.

A large group of attendees at the Antibiotics 2026 conference stand in front of a branded projector screen.