Closed-Door Expert Roundtable Session | SPARK Pediatric Medical Countermeasures Summit 2026
NOTE: This registration page is for invited Expert Roundtable presenters and attendees only.
To register for the Afternoon Public Summit, please use the following registration page:https://luma.com/tbkl6nhx
Organized by the SPARK Hub at Children's National, in partnership with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), and co-hosted at Johns Hopkins University, the SPARK Pediatric Medical Countermeasures Summit will bring together leaders from government, industry, academia, healthcare, and the biotech innovation ecosystem. Focus will be on advancing medical countermeasures, strengthening preparedness, and improving health security for pediatric populations.
The Summit is a full-day event divided into two segments.
The morning session is a closed-door expert roundtable. Invited pediatric and medical countermeasure (MCM) experts will each present a defined unmet need in pediatric MCM development, followed by a facilitated discussion on the challenges and potential approaches to address them.
The afternoon session is open to a broader audience and will feature panel discussions, a pitch competition with a total of $50,000 in prizes, and a call to action for advancing pediatric health security innovation.
The primary objective of the morning roundtable is to produce a prioritized map of unmet pediatric MCM needs and potential strategies to address them. This output will serve as the foundation for the afternoon report-out, ensuring that the entire event is aligned around a common goal.
AGENDA:
8:00 AM - 8:30 AM
Arrival, breakfast and coffee (30 mins)
8:30 AM - 8:40 AM
Ground Rules and Framing (10 mins)
8:40 AM - 8:50 AM
BARDA Pediatric Medical Countermeasure Priorities (10 mins)
8:50 AM - 9:40 AM
Block 1: Therapeutics (50 mins)
Format (for all blocks): Problem statement presentations (5-minutes per speaker), followed by open roundtable discussion.
9:40 AM - 10:30 AM
Block 2: Vaccines (50 mins)
10:30 AM - 10:40 AM
Break (10 mins)
10:40 AM - 11:40 AM
Block 3: Diagnostics and Devices (60 mins)
11:40 AM - 12:40 PM
Working Lunch: Live Synthesis. Rapporteur drafts the unmet-needs map and approaches to address them . (60 mins)
12:40 PM - 1:30 PM
Transition to the Afternoon Public Summit
View the afternoon agenda and register here: https://luma.com/tbkl6nhx
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About SPARK
The Special Populations Acceleration Research and Knowledge (SPARK) for Innovations in Pediatrics, a BARDA Accelerator Network (BAN) Hub, led by Children's National Hospital, supports the development of innovations that address challenges around the advancement and availability of medical countermeasures for pediatric populations.
About BARDA Accelerator Network
Established by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the BARDA Accelerator Network fosters the growth of health security innovation ecosystems globally and accelerates the development and commercialization of next-generation health security solutions.
Questions? Visit www.mcm4kids.org or email us at sparkhub@childrensnational.org