Mark your calendars for June 8th through 12th, 2026, and get ready to travel to Knoxville, Tennessee! The Global Amphibian and Reptile Disease Conference (GARD) is the event of the summer for scientists interested in herpetofaunal diseases.
The five-day itinerary is full of workshops, field trips, collaboration opportunities, and in-depth discussions with leading scientists from all over the world. If you’re passionate about protecting the well-being of reptiles and amphibians, this event is calling your name. Keep reading to learn more about the upcoming GARD 2026 conference!
How Does GARD Protect the Future of Herps?
Simply put, herpetofauna are facing numerous challenges in the wild. We’ve seen a presence of Agamid adenovirus I, ranavirus, chytridiomycosis, and more in the past few years.
Cue the GARD conference. This event is bringing together scientists from all around the world to discuss the prevalence, detection, prevention, and treatment of these diseases. GARD’s mission aligns perfectly with our own at the Healthy Trade Institute. We’re working tirelessly to spread awareness about the importance of pathogen testing for herps for disease prevention.
Essentially, we want to collaborate with the brightest minds in the herpetological community to make pathogen testing more accessible. Together, we hope to brainstorm new ways to protect the herps we all love. And by putting our minds together, we can come up with new ways to spread awareness about disease prevention and better protect reptiles and amphibians.
What to Expect at GARD 2026
GARD 2026 isn’t your average conference. Get ready for five days packed with:
- Interactive Workshops & Expert-Led Keynotes
- Field Trips for hands-on experience
- Facilitated Discussions with brilliant scientists from around the world
- Research Presentations & Findings
And while we’d love to see everyone in person, you can still attend from the comfort of your home! Every presentation, workshop, and discussion will also be offered for virtual attendees.
Get Ready to Register for GARD 2026
Act fast if this event piques your interest! Because the GARD team wants to put on the best possible event, registration deadlines are approaching! General In-Person Registration ends on April 30th, 2026. Additionally, the Conference Hotel Reservation Deadline is April 30th, 2026.
And if you’re unable to travel to Tennessee (or if that deadline is just too soon for you), register for Online Attendance before May 15th, 2026, to save your spot.
Connect with the HTI and Support Our Mission
As a Platinum-Level Sponsor of GARD 2026, our HTI team can’t wait for the week of June 8th. And we hope to see all of you there, as well!
We know our team isn’t alone when we say that the state of the reptile and amphibian trade worries us. But we’re looking forward to collaborating with passionate scientists from all over to protect our scaly friends.
We’ll see you in Knoxville very soon! And in the meantime, we invite you to learn more about our mission and join us in protecting the reptile and amphibian trade.