17th Cambridge Immunology Forum Neuro-Immunology
Queens’ College, Cambridge. 22nd September, 2016
Organisers: Brian Ferguson and Andrew McKenzie Coordinator: Tammy Dougan
Programme
08.30 Registration and Coffee
09:15 Welcome
Session 1 Chair – Brian Ferguson 09:30 Jonathan Kipnis (USA) Meningeal immunity in CNS function and diseases
10:15 Dorian McGavern (USA) Dynamic insights into the pathogenesis of traumatic brain injury and CNS infections
11:00-11:40 Coffee and Posters
Session 2 Chair – Michelle Linterman 11:40 Michael Carroll (USA) Complement C4 as a risk allele for Schizophrenia
12:25 Julia Gibbs (UK) Regulation of inflammatory responses by the circadian clock
13:10 – 14:10 Buffet Lunch and Posters
Session 3 Chair – Gillian Griffiths 14:10 Shohreh Issazadeh-Navikas (Copenhagen) Neurons tame T cells & Neuroinflammation; impact on FoxA1+ Regulatory T cell fate
14:55 Alasdair Coles (UK) Treating the inflamed brain
15:40 - 16:15 Coffee and poster winners
Session 4 Chair – Andrew McKenzie 16:15 Michal Schwartz (Israel) Immune checkpoint blockade for empowering the immune system to fight against Alzheimer’s disease and dementia
The Michael Neuberger Lecture 17:00 Eicke Latz (Germany and USA) Role of inflammasomes in Alzheimer’s Disease pathogenesis
17:45 Close and thanks
18.00 Drinks and Conference Dinner
Speaker Biographies
Jonathan Kipnis Dr. Jonathan (Jony) Kipnis’s research group focuses on the complex interactions between the immune system and the central nervous system. The goal is to elucidate the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of immune cells in central nervous system (CNS) homeostasis after CNS injury and in chronic neurodegenerative conditions.
Dr. Kipnis’s research team showed that the immune cells mediate their beneficial effects on the CNS from within the meningeal spaces. Elimination of meningeal T cells or their produced IL-4 results in cognitive impairment. The fascination with meningeal immunity and its role in healthy and diseased CNS is what brought the team to study immune cell trafficking in and out of this understudied compartment. These studies have recently resulted in a breakthrough discovery of meningeal lymphatic vessels that drain the macromolecules and the immune cells from the cerebrospinal fluid/CNS into the deep cervical lymph nodes. The main focus of the Kipnis lab now is to address the role of meningeal lymphatic vessels in regulation of the immune response and brain drainage in different neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases. He graduated from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, where he was a Sir Charles Clore scholar. Upon graduation, he received the Prize of Excellence from the Weizmann Institute of Science and a distinguished prize for scientific achievements awarded by the Israeli Parliament, The Knesset. He was awarded the Robert Ader New Investigator Award for 2011 by the PsychoNeuroImmunology Research Society and the 2012 Jordi Folch-Pi award by the American Society for Neurochemistry. In 2015 Jony became a Gutenberg Research College Fellow at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz Medical Center and recently he was elected as Harrison Distinguished Teaching Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Virginia.
Dorian McGavern Dr. McGavern received his B.S degree in microbiology from The Pennsylvania State University and his Ph.D. in molecular neuroscience from the Mayo Clinic. Following an academic appointment as an Associate Professor in the Department of Immunology and Microbial Sciences at The Scripps Research Institute, Dr. McGavern joined the NINDS in March 2009. Dr. McGavern is the recipient of the prestigious Ray Thomas Edwards Foundation Award and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease Award. His laboratory at the NIH is focused on states of acute and persistent viral infection of the central nervous system (CNS). As Chief of the Viral Immunology and Intravital Imaging Unit, Dr. McGavern investigates the impact of viral infections on the CNS as well as how the innate and adaptive immune systems respond to pathogens in this privileged compartment.
Michael Carroll Dr. Carroll received his Ph.D. in Immunology from the UT Southwestern Medical School (Dallas, TX) under the direction of Dr. J. Donald Capra in 1980; subsequently he trained with Dr. Rodney R. Porter in the Biochemistry Department, Oxford University (Oxford UK). In 1985, he was appointed an Assistant Professor in Pediatrics and the Department of Biological Chemistry at the Children’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School. He was promoted in 1998 to the rank of Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School and Senior Investigator, Boston Children's Hospital, Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine.
Dr. Carroll serves as Director of the PhD Graduate Program in Immunology and co-Director of the Masters in Medical Sciences in Immunology Program at Harvard Medical School. He is the author of over 150 peer -reviewed articles*. Early in his career he was an American Arthritis Foundation Fellow and Investigator (1980-1986) and later a recipient of a Pew Scholar award (1986-90). A major focus of his research is development of genetic mouse models for studying human diseases such as lupus and host protection against infection. Most recently, he has extended the study of complement to learn more about how aberrant expression in the central nervous system can underlie schizophrenia and neuropsychosis in lupus patients.
Julia Gibbs Dr Gibbs studied Neuroscience at the University of Manchester before completing her PhD at Kings College London. Following a 2 year post-doctoral position at St George’s University of London, she moved back to Manchester in 2006 where she began working as a post-doctoral research associate in the Loudon laboratory, investigating the role of the lung clock in pulmonary inflammation. Here she established the importance of the pulmonary non-epithelial Club cell in regulating timing within the lung, and became interested in how timers within peripheral tissues regulate localised inflammatory responses. She was awarded a Stepping Stones Fellowship by her Faculty in 2012 and began working on the role of the circadian clock in chronic inflammation. This led to her being awarded an Arthritis Research UK Career Development Fellowship in 2014. After a period of maternity leave in 2014 (to have twin girls) she is now running a lab in the Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences at University of Manchester, and continues to study the influence of the circadian clock on inflammatory disease.
Shohreh Issazadeh-Navikas Professor Shohreh Issazadeh-Navikas (SI), Biotech Research and Innovation Centre (BRIC), University of Copenhagen, is the head of Neuroinflammation Unit at BRIC. She is trained biologist, performed her Dr. Med. Sci./PhD in the field of
Experimental Neurology at Karolinska institute, Sweden and postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School, USA. Since 2007, she is a full professor at BRIC, University of Copenhagen. She is well known for her contribution in the field of cytokine regulation and the bi-directional communication between neurons and T lymphocytes in central nervous system (CNS). Her lab has been among the first to identify and describe immunological properties of neurons in the CNS and their impact on regulation of immune cells and brain inflammation. Additionally her lab has identified a new type of T regulatory cells (FoxA1+ Treg cells) essential to limit neuroinflammation. The team also identified the first immune genes (IFN-beta and its receptor IFNAR), lack of which causes Parkinson’s-like pathology and dementia in mice. She has served as scientific chair and advisor of several prestigious research councils in Sweden, Germany, and Israel. She has been acting as an expert/advisor for National Institute of Health, USA. She is regularly acting as reviewer for high ranked, and prestigious journals.
Alasdair Coles Alasdair Coles is a neurologist in Cambridge. From 1994, his research with Alastair Compston, led to licensing of alemtuzumab as a highly effective treatment for multiple sclerosis in Europe, United States and 50 other countries; and also its approval by NICE in 2014. He ran the first investigator-led trial in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis and was the UK chief investigator of the commercially-sponsored phase 2 and both phase 3 trials. His work not only defined the safety and efficacy of this particular drug but has also demonstrated the importance of using immunotherapy early in the course of the multiple sclerosis. His group has shown that alemtuzumab is immunogenic and demonstrated, in a first-in-human study, a novel strategy to reduce immunogenicity of any biological therapy by inducing “high zone tolerance”. The principal adverse effect of alemtuzumab is autoimmunity and his group has (a) identified serum IL-21 as a predictive biomarker of autoimmunity after alemtuzumab and (b) shown that autoimmunity arises when reconstitution of the immune repertoire after alemtuzumab occurs by homeostatic expansion of residual lymphocytes. This led to a trial of keratinocyte growth factor to promote thymic lymphopoiesis and so prevent autoimmunity after alemtuzumab.
Michal Schwartz Michal Schwartz is a Professor of Neuroimmunology, incumbent of The Maurice and Ilse Katz Professorial Chair in Neuroimmunology, at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel, and the incoming elected president of the International Society of Neuroimmunology (ISNI) for the years 2016-2018.
Schwartz received a BSc (with distinction) in chemistry, from the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel, and a PhD in Immunology from the Weizmann Institute of Science. She performed postdoctoral research in the neuroscience department at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, studying nerve regeneration. Schwartz’s research is focused on the role of innate and adaptive immunity in central nervous system (CNS) plasticity in health and disease, and on developing methodologies to manipulate the immune system for the benefit of the CNS under acute injuries, chronic neurodegenerative conditions, mental dysfunction, and brain aging. Schwartz was the world pioneer in demonstrating that the immune system is needed for brain protection and repair. Her group identified specific sites within the brain’s territory that serve as immunological interfaces between the brain and the immune system. A major current focus of Schwartz’s group is in developing novel approaches for harnessing the immune system to fight brain aging and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease.
Schwartz publications are highly cited (H index 89; Google Scholar), and include numerous peer-reviewed articles and invited reviews, many of which appear in the most highly ranked journals. Professor Schwartz has been invited as a keynote lecturer at numerous international meetings. Her honors include the Friedenwald Award from ARVO (Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology), for her outstanding contribution to vision research and ophthalmology; the distinguished G. Heiner Sell Memorial Lectureship for outstanding achievement in the field of spinal cord injury, from the American Spinal Cord Injury Association; the NARSAD (The Mental Health Research Association) Distinguished Investigative Award; an Advanced European Research Commission award; a honorary doctorate from Ben-Gurion University; the Shaked Brain research award for her pioneering brain research, and the Blumberg Prize for excellence in medical science Lately her book “Neuroimmunity: A New Science that will Revolutionize How We Keep Our Brains Healthy and Young”, has won an accolade from the annual PROSE Awards. (https://proseawards.com/winners/)
Eicke Latz Eicke Latz studied Medicine in Göttingen and Berlin and worked as an intensive care physician at the Charité Hospital in Berlin. Starting 2000 he received post-doctoral training at Boston University and UMass Medical School in the Golenbock laboratory and he joined the UMass Faculty in 2006. He then moved to Germany, where he founded the Institute of Innate Immunity at the University of Bonn in 2010. He furthermore is Adjunct Professor at the Centre for Molecular Inflammation Research at the Norwegian Technical University in Trondheim and he heads a research group at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) in Bonn. His research focuses on identifying the most proximal mechanisms of innate immune activation in chronic inflammatory diseases. His laboratory studies the mechanisms involved in inflammasome activation and regulation, investigates how nucleic acid are sensed by Toll-like receptors and cytosolic sensors and performs systems approaches to decipher innate immune signaling pathway regulation. Dr. Latz is listed in the World’s Most Influential Minds by Thompson Reuters and is a highly cited scientist in immunology in 2014 and 2015.
Posters
Prizes kindly supplied by Nature Immunology, PLOS and SCIENCE
Prizes to be awarded to Best PhD poster, Best Post-doc poster and Best Neuro-Immunology poster
Judges Zoltan Fehervari – Senior Editor - Nature Immunology Katherine Barnes – Senior Editor - Nature Protocols Caroline Ash – Senior Editor – SCIENCE Chris Ferguson – Chief Editor PLOS Rob Barker- BSI Irene Knuesel- Roche
Forum Contacts
Name Company Email Role
Arthur Kaser Cambridge University, UK [email protected] Chair of Immunology Network Clare Bryant Cambridge University, UK [email protected] Co Chair of Immunology Network
Brian Ferguson Cambridge University, UK [email protected] Organiser/Chair session 1/ BSI
Andrew McKenzie Cambridge University, UK [email protected] Organiser/Chair session 4
Tammy Dougan Cambridge University, UK [email protected] Coordinator of Immunology Network [email protected]. Michelle Linterman Cambridge University, UK uk Chair session 2 Gillian Griffiths Cambridge University, UK
Stella Hurtley Snr. Ed. SCIENCE [email protected] Judge and Prize sponsor
Christine Ferguson Snr. Ed. PLOS [email protected] Judge and Prize sponsor
Zoltan Fehervari Snr. Ed. Nat Immunology [email protected] Judge and Prize sponsor Katharine Barns Snr. Ed. Nat Protocols [email protected] Judge Irene Knuesel Roche [email protected] Roche sponsor BSI Regional Group Secretary and
Rob Barker BSI [email protected] Trustee
Anna Hows Miltenyi Biotech [email protected] Sponsor
Thurka Poobalasingam BioLegend [email protected] Sponsor Sophie Rose CRB [email protected] Sponsor
Ruth Brennan Stem Cell Technologies [email protected] Sponsor Idhnan Hussain Affymetrix [email protected] Sponsor
Thank you to everyone who has taken part in and supported this event.
Cambridge Immunology Network
The Cambridge Immunology Network provides a way of connecting all immunologists (basic scientists and clinicians) together. The network also promotes collaboration, distribution of knowledge and supports our early career scientists.
Seminars
Friday lunchtimes on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus (alternating between the Sackler lecture theatre in CIMR and the Max Perutz lecture theatre in the new LMB) (13.00). Coffee and tea served afterwards.
Wednesday lunchtimes in the department of Pathology (12.30).
Early careers journal club
About once a month, a group of early career researchers meet up to critique a recent paper, chosen by a volunteer. You are welcome join us next time!
Opportunities for public engagement
The network is actively involved in the Cambridge Science Festival and in other outreach activities. This is a great chance to talk to members of the public, of all ages, about your research.
Website and research directory
www.immunology.cam.ac.uk
This website provides the network with research profiles of members of the network, a list of upcoming seminars, available job opportunities and news items. Easy to search by key words, research themes, departments, institutes or people.
PhD and Postdoc Research Day
Every year early-careers researchers present talks and present posters in an informal but intellectually stimulating atmosphere.
For all of these, keep an eye out for the emails to the Immunology email list. If you want to receive the emails or have interesting items to add, please get in touch with:
Dr Tammy Dougan, Coordinator - Cambridge Immunology Network
The 17th Cambridge Immunology Forum would like to thank our sponsors:
Jennifer Bell
www.roche.co.uk
Jo Revill
www.immunology.org
Thurka Poobalasingam
www.biolegend.com
Anna Hows
www.miltenyibiotec.com
Nature Immunology – Zoltan Fehervari
Nature Protocols – Katherine Barns
www.nature.com
Idhnan Hussain
www.affymetrix.com
Christine Ferguson
www.plos.org
Stella Hurtley
www.sciencemag.org
Ruth Brennan
www.stemcell.com
Sophie Rose
www.crbdiscovery.com
Some of our sponsors have exhibition stands. Please come and speak to them during the coffee and lunch breaks.
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