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NEWSLETTER PP 100000910 ISSN 1442-8725 December 2014 Clinical and Translational Immunology: A new platform to publish your research Gabrielle Belz* and Rajiv Khanna¶ *Editor-in-Chief, Clinical & Translational Immunology, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Melbourne, Vic. ¶Deputy Editor, Clinical & Translational Immunology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Qld. Clinical & Translational Immunology diseases. We have also published solicited effi cacy in the treatment of malignant is a joint initiative of The Australasian reviews on timely topics in basic/clinical melanoma. However, IL-21 therapy can Society for Immunology (ASI) and Nature immunology. In addition, we also publish rapidly and potently induce natural killer Publishing Group (NPG). This journal is an ground-breaking case reports and letters to and cytotoxic T cell activation in patients, open access journal and is a companion title the editor. implying that this cytokine may yet be to Immunology & Cell Biology (published useful in stimulating the immune response by NPG in partnership with the ASI). The All content published in Clinical & to cancers. Dale Godfrey and Jonathan changing landscape of the immunology Translational Immunology is open access Coquet, now at the Flemish Institute of fi eld has resulted in an increasing focus and is freely available to researchers Biotechnology in Ghent, Belgium, and his on excellent clinical immunology and worldwide through the nature.com platform. colleagues now report that IL-21 therapy translational research, with a corresponding We are delighted to announce Clinical & in patients with malignant melanoma increase in submissions on these topics. Translational Immunology was recently modulates the function of NKT cells, a The pioneering work undertaken by many accepted in to PubMed Central. We expect Australian Immunologists highlights the all ASI members to support this exciting cont.p4 translation of critical basic research to the initiative and submit their research to clinic. Owing to the emergence of new Clinical & Translational Immunology. robust approaches to investigating clinical We also welcome any proposal to write disease, the development of new disease comprehensive reviews or special features Contents models that much more closely mimic the focusing specifi c topics/diseases/clinical human setting (e.g. humanized mice) and settings. If you are interested in submitting Clinical & Translational Immunology 1 translation of fi ndings back into the clinic, any proposal please contact our editorial Editorial 3 ASI decided that a new journal is merited offi ce: cti.offi [email protected] 2014 Eureka Prize 3 to host a venue for these studies. Clinical Upcoming Conferences 7 & Translational Immunology is aiming to Please visit our website for more details: publish the latest advances in biomedical http://www.nature.com/cti/index.html President’s Column 8 research for scientists and physicians. The Honorary Secretary’s News 10 journal focuses on fi elds such as cancer Since launching in late 2012, the journal has Visiting Speaker Program 11 biology, cardiovascular research, gene published a number of outstanding articles by therapy, immunology, vaccine development world-renowned experts. A brief summary of ICB Publication of the Year Awards 15 and disease pathogenesis and therapy at the these contributions is provided below. Councillors’ News 17 earliest phases of investigation. Clinical & Travel Award Conference Reports 20 Translational Immunology publishes articles Cancer: Late-stage melanoma patients on basic, translational, and clinical studies in respond to immunotherapy Publications List 24 all aspects of human immunology, including Immunotherapy with a cytokine called experimental models specifi c to human interleukin-21 (IL-21) has shown modest ASI Inc. Newsletter December 2014 ASI Inc. COUNCIL Non-Voting Councillors: Newsletter Editor President Vice President Dr Simon Apte Professor Dale Godfrey Professor Christopher Goodnow Ph: 61 7 3362 0380 Dept Microbiology & Immunology Department of Immunology Email: [email protected] Peter Doherty Institute JCSMR, ANU University of Melbourne Parkville Vic 3010 PO Box 334, Canberra ACT 2601 Journal Editor Ph: 61 3 8344 6831 Ph: 61 2 6125 2394 Dr Gabrielle Belz Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Ph: 61 3 9345 2544 Fax: 61 3 9347 0852 Email: [email protected] Honorary Secretary Honorary Treasurer A/Prof. Stuart Berzins Dr John Stambas Visiting Speakers Co-ordinator CRN Section, School of Health Sciences AAHL, CSIRO Deakin Collaborative Lab. A/Prof. J. Alejandro Lopez Federation University Australia Private Bag 24 Ph: 61 7 3845 3794 Fax: 61 7 3845 3510 Mt Helen Vic 3352 East Geelong Vic 3220 Email: a.lopez@griffi th.edu.au Ph: 61 3 5320 2039 Ph: 61 3 5227 5740 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Day of Immunology Co-ordinator Dr Claerwen Jones Branch Councillors Ph: 61 3 8344 9595 Fax: 61 3 9347 1540 New South Wales Victoria & Tasmania Email: [email protected] Dr Marcel Batten Dr Daniel Gray Ph: 61 2 9295 8412 Ph: 61 3 9345 2497 Meeting Co-ordinator Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Dr Susanne Heinzel Ph: 61 3 9345 2609 Fax: 61 3 9347 0852 Queensland South Australia & Northern Territory Email: [email protected] Dr Kristen Radford Dr Cara Fraser Ph: 61 7 3443 7638 Ph: 0422 903 093 Council Member of IUIS Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Professor Alan Baxter Ph: 61 7 4781 6265 Western Australia Australian Capital Territory Email: [email protected] Dr Andrew Currie Dr Anselm Enders Ph: 61 8 9360 7426 Ph: 61 2 6125 7605 FIMSA Councillor Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Professor Alan Baxter Ph: 61 7 4781 6265 New Zealand Email: [email protected] Dr Roslyn Kemp Ph: 64 3 479 7708 Honorary Archivist: Email: [email protected] Dr Judith Greer Project Manager Ph: 61 7 3346 6018 Miss Sarah Fardy Email: [email protected] Ph: 61 3 5227 5794 / 0413 917 990 ICI2016 Councillor Email: [email protected] Professor Jose Villadangos Administrative Correspondence Ph: 61 3 9035 7684 Ms Judi Anderson Email: [email protected] ASI Inc. Secretariat PO Box 7108 Upper Ferntree Gully Vic 3156 Ph: 61 3 9756 0128 Fax: 61 3 9753 6372 Email: [email protected] The New ASI Website The ASI web site (www.immunology.org.au) has been fully remodelled and updated. New services include: Links providing members with free access to Immunology & Cell Biology, Nature Immunology, Nature Reviews Immunology Special offers for ASI members Download and upload forms for ASI awards Positions vacant page Online membership renewal Upcoming conference listings Women's initiative Twitter feed as well as many links to sites of immunological interest at home and abroad. If you would like to advertise a job or conference, or if you have an immunology news story, or a favourite immunology-related site that you would like to see linked to the ASI website, please email Sarah Fardy at [email protected] 2 ASI Inc. Newsletter December 2014 EDITORIAL 2014 EUREKA PRIZE This edition we showcase interesting B-CELL MYSTERY BUSTED AT LAST articles from our newer journal – Clinical and Translational Immunology. I hope you have time to look at the articles –I was particularly fascinated by the approach taken by Tuckweng Kok and colleagues to produce designer HIV antigens. It’s great to see ASI’s journals getting so much traction and congratulations to the Editorial teams of both ICB and CTI for guiding these journals so well. It is timely to review our publication statistics for the last year. I have been compiling the publication list for four years now and the pattern of publication has remained fairly similar, with the top ten journals accounting for about 30% of our publications. It’s great to see ICB in third place, but given that its impact factor is now so much better than PLOS One, I’d expect to see it in second place by the end of the New Year. 2014 Eureka Prize winning team. LtoR: Steven Nutt, Lynn Corcoran, Phil Hodgkin, David Tarlinton (Photo courtesy Australian Museum) A team of Melbourne researchers has of immune cells along the way. Until now the fi nally unravelled the workings of the rare, lack of understanding of this process—how specialised cells in our blood that generate the resulting ASCs ‘choose’ which antibody antibodies to fi ght infection and disease. to make, and how they survive for long periods—has been a barrier holding back Known as antibody secreting cells (ASCs), the design of effi cient vaccines and immune This is my last Edition as Newsletter Editor. they start life as B-cells in the bone marrow. defi ciency treatments. I’d like to give special thanks to Judi Our immune system carefully manages Anderson (at the ASI Secretariat) who always them every step of the way to protect “Philip Hodgkin’s team took a unique does a sterling job putting the Newsletter against immune defi ciency and ensure that approach to solve this problem, and have together; and thanks to all the ASI members appropriate levels of the right antibodies are fi nally revealed how the different immune who contributed or assisted in different ways maintained. cells are made,” Australian Museum Director over the last four years. A big welcome to the and CEO Kim McKay said. “This is a step- incoming Newsletter Editor, Joanna Roberts, For their elegant theory explaining how increase in our understanding that will aid the thanks for coming on board! ASC cells are produced, Professor Philip global effort to develop immune defi ciency Hodgkin’s team at the Walter and Eliza Hall treatments and vaccines.” One thing you become aware of if you become Institute of Medical Research has won the involved with the organizational side of ASI University of New South Wales Eureka Prize The Australian Museum Eureka Prizes are is the huge amount of work the Council does for Scientifi c Research.