Friday, June 22, 2012

[Event Announcement and Call for Applications] 4 th EFIS-EJI South East European Immunology School (SEEIS2012)

The 4th EFIS-EJI South Eastern European Immunology School (SEEIS2012) will be held in the vicinity of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina from September 20 (Thursday) to September 23 (Sunday) with a major focus on transmitting modern immunology to advanced students, doctors and young investigators interested in the state-of-art immunology.
A group of international speakers will ensure a highly interactive, scientifically stimulative and intense conference program. They will highlight recent advances in inflammation research, T and B cell biology, immunogenetics, MHC and infection, autoimmunity, diagnostics of autoimmune diseases and updates on new technologies and products.

Attendance in this school is limited to 50 persons on a competitive basis. The organizing committee has made special efforts to offer fellowships to participants from lower economy countries from the region covering accommodation and parts of the travel costs.
We encourage young researchers from the South Eastern Europe region, particularly from the neighboring countries to apply for the school where all faculty and participants will have an opportunity of constant interaction and exchanges.
The deadline for applications is July 15th, 2012.
Topics
  • B cells in autoimmunity
  • Autoantibodies in human diseases
  • T cell costimulation
  • Complement activation and regulation
  • Cytokines in immunopathology and therapy
  • Imaging of immune cell function
  • Immunology of bacterial infections
Speakers
  • Miodrag Lukic, Kragujevac         
  • Seppo Meri, Helsinki
  • Annette Gospos, Luebeck
  • Moncef Zouali, Paris
  • Bernhard Fleischer, Hamburg     
  • Hannes Stockinger, Vienna
  • Gerald Stanek, Vienna
  • H. Joachim Seitz, Hamburg,
  • Narinder K. Mehra, New Delhi    
  • Hans-Willi Mittruecker, Hamburg
Concept of the School
The primary aim of this summer school is to teach immunology to young investigators in immunology from South-East Europe, i.e. Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria and Romania. This region needs help to establish a state-of-the-art immunology. Infrastructure and equipment of most of the institutes of immunology in the South of this region are still underdeveloped, but immunological societies in these countries have been or are being formed.
Another aim of the school is to foster contact of these young investigators with other immunological societies. They will meet foreign speakers both from abroad and from other countries in the region, and also young investigators from the region. The region also urgently needs a network of immunologists between the different countries. The common interest in immunology will be a bridge for mutual communication.
The topic of the school is "Concepts in Immunology". Lectures will deal with current concepts in immunology that are of special importance for basic but also for clinical immunology. The last school has shown that many participants have a medical background. Also controversially discussed topics will be presented. To provide an optimal discussion the participants will form small working groups according to their knowledge and interests that will be guided by the speakers. Methodological aspects will also be discussed, and a practical microscopy course will be organized by Euroimmun. Presentation of the work of the young investigators themselves in a special workshop is an important part of the school.

Three previous EJI-EFIS immunology schools were held in Ohrid, FYR of Macedonia, Dubrovnik, Croatia and Kragujevac, Serbia. They got a very positive feedback from the participants. One reason to hold the fourth school in Sarajevo, in the Middle of South Eastern Europe, is that we hope that this location will also allow other young investigators from other countries of the South to participate (Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, Macedonia and Greece) that were less represented in the last schools. But the school is of course open to all young immunologists from the entire region.
Further information: www.bnitm.de/SEEIS2012