Following the fantastic IUIS Congress in Cape Town in December 2023, we have another exciting year ahead of us in 2024, bringing together the best of Immunology worldwide. Our congresses showcase advances and cutting-edge science across the breadth of disciplines that make up and contribute to Immunology. We share knowledge, exchange ideas, build and strengthen partnerships, and, importantly, inspire, motivate, and elevate the next generation of scientific leaders. Immunology saves lives! Immunology changes the world for good! As Past-President, I am honored to continue contributing to our “Immunology without Borders” mission.

We’ve already been impactful around the world this year. EFIS and the IUIS hosted the International Day of Immunology Webinar “Immunity Through the Ages: Navigating the Science of Aging and Immunology”– a topic that I’m sure is dear to all our hearts and a challenge that ultimately affects each of us. A big thank you to EFIS for their continued leadership in highlighting the International Day of Immunology. A big thank you also goes to all the immunology societies around the world for undertaking outreach activities wherever you are based.

I encourage you all to visit the IUIS website and explore the wealth of upcoming Immunology meetings worldwide for the remainder of this year. I highlight the IUIS Federation meetings: The European Congress of Immunology in Dublin, September 1-4, 2024; The 14^th Latin American and Caribbean Immunology Congress (ALACI), November 4-8, 2024 in Buenos Aires; and the Federation of African Immunological Societies (FAIS) Congress, December 10-13 in Benin.

I’m also delighted to report that the FAIS Legacy Project that you supported way back, I believe in 2017, at the Tunisia meeting, continues to bear delicious fruit. The seed funding from the IUIS gave rise to the BRAINS project funded by the European Union. The project is still running successfully out of Strathmore University in Kenya and is supporting African Master’s and PhD students to take placements of up to one year duration in six universities in Africa: Morocco, Tunisia, Ghana, Gabon, South Africa, and Kenya. Approximately 80 trainees and staff will be supported by the end of the project which is now in its fourth year. A big thank you for your confidence in FAIS and for your continued support, particularly from the IUIS Education Committee.

I look forward to seeing you at our upcoming congresses and to working together “to change the world”.

On behalf of the Austrian Society for Allergology and Immunology (ÖGAI) and the Local Organizing Committee, we cordially invite you to the 19th International Congress of Immunology, which will be held in Vienna from August 17 to 22, 2025. We are proud to host the Congress of the International Union of Immunological Societies (IUIS) because we consider IUIS to be “the” umbrella organization for regional and national societies of immunology throughout the world, promoting immunology without borders.

Vienna is well known as a central meeting point in the world. Its tradition as a central European city goes back to ancient times. It has been known as a capital in the Roman Empire and the Habsburgian Monarchy for centuries and today is a beautiful cosmopolitan city. In Vienna, a true melting pot in Europe, you can strongly feel the influence of the surrounding countries, which is reflected in Vienna’s culture, architecture, and cuisine. In 2025, we will celebrate the 200th birthday of the great Austrian musician Johann Strauss, who became world-famous as the composer of waltzes, among them the “The Blue Danube” waltz. Accordingly, we selected the theme “Waltzing into the Future of Immunology: For a better Health” as a motto for the congress. After having experienced the COVID-19 pandemic, everybody will agree that immunology is essential to humanity. We are convinced that prevention of diseases and improvement of health care can originate only from basic research, especially in the field of Immunology.

This congress will offer exciting scientific sessions, and, at the same time, you can spend the most memorable days with us, discovering the rich past and vibrant present Vienna and its beautiful surroundings. Please also reserve some extra time to explore the many sights of Vienna, including the museums, opera houses, concert halls, castles, traditional inns, and small wineries, which we call “Heurigen”. It will be the right time of the year!! Visit the Vienna Woods, the Danube Valley, and the beautiful surrounding lakes, especially Lake Neusiedl, which has relaxing vineyards. We kindly ask you to note the dates August 17-22, 2025, in your calendar and to spread the news among your colleagues. The Local Organizing Committee will do its best to make this congress in Vienna a most memorable scientific, social, and cultural event.

Sincerely yours,
Rudolf Valenta, Barbara Bohle, and Wilfried Ellmeier

IUIS is thrilled to report the significant success of the Day of Immunology 2024 webinar. With an astounding 1,600 audiences from 88 countries, the event highlighted the global interest and commitment to advancing and spreading knowledge in this critical field of Immunology and Aging.

A heartfelt thank you to all our attendees for their enthusiastic participation. Your engagement and insightful questions made the webinar an enriching experience for everyone involved. We also extend our deepest gratitude to our esteemed speakers, whose expertise and dedication made the event successful.

A big shout out to all immunologists worldwide who run informative and fruitful campaigns to raise awareness about this crucial matter, sharing their knowledge and insights. Your efforts have significantly contributed to our global reach and impact.

Stay tuned for the announcement of DOI International and European winners, which will be communicated in the upcoming days. If you missed the webinar, you can access the recording on the IUIS Educational platform, Immunohub, by following the link below.

We look forward to your continued participation in future Day of Immunology as we strive to advance the field of immunology together, nurturing the IUIS mission: Immunology without Borders!

Thank you once again for your support and engagement.

Olga Gross, our IUIS Association Manager, will be going on maternity leave with her second child in mid-August. During this period, Clara Hijano, who previously covered Olga’s first maternity leave in 2022, will manage ongoing tasks alongside Mitra Momeni, Monicah Andefa, and the Executive Director Emily Blitz.

We congratulate Olga on this exciting time and wish her a smooth and joyful maternity leave.
Please feel free to reach out to Clara, Mitra, or Monicah via info@iuis.org.

Dear Member Societies,

IUIS is committed to fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment within the community, as indicated in its vision and values.

As part of this effort, we invite you to fill in the questionnaire below concerning your society’s demographic information.

Please note that the questionnaire will take approximately 30 minutes to complete, and it will be closed after Sunday, July 14.

Thank you for your time and consideration!

Travel4Expertise – The Grant For Care Givers

In May 2024, the Gender Equity Committee announced an entirely new and exciting fellowship: “Travel4Expertise – The Grant for Caregivers”. This new grant is dedicated to immunologists who travel to learn new techniques while having caregiver duties. This grant-in-aid will help cover additional expenses resulting from the caregiver’s responsibilities (such as additional childcare or travel costs) and contribute to the promotion of equal opportunities for immunologists.

New GEC Assembled – Applying Transparent Rules

The new chairs of the Gender Equity Committee (Sylvia Knapp and Roslyn Kemp) developed new terms for GEC membership to improve transparency, diversity and geographic representation within the GEC. New members applied via an Expression of Interest letter in which they outlined their commitment, experience and expectations. As a result, the “new” GEC assembled in May 2024, consisting of a diverse group of immunologists. For the first time, GEC is proud to have members coming from all 5 regional federations. We are excited and highly motivated to advance gender equity and inclusiveness within the immunology community worldwide.

The Veterinary Immunology Committee (VIC) is delighted to announce its collaboration with the Education Committee in organizing the “ONE HEALTH – ZOONOSIS AND COMPARATIVE IMMUNOLOGY” course. This initiative is a joint effort between these committees, the Federation of African Immunology Societies (FAIS), and the South African Immunology Society (SAIS). The primary learning objective of the course is to create awareness of the inter-connectedness between human, animal, and environmental health and its impact on zoonotic disease control and prevention. This is crucial for addressing the complexities of today’s global health landscape.

The course structure is designed to foster collaboration among participants. It consists of 8 weeks of self-study of precourse material, followed by a 1-week interactive in-person engagement in Pretoria, South Africa.

This course will be held on September 30-October 5,2024.

The International Consensus on ANA Patterns (ICAP) emerged in 2014 as an initiative under the Autoantibody Standardizing Committee, an IUIS Quality Assessment and Standardization Committee subcommittee. ICAP’s primary objective has been to harmonize the technical procedures and interpretational aspects of the HEp-2 IFA test, historically known as the antinuclear antibody (ANA) test. The HEp-2 IFA test is instrumental in detecting numerous autoantibodies targeting various intracellular antigens, offering insights into the serum levels and potential antigenic targets of these autoantibodies. Consequently, it serves as an essential tool in the laboratory investigation of patients suspected of systemic autoimmune diseases.The ICAP executive committee comprises globally renowned autoimmunity and HEp-2 IFA testing experts. Over the past decade, ICAP has championed precise reading, interpretation, and reporting of HEp-2 IFA images in clinical diagnostic laboratories, academic research, and the IVD industry worldwide. This concerted effort has significantly contributed to enhancing medical care for autoimmune patients.

Please use the link below to read more about this interesting attempt!

EFIS has graciously agreed to fund five travel grants of EUR 1,000 each to EU-based early career researchers and members of EFIS-affiliated societies wishing to attend the 14th Congress of Latin American and Caribbean Immunology – ALACI 2024 – to be held November 4-8, 2024, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The application deadline is August 18, 2024.Applicants will submit their applications via email to office@efis.org.
The documents required for application are as follows:

IUIS is pleased to welcome a new Associate Society, the International Eosinophil Society. The International Eosinophil Society (IES) advances the understanding of eosinophils and eosinophil-associated diseases. We are a global community of scientists and clinicians who develop and share our knowledge of eosinophil biology and innovative research approaches. Through biennial meetings and webinars, the society brings together individuals interested in eosinophils, fostering a vibrant community that spans all career stages. Together, we drive basic, translational, and clinical research that advances diagnosis, treatment, and management of eosinophilic diseases.

We are also excited to welcome our other new Associate Society, the European Macrophage and Dendritic Cell Society (EMDS). EMDS has emerged from the activities of the former European Macrophage Study Group (EMSG), a loose association of scientists interested in basic and clinical aspects of monocytes, macrophages, dendritic cells and other myeloid cells in man and experimental animal models. The group was constituted in 1992 as a result of a successful series of annual conferences called THE MACROPHAGE. The annual macrophage conference originated from meetings in the Upper Rhine area are organized by scientists from the universities and research centres of Strasbourg, Freiburg and Basel, but rapidly grew to a European format.

Immunopaedia.org.za is the official educational provider of pre-course and online IUIS immunology courses, where we have supported courses in south, west, north, and east Africa, Latin America, India, and Iran. Immunopaedia is open-access and delivers current educational content to provide frameworks of knowledge to IUIS course participants before they embark on face-to-face courses.

Learn with free online courses (more info) or through our real-life case studies with immunology explanations and quizzes. Immunopaedia summarizes the latest research on SARS-CoV-2 and other immunology topics (read summaries).

Immunopaedia, in collaboration with the IUIS and Frontiers in Immunology, has organized a webinar series on various immunology topics (read our summaries of the webinars).

You can also “meet” prominent immunologists from across the globe in written or video interviews or get to know our network of early-career immunologists through our Immunopaedia Ambassadors Programme. 

Please use:

• This form to share your society’s achievements or any other news on our website or social media profiles and
• This form is for all non-IUIS-related meetings you would like to advertise. 

Please use this form to submit a career opportunity.

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