22-23 March 2023, Radisson Blu Hotel, Edinburgh
Feedback from delegates:
- “Small size meeting, on a focus subject are very pleasant, and are the best place to meet people and make new connections.”
- “Refreshing range especially by younger speakers.”
- “I really enjoyed the friendly, collegiate atmosphere throughout the event.”
From midday, 22nd of March, until afternoon the following day, the Comparative and Veterinary Immunology Group (CVIG) of the British Society for Immunology organised the 3rd symposium in the “Frontiers in Comparative Immunology” series. The topic of the symposium was ‘Dendritic cells and macrophages across species’ and around 60 delegates met in the city centre of Edinburgh.
The meeting started with a session dedicated to early career researchers (ECRs) for which around 25 participants gathered. To start off, members of CVIG gave insights into their career pathways, which triggered lively discussions around career opportunities, work-life balance, and mentoring. Organisers and attendees appreciated the presence of colleagues working in industry, who shared valuable input on career options outside academia.
This was followed by the official opening of the event and two keynote presentations by Siamon Gordon (University of Oxford, UK), and Elodie Segura (Institut Curie, France). Siamon Gordon gave a fascinating overview on research into the mononuclear phagocyte system, highlighting key findings gathered in humans versus mice. This was followed by the presentation of Elodie who showed her research findings on human tonsil macrophages and their interactions with the tissue environment. After a lively panel discussion with both speakers, delegates moved to posters and industry booths. This was followed by a buffet and a Ceilidh event, allowing all participants to close their day with a perfect balance of intellectual input and physical exercise!
The following day three further invited speakers contributed to the topic of DCs and macrophages. Nicolas Bertho (INRAE, ONIRIS, France), shared his knowledge on DC and macrophage functions in different organs of pigs. Naomi McGovern (Cambridge University, UK) gave fascinating insights into unique macrophage populations present in the human placenta, reminding the audience of substantial species-related differences in the context of immunology and the reproductive system. Stephanie Talker (University of Bern, Switzerland) invited the audience to join her on her journey to unravel multiple subsets of DCs and monocytes in cattle, highlighting similarities but also differences between mammalian species.
The three invited talks were complemented by 9 shorter presentations from submitted abstracts. They covered a wide range of topics from DCs and macrophages in influenza, prion diseases, rheumatoid arthritis and cancer. Overall, each presentation highlighted further differences in the function and phenotype of cells of the mononuclear phagocytic system across species. Additionally, Jeremy Fry (ProImmune, UK) gave a sponsored talk on AnkyronsTM, a class of target binding proteins with potential to replace antibodies.
CVIG want to forward our appreciation and huge thank you to the BSI conference organisation staff, Jane Sessenwein and especially to Tracy Symons. We also thank our industry sponsors: Assay Genie, BGI, Bio-Rad, Merck, Miltenyi Biotech, PeproTech, and ProImmune.
CVIG committee: Wilhelm Gerner, Amanda Gibson, Rebecca McLean, Ambre Chapuis, Kate Sutton, Lindert Benedictus