The IUIS Webinar Series was established at the beginning of 2020 as an online education programme with the aim to provide individuals from all around the world the opportunity to gain comprehensive knowledge on the latest COVID-19 research developments without the need of travelling in these uncertain times. This first series was a tremendous success: internationally-acclaimed speakers shared their insights and latest research results on COVID-19-related topics in 20 webinars that welcomed more than 8,800 scientists from 86 countries.
For its third series, IUIS, in partnership with immunopaedia and Frontiers in Immunology, will broaden the scope to cover a variety of hot topics in immunological research such as Autoimmunity, Infectious Diseases and Allergology.

On demand Webinars

2023 International Day of Immunology – Immunology Talks to Public Health

Hear leading immunologists discuss public health: What did we learn from the COVID-19 pandemic? And what can we do better?

Kate Schroder: Inflammasome signalling

The inflammasome pathway is a key driver of pathological inflammation, contributing to several common human diseases (e.g. metabolic disease, neurodegenerative diseases, cancers). Inflammasomes are signalling hubs that induce cell lysis, culminating in immune system activation. Here, we reveal new mechanisms by which inflammasomes signal, and how a small molecule inflammasome inhibitor can silence pathological inflammasome signalling for therapeutic management of several human diseases.

Yasmine Belkaid: Microbiome control of host immunity

Wolf H. Fridman: Shaping of anti-tumor immunity in the tumor microenvironment

Tumors grow in a microenvironment in which malignant cells entertain intricated relations with stromal and immune cells Both T and B cell anti-tumor immunity are generated in Tertiary Lymphoid Structures adjacent to tumor beds. In situ generated immunity impacts patient’s prognosis and response to immunotherapy.

This webinar is supported by: Thermo Fisher Scientific

The production of this webinar is supported by Thermo Fisher Scientific. Thermo Fisher Scientific has had no influence on the content, and full editorial control remains the sole responsibility of IUIS.

Greg Delgoffe: Metabolic control of T cell differentiation during immune responses to cancer

Immunotherapy has changed how cancer is treated, although response rates remain low due in part to resistance mechanisms concentrated within the tumor microenvironment. In this seminar, Greg Delgoffe will discuss how the metabolic features of the tumor microenvironment can shape T cell differentiation to alternative fates, and highlight how metabolic reprogramming can be harnessed to promote superior antitumor immunity.

This webinar is supported by: Thermo Fisher Scientific

The production of this webinar is supported by Thermo Fisher Scientific. Thermo Fisher Scientific has had no influence on the content, and full editorial control remains the sole responsibility of IUIS.

Shane Crotty: Adaptive Immunity and Immune Memory to SARS-CoV-2 after COVID-19

Understanding immune memory to SARS-CoV-2 is critical for improving diagnostics and vaccines, and for assessing the likely future course of the COVID-19 pandemic. This analysis includes multiple compartments of circulating immune memory to SARS-CoV-2 from 188 COVID-19 cases, including 43 samples at > 6 months post-infection. By studying antibody, memory B cell, CD4+ T cell, and CD8+ T cell memory to SARS-CoV-2 in an integrated manner, it was observed that each component of SARS-CoV-2 immune memory exhibited distinct kinetics (Dan et al., Science 2021). Shane Crotty will also present a working model of the relationship between adaptive immune responses and COVID-19 disease.

2022 International Day of Immunology – Science, State and Challenges of COVID-19 vaccines

Featuring talks by Seth Berkley, Antonio Bertoletti, Rita Carsetti, Andreas Diefenbach, and Akiko Iwasaki. And a panel discussion which will bring together global experts to take stock of where we are and what the future may hold.

Akiko Iwasaki: Immune responses to SARS-CoV-2

In this talk, Akiko Iwasaki will discuss the impact of mutations of variants on vaccine-induced immunity, the key adaptive immune players in clearance of primary infection and prevention of infection induced by vaccines, and new vaccine strategy to elicit mucosal immunity to block infection and disease. Finally, Dr. Iwasaki will touch on long COVID disease pathogenesis and ongoing studies.

Despite 40 years of research the HIV epidemic remains a significant global health challenge and an HIV vaccine is still elusive. The recent results from the AMP trial have shown that a broadly neutralizing antibody can provide protection from infection. This has important implications for the pipeline of HIV broadly neutralizing antibodies being developed for prevention as well as vaccines that aim to elicit protective antibodies. This webinar will discuss the role of antibodies in both passive and active vaccination approaches.

Andrea Cossarizza: Immunopathology of COVID-19: lessons from pregnancy and from ageing

In this webinar, the most recent immunological advances in the fight to SARS-CoV-2 will be presented, embracing both clinical cases relating to persons with a different outcome of the infection, including those who typically experience a mild or a severe infection (such as pregnant women or elderly subjects, respectively), and the detailed responses to different types of therapies and vaccines.

This webinar was supported by: Fluidigm

The production of this webinar is supported by Fluidigm. Fluidigm has had no influence on the content, and full editorial control remains the sole responsibility of IUIS.

Anita McElroy: Mapping human immune responses to Ebola virus infection provides insight into viral pathogenesis

This webinar will describe the cellular immune landscape that occurs following Ebola virus infection and will correlate these findings with key features of Ebola virus disease. Attendees will learn about Ebola virus induced T cell activation, B cell expansion and monocyte redistribution as well as alterations in dendritic cells that could be clues as to why Ebola virus disease is so severe.

This webinar was supported by: Fluidigm

The production of this webinar is supported by Fluidigm. Fluidigm has had no influence on the content, and full editorial control remains the sole responsibility of IUIS.

At Fluidigm, we empower our customers to reveal meaningful insights in health and disease, identify actionable markers to inform life decisions and accelerate the development of more effective therapies. We focus on the most pressing needs in translational and clinical research, including cancer, immunology and immunotherapy. Harnessing proprietary CyTOF® and microfluidics capabilities, we provide an unprecedented view into health and disease through our unique combination of innovative mass cytometry, tissue imaging and genomics solutions. As a trusted partner of leading academic, government, pharmaceutical, biotechnology and plant and animal research laboratories worldwide, we strive to increase the quality of life for all.

Fabrizio De Benedetti: Hyperinflammation: hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis and macrophage activation syndrome

The webinar will cover clinical presentations and laboratory features of hyper-inflammation with a focus on hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) and macrophage activation syndrome (MAS). Pathogenic mechanisms and the involvement of cytokine networks in different forms of hyper-inflammation will be discussed. The webinar will also cover conventional therapeutic approaches, as well as novel targeted therapies

Claudia Mauri: Regulatory B cells and gut-microbiota: an intricate acting balance in autoimmunity

The question of whether inflammatory signals produced in response to the microbiota control Breg development alone or whether microbial factors also play a direct role remains unanswered. Claudia Mauri will discuss how butyrate supplementation suppresses arthritis in a Breg-dependent manner by increasing the level of the serotonin-derived metabolite 5-Hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid (5-HIAA), which activates the aryl-hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), a newly discovered transcriptional marker for Breg function.  

2021 International Day of Immunology – Immunology in the time of COVID-19: Achievements, Challenges and Opportunities.

Featuring talks by Özlem Türeci, Davide Corti, Shane Crotty and Laurence Zitvogel. And a panel discussion among internationally-acclaimed experts in immunology, virology, vaccinology and public health.

Qian Zhang: Inborn errors of type I IFN immunity in patients with life-threatening COVID-19

Clinical outcome upon infection with SARS-CoV-2 ranges from silent infection to lethal COVID-19. We identified autosomal-recessive or autosomal-dominant deficiencies of genes in the type I IFN circuit in 23 patients (3.5%) 17 to 77 years of age. We showed that inborn errors of TLR3- and IRF7- dependent type I IFN immunity can underlie life-threatening COVID-19 pneumonia in patients with no prior severe infection.

Antonio Lanzavecchia: Immunology taught by Plasmodium falciparum

Plasmodium falciparum uses multiple strategies to evade the human immune response. While infection is established by a small number of sporozoites that are largely ignored by the immune system, the abundant blood stage parasites use multiple and polymorphic variant surface antigens to avoid clearance and subvert the immune response. From volunteers immunized with irradiated sporozoites, we identified a family of potent neutralizing antibodies that bind to multiple sites of the CSP protein and represent a new tool for prophylaxis and for vaccine design. Using a systematic search for antibodies that bind broadly to infected erythrocytes, we discovered, in 10% of malaria-exposed individuals, a new class of antibodies generated by insertions of genomic DNA encoding human inhibitory receptors (LAIR1 or LILRB1) into antibody genes (at the V-DJ junction or in the switch region). LAIR1- and LILRB1-containing antibodies bind to different families of parasite RIFINs and opsonize infected erythrocytes. These findings demonstrate that the parasite uses multiple RIFINs to target inhibitory receptors as part of its evasion strategy. They also illustrate a new mechanism of diversification based on the insertion of host receptors into immunoglobulin genes, leading to the production of receptor-based antibodies, with implications for antibody and B cell engineering.

Eric Vivier: Harnessing innate immunity in cancer therapy and beyond

New therapies that promote antitumor immunity have been recently developed. Most of these immunomodulatory approaches have focused on enhancing T-cell responses. Although these therapies have led to unprecedented successes, only a minority of cancer patients benefit from them, highlighting the need to identify new cells and molecules that could be exploited in the next generation of immunotherapy. Given the crucial role of innate immune responses in immunity, harnessing these responses opens up new possibilities for long-lasting, multilayered tumor control. We will present innovative anti-tumor therapies based on the manipulation of the innate immune system. In addition, given the urgent need for effective treatments for pneumonia in patients with COVID-19, the elucidation of the immune responses that occur during the course of COVID-19 could lead to the repurposing of approved immunomodulatory drugs and candidate drugs that have already been tested in clinical trials. Along this line, we will present our results indicating the association of COVID-19 inflammation with activation of the C5a–C5aR1 axis. 

Pamela Ohashi: Immunoregulation and the tumor microenvironment

Although PD-1 blockade has transformed cancer treatment, a deeper understanding of tumor immunobiology and inhibitory mechanisms are needed to take immunotherapy to the next level. This webinar will cover topics including the cell types that express key B7 family members and their receptors including PD-L1, B7-H3, B7-H4 and PD-1 and discuss whether these findings align with the traditional views for what is going on in the tumor microenvironment. In addition, it will cover unexpected immunoregulatory mechanisms that we have found focussing on innate lymphoid cells. 

This webinar is supported by: Thermo Fisher Scientific

The production of this webinar is supported by Thermo Fisher Scientific. Thermo Fisher Scientific has had no influence on the content, and full editorial control remains the sole responsibility of IUIS.

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