10 year VIB Conferences
Immune Niches in Cancer & Inflammation
7-9 May 2025, Bruges, Belgium
Organized in partnership with Cell Press
Registration deadline: 27 April 2025
Immune Niches in Cancer & Inflammation
Immune Niches in Cancer & Inflammation
Organized in partnership with Cell Press
Keep me postedAdd to calendar
VIB is delighted to organize the Immune Niches in Cancer & Inflammation conference in partnership with Cell Press. This conference brings together the fields of cancer biology and immunology, which are now recognized as being more interconnected than we could have imagined a few decades ago.
At this conference, 30 internationally renowned experts will present their latest research, highlighting the multi-disciplinary nature of the field across several sessions:
- Tertiary organization of lymphoid structures
- Tissue organization
- Neuro-immune crosstalk
- Preceding factors influencing health to disease transition
- Cell Therapy
- Maintaining and breaking tolerance
VIB Conferences will celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2025, and to mark this occasion, we're organizing this packed three-day conference.
Host city Bruges
One of Europe’s best-preserved cities. The conference venue is within walking distance of the historic city center which has been designated a UNESCO world heritage site.
Confirmed speakers
Andrea Schietinger
Andrea Schietinger
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Immunology Program, US
Michele De Palma
Michele De Palma
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) and AGORA Cancer Research Center, Lausanne, CH
Laura Mackay
Laura Mackay
The University of Melbourne at The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, AU
Program
Day 1 - Wednesday, 07 May, 2025
08:20
08:50
Welcome coffee & registration
08:50
09:00
Welcome words
09:00
12:35
Session 1: Tertiary organization of lymphoid structures
09:00
09:30
Clonal and cellular dynamics of the antibody response
Gabriel Victora
Rockefeller University and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, US
09:30
10:00
Spatial determinants of tumor immunity and response to immunotherapy in TLS containing tumors
Wolf-Hervé Fridman
Université Paris Cité, Cordeliers Research Centre, INSERM, FR
10:00
10:30
Fibroblasts control lymphoid organ structure and function
Burkhard Ludewig
Kantonsspital St.Gallen, CH
10:30
10:45
Local immunosuppression of tumor-draining lymph nodes contributes to metastasis in breast cancer
Greta Mattavelli
University Hospital Würzburg, DE
Selected from abstracts
10:45
11:15
Coffee break
11:15
11:45
Microanatomical Niches Support Long-Lasting Humoral Immunity in the Influenza-Infected Lung
Tal Arnon
University of Oxford, UK
11:45
12:15
T cell recognition of human cancer
Ton Schumacher
Netherlands Cancer Institute/Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, NL
12:15
12:30
Mining tumor B cell repertoires for the identification of novel antibody target pairs
Julia Steiger
Memo Therapeutics AG, CH
Selected from abstracts
12:30
12:35
Revving up insights with single cell and spatial multi-omics
Koen De Gelas
Sr. Science & Technology Advisor, 10x Genomics, BE
Sponsored talk
12:35
13:30
Lunch
13:30
14:30
Poster session 1
14:30
18:05
Session 2: Tissue organization
14:30
15:00
Stromal-Immune Interactions in Health, Disease and Immunotherapy
Shannon Turley
Genentech, US
15:00
15:30
Cellular mechanisms for leukocyte migration in complex 3D microenvironments
Pablo Vargas
Institut Necker Enfants Malades, FR
15:30
16:00
T cell fates and function in autoimmunity and cancer
Andrea Schietinger
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Immunology Program, US
16:00
16:15
Myeloid immune landscape of glioma following immunotherapy
Jakob Rosenbauer
Clinical Cooperation Unit (CCU) Neuroimmunology & Brain Tumor Immunology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), DE; Department of Neurology, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Mannheim Center for Translation Neuroscience (MCTN), Heidelberg University, DE
Selected from abstracts
16:15
16:45
Coffee break
16:45
17:00
Single-cell integration and multi-modal profiling reveals phenotypes and spatial organization of neutrophils in colorectal cancer
Zlatko Trajanoski
Institute of Bioinformatics, Biocenter, Medical University of Innsbruck, AT
Selected from abstracts
17:00
17:30
Exploiting multi-hit mechanisms of tumor cell killing by CTL
Peter Friedl
Radboud University Medical Centre, NL
17:30
18:00
The alveolar niche is not so silent after all: implication for cancer and inflammation
Bart Lambrecht
VIB-UGent Center for Inflammation Research, BE
18:00
18:05
From target discovery to clinical trial: Your complete toolbox
Olivier Petitjean
VectorBuilder, FR
Sponsored talk
18:30
20:00
Reception at Bruges City Hall
Free of charge, but registration is mandatory.
Day 2 - Thursday, 08 May, 2025
08:30
09:00
Welcome coffee
09:00
12:20
Session 3: Neuro-Immune crosstalk
09:00
09:30
Neuroimmune regulation from molecular mechanisms to therapeutic perspectives
Sophie Ugolini
Aix-Marseille Université, FR
09:30
10:00
Interferon-Y orchestrates leptomeningeal anti-tumour response
Adrienne Boire
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, US
10:00
10:30
Sensing Inflammation at the Barrier
Brian Kim
Mount Sinai, US
10:30
10:45
Tumor-associated macrophages enhance tumor innervation and spinal cord repair
Ilaria Decimo
University of Verona, IT
Selected from abstracts
10:45
11:15
Coffee break
11:15
11:45
Neuroimmune interactions in the intestine
Coco Chu
Tsinghua University, CN
11:45
12:15
Neuroimmune interactions in allergy: from fetal imprinting to disease development
Nicolas Gaudenzio
Inserm - INFINITY, FR
12:15
12:20
Deciphering cell-cell interactions at scale
Jeroen Aerts
Market Development Manager EMEA, Moleculent, BE
Sponsored talk
12:20
13:20
Lunch
13:20
14:20
Poster session 2
14:20
17:50
Session 4: Cell Therapy
14:20
14:50
A vascular perspective on lymphoid organ function
Gabriele Bergers
VIB-KU Leuven Center for Cancer Biology, BE
14:50
15:20
Of CARs and Commensals - Synergizing Microbiome-derived postbiotics and T cell engineering
Maik Luu
University Hospital Würzburg, DE
15:20
15:50
CAR T cell therapy for inflammatory diseases
Min Peng
Tsinghua University, CN
15:50
16:05
Harnessing CAR-NK cells against mesothelin and CD70 for pancreatic cancer
Jonas Van Audenaerde
Center for Oncological Research, Integrated Precision and Personalized Oncology Network (IPPON), University of Antwerp, BE
Selected from abstracts
16:05
16:35
Coffee break
16:35
16:50
ZDHHC17-mediated palmitoylation promotes a pro-tumor neutrophil phenotype in liver metastases
Anke Vandekeere
Laboratory of Cellular Metabolism and Metabolic Regulation, VIB-KU Leuven Center for Cancer Biology, BE; KU Leuven and Leuven Cancer Institute, BE
Selected from abstracts
16:50
17:20
Novel immunotherapeutic approaches against glioblastoma
Tobias Weiss
University Hospital & University of Zurich, CH
17:20
17:50
Engineered dendritic cell therapy
Michele De Palma
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) and AGORA Cancer Research Center, Lausanne, CH
18:00
19:30
Boat tour
For conference dinner attendees only
19:30
22:00
Conference dinner
Additional fee
Day 3 - Friday, 09 May, 2025
08:30
09:00
Welcome coffee
09:00
12:35
Session 5: Preceding factors influencing health to disease transition
09:00
09:30
Tracking the origins and clonal evolution of human colorectal precancers through the lens of the immune microenvironment
Ken Lau
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, US
09:30
10:00
Kiavash Movahedi
VUB, BE
10:00
10:30
Cancer risk score and interceptive measures in cardiovascular disease patients
Laurence Zitvogel
Gustave Roussy, INSERM, University Paris Saclay, FR
10:30
10:45
Early life RSV infection as a preventable risk factor for asthma
Elisabeth De Leeuw
Laboratory of Mucosal Immunology, VIB-UGent Center for Inflammation Research, BE; Department of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, BE
Selected from abstracts
10:45
11:15
Coffee break
11:15
11:45
Neutralization of the autophagy-repressive tissue hormone DBI/ACBP enhances anticancer immunosurveillance
Guido Kroemer
University of Paris Cité, FR
11:45
12:15
Circadian anti-tumor immune responses
Christoph Scheiermann
University of Geneva, CH
12:15
12:30
Age-accumulated senescent cells fuel melanoma metastasis growth via NK cell inhibition
Sebastian Igelmann
Laboratory of Cellular Metabolism and Metabolic Regulation, VIB-KU Leuven Center for Cancer Biology, BE; Laboratory of Cellular Metabolism and Metabolic Regulation, Department of Oncology, KU Leuven and Leuven Cancer Institute (LKI), BE
Selected from abstracts
12:30
12:35
Experience live single-cell functional insights with beacon discovery for oncology & immunotherapy research
Tiago Santos
Market Development Executive, Bruker Cellular Analysis, PT
Sponsored talk
12:35
13:30
Lunch
13:30
14:30
Poster session 3
14:30
18:00
Session 6: Maintaining and breaking tolerance
14:30
15:00
Expanding T-cells and their tumor antigens during checkpoint immunotherapy
Diether Lambrechts
VIB-KU Leuven Center for Cancer Biology, BE
15:00
15:30
Malnourished T cells drive autoimmune tissue inflammation
Cornelia Weyand
Stanford University & Mayo Clinic, US
15:30
16:00
DeLIVERing in vivo CRISPR screens and automated spatial analysis pipelines to study hepatic cell-cell interactions
Martin Guilliams
VIB-UGent Center for Inflammation Research, BE
16:00
16:15
Sanitation of modified nucleotides maintains DNA integrity and hyperactivation of Foxp3+ regulatory T cells in the hypoxic tumor niche
Julian Swatler
IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, IT
Selected from abstracts
16:15
16:45
Coffee break
16:45
17:00
Type-2 innate lymphocytes reprogram resident alveolar macrophages into drivers of inflammation by switching from PPAR-γ to IRF4 regulons
Stijn Verwaerde
Laboratory of Immunoregulation and Mucosal Immunology, VIB-UGent Center for Inflammation Research, BE; Department of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, BE
Selected from abstracts
17:00
17:30
Overcoming spatial immuno-resistant tumor niches via multimodal precision immunotherapy
Abhishek Garg
KU Leuven, BE
17:30
18:00
Early life imprinting of intestinal tolerance
Chrysothemis Brown
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, US
18:00
18:15
Closing words
Organizing committee
Bart Lambrecht
VIB-UGent Center for Inflammation Research, BE
Bruce Koppelman
Senior Scientific Editor-Immunity, Cell Press, US
Diether Lambrechts
VIB-KU Leuven Center for Cancer Biology, BE
Gabriele Bergers
VIB-KU Leuven Center for Cancer Biology, BE
Laurence Zitvogel
Gustave Roussy, INSERM, University Paris Saclay, FR
Martin Guilliams
VIB-UGent Center for Inflammation Research, BE
Miriam Merad
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, US
Rita S. Cha
Scientific Editor, Cell, Cell Press, UK
Evy Vierstraete
VIB Training & Conferences, BE
Abstracts
Poster information
The format for your poster should be: A0 (841 x 1189 mm / 33.1 x 46.8 in), portrait orientation. All accepted poster submissions will have a chance to win the Cell Press Poster Prize!
The full list of abstracts will be available on 20-04-2025 until 09-08-2025
This list will only be available for registered attendees of the event.
This list will only be available for registered attendees of the event.
Attendees
The full list of attendees will be available on 20-04-2025 until 09-08-2025
This list will only be available for registered attendees of the event.
This list will only be available for registered attendees of the event.
Sponsors
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