Picturesque Bruges was the host city of the VIB Conference Type 2 Immunity in Homeostasis and Disease. 290 attendees watched the leaders in the field present their latest research on this diverse topic.
This axis of the immune system has historically been associated with asthma, allergy and immunity to helminth infections. Yet in the last 6-8 years it has been clear that the cells and soluble mediators that comprise this type of immune response, are responsible for interactions with the neuronal system, interactions with metabolic function of organs and interactions with tumors.
With a keynote by Stephen J. Galli and talks by Ronald N. Germain, Judi Allen and David Artis, the audience was treated to some key researchers showcasing their expertise. Upcoming scientists were given a platform as well, with 4 plenary talks selected from abstracts and 120 posters presented. According to Bruce Koppelman (Cell Immunity) the insights provided into how the basic biology of this type of immune response can be leveraged to generate therapeutic modalities to address medical needs was of particular value.
The program was rounded out with a Meet the Editor session with Bruce Koppelman (Cell Immunity), a reception in the medieval city hall of Bruges and dinner in the famous brewery of Bruges, known for their local beer Brugse Zot.
You can find a few photos of the meeting on our Facebook page.
What did the attendees have to say about the conference?
- "I really, really appreciate this excellent lineup of brilliant female scientists - I think it was the first time in my life that I saw such a gender-balanced lineup of speakers (and honestly, the female ones rocked)." By Sylvia Knapp (Medical Univ Vienna and CeMM, AT)
- I came for an update about the latest trends and results in type 2 immunity, i left with a plethora of new unpublished results and stories. Now it's my time to prepare a talk to show how much my colleagues that stayed at the lab missed. It was inspiring and it is incredibly satisfying to assist to a conference where most talks and posters seemed relevant for my own research. – Kevin Englebert (ULB, BE)
- "Superb quality presentations, encompassing a broad view of Type 2 immunity from brain development and metabolism through to cancer, underpinned by increasingly precise molecular, developmental and cell biology of the Type 2 cell populations." By Rick Maizels (University of Glasgow, UK)
- "Excellent update on what is going on at the moment, fantastic venue and very good networking opportunities." By Minka Breloer (Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, DE)
- "Adding session about publication politic and process is a wonderful initiative. This part is indeed not included in the most common scientific training, and it is more by the hard way or through our supervisor that we acquire a very limited experiment." By Adam CEROI (VIB-UGent Center for Inflammation Research, BE)
