About the Event

Vaccination is described as the most cost effective public health tool in history. Although vaccinology and immunology have a common origin, the two disciplines have evolved such different trajectories that immunologists are largely ignorant of how the best vaccines work empirically and vaccinologists have little patience for the intricacies of immune regulation. However, understanding the immunology of vaccines and infections is of paramount importance in the rational design of future vaccines against pandemics such as HIV, malaria and tuberculosis, and against emerging infections such as SARS, Dengue and anthrax. A deeper understanding of the molecular and cellular mechanisms of host immunity will offer insights into the correlates of protective immunities, early genomic signatures of the efficacy of vaccines, and the rational design of novel vaccines that induce optimally effective immune responses. From Innate Immunity to Vaccines will bring together leading immunologists and vaccinologists from academia, government and industry to address critical advances in innate immunity, and their implications for vaccinology.

• The important role toll-like receptors (TLRs) play in immune sensing
• The role of dendritic-cells (DCs) in linking innate and adaptive immune responses
• The role of TLRs in modulating the quality of adaptive immunity
• The importance of immunological memory in maintaining adaptive immunity
• The innate and adaptive immune responses to potent existing vaccines
• The innate immune responses to vaccine vectors
• The future of genetically engineered vaccines that stimulate both antibody production and cellular immunity

The conference has a scientific program that will maximize interchange through lecture presentations and informal discussions. Please join us!

Denritic cell images are courtesy of the University of Iowa Central Microscopy Research Facilities