The 8th Annual Meeting of the International Cytokine and Interferon Society (ICIS) will be held in Seattle, WA at the Hyatt Regency from November 1-4, 2020. Titled ?Structure-Function and Systems Biology of Cytokine Actions?, this international conference will bring together leading investigators across many different research disciplines in the field of cytokine biology, impacting all aspects of medicine, from infectious disease, cancer, autoimmune disease, development, structure, and personalized medicine, within a systems biology theme. The ICIS meeting serves as a common ground where scientists interested in all aspects of cytokine biology can join and work together to better human health. The Co-Chairs for this meeting are Drs. Michael Gale Jr. and Ram Savan (University of Washington, Seattle, WA); together, these scientists represent a broad spectrum of scientific expertise relevant to the interests of the ICIS. A major goal of the meeting will be to promote the interactions between scientists focusing on cytokine signaling and function in diverse areas of biology, such as host-microbiota interactions, innate immunity, host defense, immune regulation, metabolism, primary immunodeficiencies, cancer immunotherapy, development, and epigenetic regulation of cytokine expression and response? to reveal the molecular basis of these processes and how cytokine biology can be leveraged into emerging therapies. Another goal of this meeting is to facilitate interactions between young investigators, trainees, and senior investigators in the interferon and cytokine field. Outstanding junior investigators, postdoctoral researchers, and graduate/medical students will be encouraged to participate, and awards will be given to young researchers, as described in this proposal. In addition to four Keynote Speakers and overall 55 invited speakers (some slots remain open for late-breaking speakers) scheduled for Plenary Sessions and Symposia, a number of abstracts submitted by registrants will be selected for oral presentations in Special Topics Sessions. Particular attention will be paid to giving junior investigators an opportunity to present their work during these sessions. Up to 500 participants are welcome to present a poster and will be given the opportunity to discuss their work during their poster session. The program includes scientists from academic institutions, as well as from biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. We have paid special attention to ensure a program that is well-balanced by gender, ethnicity, seniority and global geographic location of attendees. A special effort will be made to support the career development of under-represented minorities and women. An important part of the 2020 meeting is to hold a Young Investigators Networking event designed to foster these interactions. It is the firm belief of the Co-Chairs and Local Organizing Committee (diversely composed of 7 scientists, including 4 females) that, by bringing together leaders, junior investigators, and trainees working in the area of Interferon and Cytokine research, this meeting will inspire important new avenues of investigation and will be of great benefit to the career development of promising young investigators and trainees in the cytokine field.
This application is seeking financial support for the 8th Annual Meeting of the International Cytokine and Interferon Society (ICIS) which will be held at the Hyatt Regency Seattle from November 1st ? November 4th, 2020. This international conference will bring together leading investigators across many different research disciplines in the field of cytokine and interferon biology, impacting all aspects of medicine, from cancer to autoimmune disease to development, structure-function, and applications to personalized medicine. The overall objective of the 2020 ICIS meeting is to promote stimulating interactions between scientists in all career stages, focusing on cytokine and interferon biology, with a special emphasis on using system biological approaches to improve understanding of cytokine biology.
