SOJ Immunology

His Research interest are anti-tumor immunotherapies; vaccines and nanoparticles for manipulation of the immune system.  

Prof Alaa Ahmed heads the Research unit at the faculty of Public Health & Tropical Medicine at Jazan University. He also is the CEO.CSO of the Immunodiagnostic Laboratories in Tempe, AZ.  Prof He  is active member of the Arizona Bio industry group and serves as scientific board member of several life science and diagnostic companies.in Europe and the US.

He holds a Master degree in Clinical chemistry (Surrey, UK, 1985), and a PhD degree in Immunopathology (Glasgow university, 1989).  He has supervised, collaborated and founded numerous studies, with more than 93 publications in peer reviewed journalsand book chapters.  He is also an active member of several national and international disease study groups. He also serves as a technical laboratory medicine consultant to several industries.

Pathophysiological mechanisms of immune diseases, including molecular, cellular and inflammatory responses. Areas currently under investigation include autoimmunity, autoantibodies, cancer biology, and inflammation. 

His research interests include Multiple sclerosis, neuroinflammation and autoimmunity, Discovery of novel therapeutic targets for multiple sclerosis, Nuclear receptors in the treatment of multiple sclerosis, Nutraceuticals and phytochemicals in the treatment of multiple sclerosis, Stem cells and regenerative medicine, Targeting cancer stem cells, Immunity to cancer and cancer stem cells.

A native of Trenton, NJ, Dr. Chandler was awarded his BA in Biology from Gettysburg College (’72), Gettysburg, PA. His MS in Animal Science and Agricultural Biochemistry from the University of Delaware (‘76), Newark, DE and, his Ph.D. in Immunology from the University of Connecticut (’81), Storrs, CT.  After completing his Ph.D, he took a post-doctoral position at the Trudeau Institute, Saranac Lake, NY.  In 1983, he became Scientific Director at Charles River Biotechnical Services in Wilmington, MA.  There he established their monoclonal antibody production operation. In 1986, he became Director of Immunology at Ventrex Laboratories, Inc, Portland, ME. In this position, he oversaw the company’s cell culture media division and antibody purification for its in vitro diagnostic products.

He then founded Maine Biotechnology Services, Inc, in 1990, also based in Portland, and he has been the company’s President since its inception. Commencing in 1986, Dr. Chandler became an adjunct professor at the University of Southern Maine, Portland, ME, where he has taught classes and mentored Masters of Science students.  From 2009 to 2013, he was a member of the board of the Bioscience Association of Maine and was its treasurer during his tenure.

Dr. Chandler resides in Durham, ME where he enjoys gardening and rearing orchids.  He is an active theater-goer and has a son in the film industry in Los Angeles, CA.

His Research interests are Relationship between infectious disease agents and the immune system.

Dr. Peter H. Lapchak is currently serving as an Medical Scientist at Weymouth High School, United States. He received his Ph.D., from Department of Medical Sciences, University of Alberta, Canada. He received several grants and awards like Co-investigator- Discovery of Novel Targets to Limit Tissue Injury. He is a member of several societies which include Surgical Infection Society (SIS),  Society for Leukocyte Biology (SLB) and American Association of Immunologists (AAI). He also serves as an EB member for Journal of Environmental Immunology and Toxicology. He has given nearly 22 presentations and published 26 scientific papers. 

His research interests are in immunology and inflammation and include identifying specific mechanisms by which platelets modulate innate or adaptive immunity particularly in chronic and acute inflammation, in autoimmunity, and in transplantation. Using novel mouse models of platelet depletion or platelet reconstitution, he would like to identify key platelet derived surface soluble molecules that contribute to modulating the host injury response. The animal models briefly described are compatible or can be modified further to establish a role for platelets in the innate and adaptive immune response, in wound healing, in autoimmunity, and in vascular injury.

 Senior Scientific Investigator, Cellular and Molecular Immunologist with almost fourteen years of combined postdoctoral experience in academia and pharmaceutical industry with significant experience of the entire drug discovery and development process including FTIH and clinical PoC, involved in the identification and advancement of novel therapeutics for inflammatory diseases (asthma, COPD, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis and cutaneous lupus) and leading internal and external collaborations. Strong leadership capability and experience as manager of drug discovery teams (PhD and MSc/BSc) and significant experience working with international, external academic, biotech and cross-functional R&D and non-R&D (commercial, business development, market access and health economics) interface partners and management teams. Immunology expert and member of various due diligence teams for the evaluation of novel therapeutics, including acquisitions and in-licensing opportunities.

His Research interests are Cellular and Molecular Immunology, Drug Discovery and Development, Inflammation Research, Translational Research, Pharmacology, Due Diligence & Alliance Management, Project Leader and RNA Therapeutics

Wei Wang (MD, PhD) is an associate professor at the Jiangsu Institute of Parasitic Diseases and the Key Laboratory on Technology for Parasitic Disease Prevention and Control, Ministry of Health, the People’s Republic of China. His research interests focus on but are not limited to neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), drug resistance, vector control and epidemiology. He has received many projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the National Science and Technology Pillar Program of China, the National Important Sci-Tech Special Projects, the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province and the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Health. He has published over 100 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals and book chapters.

Currently, He is an editor of Chinese Journal of Schistosomiasis Control and American Journal of Microbiology, and he is also an editorial board member of several peer-reviewed journals, including Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine, World Journal of Meta-analysis, Edorium Journal of Advances in Disease Diagnosis, HSOA Journal of Cancer Biology and Treatment, HSOA Journal of Microbial Pathophysiology and Pathogenesis and HSOA Journal of Clinical Immunology and Immunotherapy. In addition, he became an F1000 specialist since July, 2013. He has received many awards by the China Editology Society of Science Periodicals, Jiangsu Society of Scientific and Technical Periodicals and Jiangsu Periodicals Association due to his outstanding work as editors. Dr. Wang received his MD from Anhui Medical University and M.Sc from Nanjing Medical University. He completed a 6-month academic exchange in basic immunology at the Department of Microbiology & Immunology, the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB). 

Systematic assessment of praziquantel sensitivity in S. japonicum in China and monitoring of praziquantel resistance.
Exploring the mechanisms underlying praziquantel resistance in S. japonicum using molecular and –omics tools.
Screening novel anti-parasitic agents and molluscicides.
Assessing the impact of water resource developmentonpublic health concern.

Dr. Torres was born at home in the remote mountains of Helechales, Yahuecas in Adjuntas, Puerto Rico.  He grew up raising farm animals and working in the family’s small coffee plantation.  He studied at CROEM and got his BS degree in Biology at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez. After completing a MS degree in Cancer Pathology he obtained a PhD in Immunology from Baylor College of Medicine. He went to the University of California at Davis as a Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow to study the immunology of retroviruses. He performed immunological research on viruses, becoming a tenured Full Professor.  He is now a Professor at the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the School of Medicine at the University of California at Davis.  He teaches immunology to both medical students and senior undergraduates. In 2001 he was the founding president of a private biotechnology company (Variation Biotechnologies, now VBI Vaccines) dedicated to the development of new vaccines and the improvement of existing vaccines.  His research has always been focused on antigenic variation at the epitope level.  His work has included the characterization of multiple antigenic sites for viruses including influenza, SRV, SIV, HIV, HCV and HPV. Dr. Torres is actively involved in global health biotechnology transfer to the poorest countries of Latin America.  He is passionate about worldwide conservation of the environment, plants and animals and works in the preservation of endangered tortoises and lizards. 

His current research still employs antigenic variation in the development of cancer immunotherapeutic vaccines;Tumor Immunology; Cancer Immunotherapy; Preventative and Therapeutic Vacines against Cancer; Cancer-Associated Viruses; LTNP toAIDS; Viral Immunology.

Armand Bensussan completed his Ph.D during the early 1980s in the laboratories of Professor Jean Dausset (Saint-Louis Hospital, Paris, France) and Professor Stuart F Schlossman (Harvard Medical School, DFCI, Boston, MA). He is currently Research director at INSERM and chief of the Skin Research Center and of the INSERM unit 976 at Saint-Louis Hospital in Paris, France. He obtained several awards including two distinct French Academy of Sciences awards, the clinical investigation award from the French foundation for medical research, the immunology Bernard Halpern award and the national award of projects leaders for the creation and/or the development of highly innovative technology companies.He was the past president of the French society of immunology. He is the co-founder of the biotechnology company Orega Biotech (www.orega-biotech.com).  His main scientific contributions have been in the field of basic and clinical immunology and in tumor dermatology. He is author of more than 250 international scientific publications and editor of two scientific books. He is an editorial board member of different international scientific journals and a member of the Human Cell Differentiation Molecules council (http://www.hcdm.org) and of the EuroMAbNet council (http://www.euromabnet.com).

His Research interests are Tumor Immunology; NK lymphocyte Biology; Immuno-dermatology; Cutaneous T cell lymphoma; T- lymphocyte subsets (nTregs, Th17, Th22).

Cris Constantinescu is currently Professor and Head of Neurology at University of Nottingham, UK, where he has been for 14 years and now heads the MS clinical trials unit. He graduated with an MD from Boston University School of Medicine and obtained a PhD in Immunology at University of Pennsylvania, where he also completed his residency in Neurology and Fellowships in Neuroimmunology and in Neuro rehabilitation. 

His research interests are in the immunology of MS, experimental models of MS, immunoregulation, cytokines, biology of fatigue in MS, neuroimaging and clinical trials.

Dr. Abhisek Mitra is a research fellow in M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA. His current research projects highlight the hepatic protection in liver fibrosis using a biologically occurring cytokine interleukin-30 (IL30). His work was the first to show that the IL30 regulates resident liver NKT cells to alleviate liver fibrosis. He also had the extensive experience with liver inflammation, cancer stem cells and dynamics of resident liver immune cells. He did his Ph.D. from the University of Texas in the field of T cells signaling where he discovered a novel serine site (S193) in STAT5 that undergoes constitutive phosphorylation in hematological malignancies. He currently serves in the editorial board of MOJ Immunology, Asian Journal of Medical Sciences and a guest editor in Translational oncogenomics.

His Research interests include Immunology, Inflammation, NKT cells, Cancer Stem Cells and Cell Signaling.

Dr. George F. Babcock received his PhD from the University of Nebraska, College of Medicine,Omaha Nebraska. He is currently Professor of Surgery, adjunct Professor of Cancer and Cell Biology at the University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine. He is also the Deputy Director for Research at Shriners Hospitals for Children-Cincinnati, OH. He is chair of the universities Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. He has been on the editorial board of Burns, Journal of Experimental and Clinical Cancer Research, The Journal of Nutritional Immunology and Biochemical Pharmacology.  Additional he has reviewed manuscripts for 26 other journals. He is an active researcher with over 160 peer reviewed papers, 17 book chapters, and the series editor for 4 books and the edition editor for 1. He is a member of 17 professional societies. He has served on NIH and DOD study sections and is currently the chair of the Military Infectious Diseases Research Program (MIDRP) study section.His general research interests include Immunology, Microbiology and Inflammation. More specifically the lab is interested in the effects of burns and other trauma on the immune response with an emphasis on the innate immune system. Related to this is an interest in the regulation of apoptosis and adhesion molecules in neutrophils especially after burn trauma. 

The Laboratory’s general of interest is Immunology, Microbiology and Inflammation.  More specifically the lab is interested in the effects of burns and other trauma on the immune response with an emphasis on the innate immune system.  Related to this is an interest in the regulation of apoptosis and adhesion molecules in neutrophils especially after burn trauma. The onset of infections and alterations in wound healing following thermal injury are also being investigated. In addition, area of research include the development of treatments for infected burn wounds especially the use of new anti-microbial agents and the use of biological response modifiers, research into modulation of the immune system by nutritional manipulation of the host following burn injury,an examination of the immunotoxicolgy of agents encountered in the environment, the development, use of flow and image cytometry to measure biological responses.  

Dr. Champa Codipilly is a Scientist at the Department of Pediatrics or Neonatal Medicine at the North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System (NSLIJHS) and also an Assistant Investigator at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research at the NSLIJHS. Additionally she serves as a board member of the NSLIJHS’s Institutional Review Board for clinical research.
She received her PhD from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. She completed her Post-doctoral research fellowship at Department of OB/GYN at the University Hospital at Stony Brook. Her thesis work involved exploring biochemical characteristics of vaginal microbial ecology and its implications on bacterial vaginosis. 

Her research interests include microbiology, immunology and inflammation. Establishment of gut microbiome and its influence on infantile nutrition and disease development are her main area of research. Nutritional, pro-biotic and pro absorptive values of human milk, formula and dietary supplements on infant gut health and disease involve her current work together with identification of modulators of small intestinal Nitric Oxide synthase activity.

Dr. Choi obtained his M.D. from Inje University (Busan, Korea), received his Ph.D. Medical Microbiology at the Seoul National University (1993). He came to Mayo Clinic as a Postdoctoral fellow in 2001-2003 in Dr. Lieping Chen’s lab(Minn., USA). He started his academic career as Assistant Professor of Department of Microbiology and Immunology in Inje University College of Medicine (1995), and became Professor and Head of the Department in 2008. Since 2009, he has been a Director of Advanced Research Center of Multiple Myeloma in Inje University, developing the antibody therapeutics of multiple myeloma based on the regulation of immune checkpoint proteins.

His research interests are: Physiological roles of immune checkpoint proteins in various disease settings including cancers, Gene deficient mice, functional antagonistic antibodies, and fusion proteins for in vivo study and Developing the antibody therapeutics targeting newly emerging immune checkpoints in tumor microenvironment.

Dr. Robert R. Redfield, Jr. has been actively engaged in clinical research and clinical care of chronic human viral infections and infectious diseases, especially HIV, for more than 30 years. He is a graduate of Georgetown University School of Medicine and completed his internal medicine and infectious diseases training at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Walter Army Institute of Research. He served as the founding director of the Department of Retroviral Research within the Military’s HIV Research Program and retired after 20 years of service in the US Army Medical Corp when he cofounded  the University of Maryland’s Institute of Human Virology with Dr. William Blattner and Dr. Robert C. Gallo. He is currently a Professor of Medicine, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, and serves as the IHV Associate Director and Director of the Division of Clinical Care and Research, as well as the Chief of Infectious Diseases and Associate Chair of Medicine for Finance within the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
He made several important early contributions to our understanding of HIV, to include the demonstration of the importance of heterosexual transmission and the development of the Walter Reed staging system for HIV infection. His dominant area of research interest is focused he development of novel biological approaches to the treatment of chronic viral pathogens with a particular focus on targeting host cell pathways and host directed immunity for their therapeutic potential. Dr. Redfield’s research focus is driven by his goal to develop durable treatment for  persons living with HIV infection and other chronic viral infections in the United States and throughout the world, including resource limited settings. Presently, Dr. Redfield oversees an extensive clinical program providing HIV care and treatment to more than 5,000 patients in the Baltimore/Washington DC community. He also leads extensive USG funded global care and treatment, and post-graduate medical  education programs, which are currently active in 5 African and 2 Caribbean countries.He has an honorary degree from the Medical College of New York and has served as a member of the United States Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA), as well as being the Chair of the International Subcommittee for PACHA. He has also previously completed terms on NIH’s Advisory Council for the Office of AIDS Research, the Advisory Board of NIH’s Fogarty International Center, and the FDA Anti- Infectives Advisory Committee.

His Research interests are Treatment of chronic viral pathogens, host cell pathways and host directed immunity.

Prof. Madhav Bhatia heads the Inflammation Research Group in the Department of Pathology at the University of Otago, Christchurch. The group has an active research programme on the molecular pharmacology and molecular pathology of various inflammatory conditions such as acute pancreatitis, polymicrobial sepsis and burns, with the long-term goal of developing clinically effective therapeutic approaches. He has received numerous grants, has authored more than 140 contributions to the peer-reviewed literature, given several invited presentations in different countries and is on Editorial Boards of 23 journals. His publications have been cited more than 5000 times, and he has an "h"-index of 41.

Current areas of interest include Gas Mediators in Inflammation; Neurogenic Inflammation in Acute Pancreatitis, Sepsis, and Burns; Chemokines in Acute Pancreatitis, Sepsis, and Burns; and Apoptosis of Pancreatic Acinar Cells.

Koichi S. Kobayashi received his M.D. and Ph.D. from Chiba University in Japan. After graduate work and medical residency, he focused on immunology research as a postdoctoral fellow at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA. He joined the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, in 2004 as an assistant professor. He became a professor at the Texas A&M Health Science Center, USA, in 2012.

The major research goal is to understand the function of the innate immune system, particularly in host-pathogen recognition and disease pathophysiology. The laboratory studies on the interaction between intestinal microbiota and the mucosal immune system, the role of TLR and NLR proteins in the host-pathogen interaction, inflammatory diseases caused by dysregulated NLR function and the mechanism of MHC gene activation by NLR protein family, using molecular biology, proteomics and mouse genetics approaches. The recent accomplishments include discovery of the function of a Crohn’s disease related gene Nod2, generation of Crohn’s disease model and identification of a master transcriptional regulator of MHC class I genes.

Dr. Nagarajan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology and Vascular Medicine Institute Investigator at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.His research focuses on two main areas: The immunological mechanisms contributing to atherosclerosis and autoimmune diseases, and Nutritional intervention to prevent and treat cardiovascular diseases. He has published more than 55 peer-reviewed articles, and his research has been funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health, and private foundations. He earned his PhD from Christian Medical College, Vellore, India. He has completed his postdoctoral fellowship at Tulane Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. He then joined Emory University school of Medicine, where he worked for 6 years, and worked at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Arkansas Children’s Nutrition Center, Little Rock for 10 years prior to joining the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

The immunological mechanisms contributing to atherosclerosis and autoimmune diseases, and Nutritional intervention to prevent and treat cardiovascular diseases.

Dr. Tinghua Cao is a Senior Scientist, Immunology Research, Janssen R&D, Johnson & Johnson, 2009-present Senior Scientist, Therakos/OCD, Johnson & Johnson, 2005-2009, Postdoctoral Associate, Baylor Institute for Immunology Research, 2002-2005, Ph.D in Medical Science (Immunology), Ghent University, Belgium, 1996-2001.

Regulatory T cell biology and therapy , Dendritic cell biology and therapy , Cellular immunology (Th1/Th2/Th17) and Developing new biologic (monoclonal antibody) therapy for autoimmune diseases and cancers.

Dr. Terry W. Chin is a board-certified pediatrician with additional certifications in allergy and immunology. He currently serves as the director of Allergy/Immunology and the associate director of the Cystic Fibrosis Center at Miller Childrens Hospital. Additionally, He is an Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine, and held teaching appointments at Loma Linda University Childrens Hospital. He also practices at Pediatric Pulmonary, Allergy and Immunology Centers in Long Beach, Torrance, and Fountain Valley, California.
Specializing in pediatric pulmonary and allergy/immunology care, His medical interests include asthma, allergic diseases of children, anaphylaxis and mastocytosis, cystic fibrosis (CF) and immunodeficiency. He has been active in investigating the role of lung immunity in chronic lung diseases such as CF, asthma and chronic lung disease of infancy. These studies have also looked at epithelial cellular and monocyte immune responses to various insults, including bacterial and viral infections and anoxia.

He received his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine and completed his postgraduate internship and residency training at the University of California, Irvine. His pediatric residency training was completed at the Children’s Hospital of Orange County, where he served as chief resident. He then completed a fellowship in pediatric allergy and immunology at the University of California, Los Angeles. He also received a Ph.D in Viral Immunology at Baylor College of Medicine.

As an active participant in the medical community, He  belongs to several professional organizations, including a Fellow of both the American College of Chest Physicians and the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, and is also a member of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, American Association of Immunology, Clinical Immunology Society, American Thoracic Society and the Western Society of Pediatric Research. He also is serving as a member of the Board of Trustees of Long Beach Memorial Medical Center and Miller Childrens Hospital.

In addition to treating patients and teaching medical students, residents, and fellows,He has over 100 publications covering a wide range of medical topics in immunology, asthma, allergy and pediatric pulmonary disorders. He has served in research review panels of several journals and national organizations.

Pediatric pulmonary and allergy/immunology care, his medical interests include asthma, allergic diseases of children, anaphylaxis and mastocytosis, cystic fibrosis (CF) and immunodeficiency. He has been active in investigating the role of lung immunity in chronic lung diseases such as CF, asthma and chronic lung disease of infancy. These studies have also looked at epithelial cellular and monocyte immune responses to various insults, including bacterial and viral infections and anoxia.

Deborah A. Lebman obtained her Ph.D  in Molecular Biology from University of Pennsylvania, USA. She is currently serving as an Associate Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology. She has vast teaching experience and was awarded Outstanding Teacher Award for several consecutive years. She received several awards and grants from NIH for Regulation of IgA Response in Murine B Lymphocytes as an principal investigator, Light Targeted Drug Delivery as an Co-Investigatorand several other grants.
She served as reviewer, associate editor and editor for several reputed journals.
She has several published articles on lipopolysaccharides /Monoclonal antibodies / immunology and contributed for book chapters.

Host-pathogen interaction, mucosal immunology, cytokine biology, and cell signaling.

He  is Reader in Inflammation, Immunity& Infection, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Aberdeen and also Visiting Professor of Immunity and Inflammation, Department of Clinical Medicine, Trinity College, Dublin. His qualifications are PhD (1992) National Heart & Lung Institute, Faculty of Medicine, University of London MSc (1987) Master of Science in Applied Immunology, Brunel University, Uxbridge and Fellow of the Institute of Medical Laboratory Scientists (FIMLS,1981).

He work on the pathogenesis of respiratory and allergic disease in adults and children spans 30-years with an emphasis on the role played by airway epithelial cells, neutrophils, and eosinophils. His work has resulted in over 60 peer-reviewed articles in international journals and more than 90 invited editorials, reviews and book chapters. To date these publications have been cited almost 5000 times (h-index 37and rising - source ISI Web of Knowledge) and he has have been an invited speaker and/or chairman at over fifty international meetings. At Principal Investigator level, Dr Walsh has attracted funding in the region of £3 million from U.K. research councils, medical charities, industry and the European Commission. He is an independent external evaluator for the scientific programmes of the European Commission holding senior roles as Vice-chair and Panel Member that have required close involvement in directing funding decisions for Funding Programme 7 relating to large-scale Europe-wide integrated projects, fellowships, training networks and reintegration grants. His membership of the National Institutes of Health in the US and the UK Medical Research Council College of Experts has enabled Dr Walsh to further contribute to the development and direction of the academic science base within his areas of expertise. In addition to the usual teaching commitments, He is a Course Co-ordinator for Biologic Therapies for the MSC in Biotechnology & Bio business and was Programme co-ordinator for the MSc in Molecular and Cellular Immunology (2006-2013) responsible for curriculum development, day-to-day management and continuing improvement of programmes in the School of Medicine and Dentistry.

He is Editor-in-Chief of Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management; Clinical Medicine: Therapeutics, and the Journal ofCell Death. He is a member of the editorial boards of 15 further scientific and medical journals and acts as an ad hoc reviewer for over 50 peer-reviewed international journals He regularly reviews grants and manuscripts for a wide range of UK and international grant-giving bodies.

Airway epithelial cell inflammatory phenotype and function, Biomarkers in asthma and COPD, Eosinophil/T cell interactions, Eosinophil and neutrophil adhesion and transmigration under flow - anti-inflammatory drug effects, Eosinophil apoptosis and phagocytic recognition and disposal

Melissa Cunningham, MD, PhD, was raised in Hershey, Pennsylvania. She received her undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College and a Masters degree in Molecular Medicine from Boston University.  She earned both her PhD (2004) and MD (2006) at The Pennsylvania State University. After receiving her degrees she entered the ABIM’s clinician-scientist track at The Medical University of South Carolina, where she completed her residency and fellowship training in June 2012, and subsequently joined the faculty as an assistant professor in the Division of Rheumatology and Immunology. During her graduate training, she had an interest in reproductive endocrinology and ovarian physiology.  In the laboratory of Dr. James Hammond, she studied the regulation of FoxO transcription factors downstream of IGF-1 and FSH in the survival of ovarian cells.  Her continued interest in women’s health issues evolved into a focus on gender bias in autoimmunity. Under the mentorship of Dr. Gary Gilkeson, her post-doctoral research focused on the female predominance in SLE.  She investigated the role of estrogen receptor alpha on modulation of Toll-like receptor signaling and the inflammatory response, with a specific interest in dendritic cells. She has competed successfully for two NIH Loan Repayment Awards as well as a pilot project grant to study ERa in neuropsychiatric lupus through MUSC’s Specialized Center of Research on Sex and Gender Factors Affecting Women’s Health.  She is currently funded by a 3yr mentored career development KL2 award.  

Dr. Choi is a team leader and principal researcher in the department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at CKD pharm. Inc based in South Korea. He completed his undergraduate and graduate course in Molecular Biology and Immunology at Seoul National University, Korea. In 2005, he joined Dr. Reinherz’s group at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Harvard Medical School as a postdoc. In 2009 after the completion of his training, he continued his work on T cell development and thymic ontogeny as an Instructor at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School. It was a precious time for him to have a chance to understand a biophysical and biochemical aspect of T cell development, T cell function and cancer immunology. Subsequently, he developed an idea in drug development using epigenetic regulators to control autoimmunity and cancer immunotherapy. In 2013, he moved back to South Korea and joined CKD Pharm Research Institute and is working on small molecule drug development program to develop a new drug for autoimmune disease and cancer with epigenetic regulator. He is a member of American Association of Immunologists since 2005 and has been dedicated to the basic immunology research and drug development. 

His research interests include Immunology and epigenetics. 

TomoYonezawa recived Ph.D. from Department of Animal Physiology, Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University, Japan. He was a Research Fellow (DC1) of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science as a PhD student. He had expertise in Physiology, Endocrinology and Cell Biology. His Ph.D. thesis was to analyze the function of free fatty acid receptors such as GPR40, 41 and 43 on mammary epithelial cells. Subsequently, he joined Genodive Pharma Inc. established by the chairman of Tokai University, school of medicine, and developed drug discovery for autoimmune diseases and cancer, which was collaborated with the University of Tokyo. After going back to Tokai University, he tried to establish novel small compounds for type 2 diabetes using combination with in silico analysis based on protein structural information and proteomics approach. After that, he got a Research Fellow of Young Research Overseas Visit Program for Vitalizing Brain Circulation and then made an effort to elucidate the function of miRNAs involved in the pathogenesis of arthritis in National Research Institute for Child Health and Development, Japan and the Scripps Research institute, United States. He worked as research assistant professor at Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Japan. Currently, he is an assistant professor at Research Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Tokyo University of Science. He has focused on the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases and chronic low-grade inflammation-induced metabolic diseases using genetically modified mice.

His research interests include Metabolic Disorder; Energy Metabolism; Adipogenesis; Endocrinology; Autoimmune diseases; Inflammation; Osteoarthritis; miRNA; Drug discovery.

Antonio Arnaiz Villena is presently Head of Immunology and Microbiology I  Department at University Complutense and Hospital 12 de Octubre in Madrid, Spain.  He studied Biology and Medicine in Madrid.  He accomplished post-doctoral research during 9 years in the UK at the Middlesex Hospital Medical School (Prof Roitt) and at the London Hospital Medical College (Prof Festenstein).  He came back to Spain and set up Immunology and Genetics laboratories in the Spanish National Health Service in Madrid (Hospital Ramon y Cajal, The Madrid Regional Blood Center and Hospital 12 de Octubre).  He was also appointed in Madrid Full Professor of Immunology by an International Board, including Pablo Rubinstein and Antonio Coutinho.  He has established Immunology teaching at Biochemistry, Medicine, Biology, Pharmacology, Veterinary Faculties at University Complutense, Madrid.  He has served 5 years as elected President of the Spanish Society for Immunology and 14 years in the Government Spanish Board for Specialists.  He has published 341 papers in international magazines, published 8 books and directed 48 Doctoral Theses in Immunology, Obesity, Human and Bird Population Genetics and Linguistics.

His research interests include Population Genetics, Immunology, and metabolic syndrome.

Tong Shi, Ph. D. Pharm. D. has led research to understand the pathogenesis of a variety of immune-related diseases and to develop new therapeutics. He is currently working at Seaside Therapeutics engaging in the research effort on drug development and hematopoiesis. Prior to that, he was working on drug discovery targeting colorectal cancer. He accomplished his post doctoral training at Harvard Medical School, where he was one among the first researchers who proposed the functions of basophils in the maintenance of Th1/Th2 cell balance. He also visited Australia, where he discovered a novel mechanism of autoimmune-mediated thrombosis. He has published several pioneering studies in peer-reviewed journals.

His research interests include the pathophysiology of immune-related diseases and cancer, functions of enzymes in the pathogenesis of immune-related diseases and cancer, novel therapeutics for immune-related diseases and cancer, such as small molecules and stem cells.

Dr. Wang is currently a Professor of Molecular Medicine at the Elmezzi Graduate School of the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, and a Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine.  He earned a B.S. degree from Hebei University in 1984 and an M.S. degree from Zhejiang University in 1987.  In 1992, he received his Ph.D. degree from the Louisiana State University, and subsequently completed a 3-year postdoctoral training at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. In 1995, he joined the North Shore-LIJ Health System as the Chief of Basic Science Research Program in the Department of Emergency Medicine, North Shore University Hospital. Since 1995, he has published more than 110 research and review articles in the fields of innate immunity and inflammation, with a total citation > 11,500 times (h index = 47, according to the Web of Science).   Currently, he serves as a referee for more than 40 journals, and as an editorial board member for three other journals including Shock, Inflammation & Allergy – Drug targets, and International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Medicine.  In addition, he serves as an ad hoc reviewer of multiple NIH Special Emphasis Panels, as well as the NIH/NIGMS Surgery, Anesthesiology, and Trauma (SAT) Study Section.  

Dr. Wang’s interests are focused on the understanding of the complex mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of dysregulated inflammatory responses to severe infection (e.g., sepsis) or injury (e.g., stroke).  Currently, he is actively identifying novel pro- (e.g., HMGB1) and/or anti-inflammatory mediators (e.g., acute phase proteins), and hopes to develop effective innate immune-modulating strategies (e.g., neutralizing antibodies, peptide antagonists, and medicinal herbs) for the treatment of various inflammatory diseases.

Dr. Soumita Das Currently serving as an Assistant Project Scientist, Department of Pathology, University of California, San Diego. she has  been working on the immunopathogenesis of gastroenteric bacteria for more than 12 years she has expertise in biochemistry, immunology, molecular biology, bacterial pathogenesis and host cellular responses. Her research experience include identification of Vibrio cholerae transcripts following infection, gastric epithelial cell responses and the crosstalk between luminal antigen and T cells during Helicobacter pylori infection. Her recent work involves the attachment/internalization of enteric bacteria, the molecular basis of bacterial engulfment by phagocytic receptors and its effect on intestinal inflammation. 

Identification of Vibrio cholerae transcripts following infection, gastric epithelial cell responses and the crosstalk between luminal antigen and T cells during Helicobacter pylori infection. Her recent work involves the attachment/internalization of enteric bacteria, the molecular basis of bacterial engulfment by phagocytic receptors and its effect on intestinal inflammation. 

Jose M. Prince, M.D., is the director of the Laboratory of Pediatric Injury and Inflammation in The Feinstein Institute’s Center for Immunology and Inflammation.  As a practicing pediatric surgeon, He focuses on translational research directed to understanding and regulating the injury response of children.
He joined the founding faculty of Hofstra NS-LIJ School of Medicine in 2010 as an Assistant Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics.  He completed his general surgery, pediatric surgery, and post-doctoral research fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh.  He received his medical degree from Yale University School of Medicine and completed his undergraduate studies at Georgetown University.  

His Research interests are Innate immunity, sterile inflammation, neonatal immunology.

Prof. Feiyue Xing received his PhD in Pathology and Pathophysiology from The first military medical university and his MD in Immunology from Dalian medical university. He is a Professor of immunobiology at Jinan university (2003 - present), Director of department of immunobiology, and Director of institute of tissue transplantation and Immunology at Jinan university. The focus of his research is on cellular immunology, tumor immunology, tumor therapy, and autoimmune diseases. He revealed roles of Jagged-1－Hes-1signaling and Jagged-1－Deltex-1 signaling in controlling polarization of Th subsets, and effects of activation of MAPK signaling pathway on regulating expression of eNOS gene. He also found novel functions of anisomycin and its potential application. He has published over 130 research papers in scientific journals.

His Research interest are Differentiation of dendritic cells and T cell subsets, and its regulation mechanism, Pathogenesis and interference of tumor, Pathogenesis and Interference of autoimmune disease, Drug target delivery systems

Prof Riana Cockeran obtained her PhD in Medical Immunology at the University of Pretoria in 2003.  She is presently the Head of the Department of Immunology at the University of Pretoria and the National Health Laboratory Service, Situated in Pretoria, South Africa.Her main research focus has been in the field of infectious diseases and immunology. The majority of her research involves mechanistic studies where the effects of bacterial toxins on cells of the immune system, as well as the effects of antimicrobial agents and environmental factors on bacterial growth, biofilm formation and gene expression, are investigated.  Her MSc and PhD students, successfully obtained research funding, has published multiple manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals, and is a member of several institutional and national committees.

Her Research interests are Infectious diseases and immunology.

Bimal K. Ray Present serves as an Professorof Pathobiology University of Missouri at Columbia. Hereceived his PhD at Calcutta University. He had several  Professional Memberships like NIH Study Section on Program Project Grant and Member, American Association for Cancer Research. Publications are mostly work on Biol. Chem/immunology and he his publications are more than 40.

Molecular Biology, mechanism of Cancer Initiation and Recurrence and molecular mechanism of Inflammation.

Professor David Naor is a professor of immunology in the Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School and was the head of Milton Winograd chair of cancer studies. Professor Naor served as associate visiting professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, UCLA (1975-1976), visiting professor, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida (March 1979-June 1980), visiting professor, Harvard Medical School (Summer 1984), visiting scientist, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Institute, New York (Summer 1985), visiting professor, Charing Cross Sunley Research Centre, London (September 1987- November 1988). Professor Naor was invited as plenary lecturer in many scientific conferences such as New York Academy of Science Conferences, International Congresses on Autoimmunity in Tel Aviv, Budapest, Sorrento, Porto, Lubljana and Granada, and the hyaluronan 2003 symposium in Cleveland as well as an invited speaker in a conference entitled "from the laboratory to the clinic'', (September 1988, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1996, October 1998, September 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013). Professor Naor received grants from NIH USA, Leukemia Foundation USA, United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation, German Cancer Foundation, German-Israel Foundation and the Israel Ministry of Commerce and Industry, as well as from other agencies. He published a book entitled 'Immunosuppression and Human Malignancy", Humana Press, New Jersey, 1988 as well as 149 articles in the international literature. He is supervising at present 4 post docs and is a founder of the start-up company Maimonidex. He was a member of the editorial board of Journal of Autoimmunity. He received award from Johnson & Johnson, Focused Giving Program "In recognition of outstanding research toward the advances of science and technology in health care." He also received the 2013 prize of the Faculty of  Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem for his “continuing distinguished achivements in research and teaching.”                      

His Research interests include Involvement of CD44 and RHAMM (CD168) in chronic inflammatory and malignant diseases; Autoimmune diseases, including type 1 and 2 diabetes, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis; Adhesion and homing molecules; Translation medicine.

Dr. Suryasarathi Dasgupta graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay, Mumbai, India with a PhD in Biosciences and Bioengineering. He did postdoctoral research in UMRS 872 Equipe 16, INSERM, PARIS, France, wherein he focused to understand the genesis of immune response against therapeutic factor VIII in hemophilia A patients utilizing various model systems. In 2008, he shifted to Boston and worked as an Instructor in Medicine at Channing Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital (2009-2012). From 2012 August onwards, he is working as an Instructor at the Department of Microbiology and Immunobiology, Harvard Medical School. He is currently working to understand how components of commensal microflora induce immunomodulation. He co-authored several peer-reviewed research articles and review articles (35+, 14 as first, co-first or corresponding author) in reputed international journals and presented his work in several international conferences on Immunology, Hematology, Glycobiology and Colitis. His work formed the basis of various projects in our laboratory and resulted in two patents. He was a member of the European Macrophage and Dendritic cell Society (EMDS, 2005-2007) and currently regular member of AAI (2010 - ) and has been invited to deliver lectures at international conferences and review research and review articles from several journals including Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology & Scientific Reports, Nature Publishing Group.

His Research interests include Human and mouse Dendritic cells, inflammation, adaptive immunity, immunoregulation, commensal and pathogenic microbiota.

Monika Kasprzycka is currently Senior Scientist in Department of Pathology at Oslo University Hospital (Oslo, Norway). Her research is mainly focused on mechanisms of chronic inflammation and fibrosis, with particular interest in understanding these processes in connection to fate of solid organ allograft. She obtained her postdoctoral training at University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, USA) were she was investigating aberrant cell signaling in human lymphomas. 

Experimental pathology, fibrosis, chronic inflammation, allograft rejection, matricellular proteins, vascular biology. 

Dr. Julian J. Lum graduated with a Ph.D in Immunology from the University of Ottawa where he studied the regulation of death receptor-mediated apoptosis of CD4+ T cells. Later, he trained at the University of Pennsylvania in the field of cancer biology with special emphasis on tumor metabolism and autophagy. In 2008, he joined the Deeley Research Centre at the BC Cancer Agency, as a Scientist where his current research interest is studying the interplay between the tumor microenvironment and the immune system. His main projects involve the study of autophagy on T cell differentiation, function and memory T cell generation. Finally, he also has active programs to develop cancer vaccines as well as understanding the effects of radiation of T cells. He serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Cancer Research and Therapeutic Oncology, and as a consulting editor for the Journal of Leukocyte Biology.

His research interests include Autophagy, T cell immunotherapy, radiation treatment, T cell metabolism, angiogenesis, hypoxia. 

The research in his laboratory centers on the understanding of the molecular regulatory mechanism for early B cell development and antibody repertoire formation. B lineage cell is one of the major players in adaptive immune system. B lineage cells develop from early progenitor cells and all the way to antibody producing plasma cells. The developmental process must be precisely controlled at each step. A single mistake during the developmental process could lead to devastating diseases, such as immune deficiency, leukemia, lymphoma, and autoimmune diseases. Study the detailed molecular regulatory mechanism at each step of B lineage cell developmental process will allow us to understand how the immune system is developed, more importantly, it will help us to dissect the pathogenesis of different human diseases and ultimately, to find cures for these patients.

They are currently working on following projects: (1) Molecular regulation of early B cell proliferation, B lineage specific gene expression, and immunoglobulin gene recombination. (2) Molecular regulation of VH gene replacement and the biological significance of VH replacement products in human diseases. (3) Analyses of functional antibody repertoires in human and mouse. 

Eduardo R. Guzmán, Medical Doctor graduated at Universidad Nacional de Tucuman, School of Medicine on March 1997.  Fellow at Albany Medical Center (New York), S.U.N.Y. Departments of Internal Medicine, Pulmonary, Allergy and Clinical Immunology from May 1997 until August 2001. Professor of Internal Medicine at Tucuman School of Medicine since 2001 untill 2004. Conferencist about Sleep Apnea, Vasculitis, Autoimmune Deseases, Chronic Pain Management.  Coordinator at Medical School for Internal Medicine. Associate Physician at Italian Hospital in Buenos Aires. Private Medical Practice as a Family Internal Medical Doctor. Active Member in many Scientific Societies. Active and recognized educator in the Fields of Internal Medicine, Pulmonary, Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Awarded with honors for working with people with "Respiratory Sleep Disorders" by  Albany Rotary Club. 

His Research interests include Vasculitis, Connective Tissue Deseases, Autoimmune Disorders, Congenital Hyperinsulinism.

Dr. Ertan has achieved national and international recognition as an outstanding clinical scientist, educator, researcher, and administrator in the field of gastroenterology. He has published over 160 articles in peer review journals, book chapters, books, and has received numerous awards and honors. He received the Medicine Science Award of 1992 by the Turkish Science and Technology Research Assembly, 1996 Best Gastroenterologist Award by the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America, and the 2003 Distinguished Clinician Award  by the American Gastroenterology Association (AGA). In October 2003; he received the Master in Gastroenterology Award from the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) and the Fellow by AGA in 2007. He has been named to the Top Doctor's in Houston and in the U.S. since 1995.

He has been active in various national and international gastroenterology societies. For many years he served on the AGA's Education Committee (1994-97), the International Liaison Committee (1999-03), the ACG's International Relations Committee (Chair, International GI Training Subcommittee, 1994-98) and the Educational Affairs Committee (Chair 1999-01). He currently serves on the Editorial Boards of five different medical journals.

Dr. Ertan has a special interest and experience in the diagnosis and management of patients with inflammatory bowel diseases including Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, various microscopic colitides; biliary/pancreatic benign and malignant disorders, Barrett’s esophagus with dysplasia and early cancer plus these patients’ need for various advanced GI endoscopic diagnostic/therapeutic modalities.

Dr. Abdeljabar Andaloussi’s  Ph.D.degree in Immunology from the University Victor Segalen Bordeaux II (France) in 2001. After two years as scientist in Pasteur institute of Morocco, he joined Aifantis lab for post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Chicago (2003-05), working on T cell development by using the in vivo animal model “conditional or specific tissue” of sonic hedgehog. In 2005, he started new challenge on the area of immunotherapy of glioma by targeting immunosuppression and focusing on regulatory T cells in patients with Glioma and by using animal model for translational in collaboration with Dr. Maciej Lesniak (2005-07). He joined Immunology program at the end of 2007, at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Sherbrooke (Canada) as principal investigator. His focus is on the use of immunotherapy in the fight against cancer. This approach aims to reduce the immunosuppression caused by regulatory T cells and MDSC infiltrating the tumor by eliminating focusing on the immunomodulation of the immune system. His expertise continues growing in this area to cover more other recent aspects of interest to make a better understanding of the tumor immunology.

His research interests focus on the use of immunotherapy in the fight against cancer from few years ago. His experimental expertise was developed based on the connection with all his previous experiences in the fields of T cell development and immune-hematology, especially leukemia and associated genetics disorders. Also, they (Dr Abdeljabar Andaloussi and Lesniak) have been the first group describing the infiltration of glioma by regulatory T cells in 2006 at the University of Chicago. They have developed all the requested experimental models and analysis to develop the immunological approach in connection with clinic (From bench to bed).  This approach aims to reduce the immunosuppression caused by regulatory T cells and MDSC infiltrating the tumor by eliminating, focusing on the immunomodulation of the immune system. His expertise continues growing in this area to cover more other recent aspect of interest to make better the understanding of the tumor immunology.

He is also interested to T cell development by using the in vivo animal model “conditional or specific tissue”(A El andaloussi et al. Nature immunology, 2006)

His Research interests include Immunology (T cell development), Tumor immunology, Human genetics, Leukemia (Immuno-hematology), Immuno-endocrinology of obesity, T cell signaling, Stem cells, Bone marrow Microenvironnement, cytokines.

Theocharis G. Konstantinidis is a medical doctor. He graduated from the Kuban State Medical Academy of Krasnodar, Russia in 1998. He completed his Master from Medical School of Democritus, University of Thrace. He is a PhD student in Immunology at Medical School of Democritus, University of Thrace. Since 2009, he has been a member of Regional Public Health Laboratories (East Macedonia - Thrace Region) of Hellenic Centre for Diseases Control and Prevention. His current position is Technical Manager of Regional Public Health Laboratory.

His research interests are Inflammation, immunology and autoimmunity, allergy and prevention medicine.

Andrei Chapoval is currently a Director of Russian-American Anti-Cancer Center at Altai State University. He obtained his PhD in Immunology from Institute for Human Morphology (Moscow, Russia). He had postdoctoral training in tumor immunology at May Clinic and the Jackson Laboratory. He also have experience in biological drug discovery and development. 

His Research interests include cancer immunotherapy, costimalation, antibody design and early cancer diagnostics.

Dr. Jianxun (Jim) Song is a tenured associate professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, United States. The base of expertise on T cell biology needed to perform his research began to develop while he was a postdoctoral scholar and research scientist from the years 2001-2007 under the mentorship of Dr. Michael Croft at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology. He became a junior faculty at The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine in 2007, and extended his research on Developmental Immunology and Stem Cell Biology. As a PI on previous university-, foundation-, or NIH-funded grants, he laid the groundwork for the research by developing highly reactive T lymphocytes from pluripotent stem cells (PSC). His laboratory was the first to show that induced PSC differentiate into functional T cells for cell-based therapies. In addition to having the expertise to be successful with the research, he offers leadership and administrative skills that were developed during his independence as a mentor of graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. In summary, he has a demonstrated record of successful and productive research projects in the area.

Research Interest:

Costimulation in T lymphocyte memory, Regulation of differentiation of T lymphocytes from pluripotent stem cells,vaccine design, autoimmune therapy, and immune-based anti-cancer strategies.

Dr. Ravendra Garg is a research associate scientist in vaccine infectious disease organization (VIDO)­ International vaccine center, Saskatoon, SK, Canada. His current research projects highlight the development of Immuno-prophylactic nano/micro particulate based novel vaccine adjuvant platforms against respiratory infection.

He completed his post doc from Laval University, Quebec, Canada. During his post-doctoral training, he worked extensively on the immunological and molecular mechanism of HIV-1/Leishmania co infection using experimental models (Dendritic cells, Macrophages, Tonsil cell, NK cell) that closely recapitulate the natural in vivo reservoir of HIV-1 and Leishmania. He completed his Ph.D. from, Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, INDIA. His thesis was carried out with the objective of identifying T-cell stimulatory proteins of Leishmania and assessing the prophylactic efficacy of potential antigen (s) or its epitope(s) with or without adjuvant in golden hamster and mice.

His Research interests are Vaccinology, immunology, infectious diseases, and immunotherapeutics. 

Dr. La Monica joined the Boston Innovation Center in April 2013 as Senior Director of Infectious Diseases and Vaccines Scientific Innovation.  From 2009 to 2012 he was at Idera Pharmaceuticals in Cambridge MA, where he was Vice President of Biology. From 1991 to 2009, Dr. La Monica served most recently as Director of Antiviral Research at the Istituto di Ricerche di Biologia Molecolare (IRBM), Rome, Italy, a research site of Merck Research Laboratories. Prior to that, he held the positions of Director of Oncology and Director of Cancer Immunology and Genomics.   During his career, He has led drug discovery efforts for the treatment of Hepatitis C virus infections and oncology, as well as development programs for cancer immunotherapy.  He earned his B.A. degree in Biology from the University of Rochester in 1982.  His graduate studies were completed at Columbia University, where he earned a Ph.D. in Microbiology in 1988.

His Research interests include Vaccines, Cancer Vaccines, Immunotherapy, Therapeutic antibodies and Innate immunity.

Anass Jawhari has a strong experience in biochemistry and structural biology of macromolecular assemblies of proteins and antibodies. He holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry & structural biology from Louis Pasteur University (‘Strasbourg, France). After Ph.D. under the supervision of Professor Dino Moras (IGBMC & French academy of Science), he worked as a research associate in the Scripps Research Institute (La Jolla, US) and in The Gene Center (Munich, Germany) before joining private institutions as Research Investigator, Head of Structural Biology and now Chief Scientific Officer of CALIXAR. He has more than 15 years experience in research & developments projects related to molecular aspects of cancer & infectious diseases.

His Research interests include Native membrane protein solubilization, stabilization, multi-protein complex, therapeutic antibodies, vaccines, structure function relationship, crystallography /electron microscopy and immunology.

Seng-Lai Tan is the Head of Cellular and Translational Immunology at EMD Serono Research and Development Institute. He is interested in advancing mechanistic understanding and thus proof of confidence of novel therapeutic agents for the treatment of autoimmune disease. His Team develops cellular assays using primary human cells derived from healthy donors and patient cohorts to help bridge bench-to-bedside and vice versa activities, as well as to enable phenotypic screens to identify novel compounds and drug targets.

Prior to joining EMD, Dr. Tanhas led cross-functional teams in both large and small molecule drug discovery programs at Eli Lilly and Company, Amgen and Roche.

He is interested in advancing mechanistic understanding and thus proof of confidence of novel therapeutic agents for the treatment of autoimmune disease. 

Following an internship in Clinical Laboratory Sciences at the Volgograd State Medical University, Dr. Nesmiyanov moved into academic position of assistant professor of Immunology and Allergy Department, same university, working on a part-time basis in a clinical setting. In 2010 he completed his PhD which was followed by a promotion to associate professor position and position of associate dean of General Medicine faculty. He was awarded a Fulbright Faculty Development Program Fellowship in 2012-2013 and joined the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute and Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University. That was followed by move from academic position into research position at Volgograd Medical Science center, where he was appointed senior scientist, conducting a research on leukemia/lymphoma cell communication.

His Research interests are Molecular mechanisms of cell communication in leukemia with an emphasis on cell contacts through gap junctions. Cellular and molecular imaging and visualization.

Dr.Philip Hexley is currently Director of the Cell Analysis Facility and Assistant Professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, in the USA. He has been on the Editorial Board for the Society for Applied Microbiology, a founding committee member of the Ohio River Valley Cytometry Association, Program Committee Member and Co-Chair of the 2013 Cytometric Microvesicle Analysis session at the International Society for Advancement in Cytometry.

General interests include small particle (microvesicle) cytometry, microbiology, immunology, and biotechnology. Research focuses are in the development of myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and their role in burn trauma, and in the analysis and impact of cell derived microvesicles, their role in stem cell development, and as biomarkers of disease state and/or markers potentially indicative of treatment progression. Myeloid-derived suppressor cells, microvesicle/ microparticle analysis.

Dr. Wu current is an Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at the Medical University of South Carolina and a member of Hollings Cancer Center Tumor Immunology Program. She currently serves as the Committee Chair of Cancer in Federation of Clinical Immunology Society. She serves the Editor-in-Chief for the journal Inflammation and Cancer and editorial boards of ISRN Urology, American Journal of Immunology, and Biomedical Research International (Bioinformatics), Journal of Molecular and Genetic Medicine, and Austin Journal of Immunology.His  research focuses on cancer immune evasion mechanisms with particular interest in NK cell tumor immunity and development of novel cancer immunotherapy. Her work was the first to shown that solid tumors shed NKG2D ligand to perturb NK cell homeostatic maintenance and facilitate tumor metastasis. Her laboratory has developed the first and only spontaneous mouse cancer model that express native human NKG2D ligands which can be used as a pre-clinical model to validate immunotherapy targeting NKG2D ligands.

Research interest are NK cell biology, cancer immunology, cancer immunotherapy, cancer inflammation.

Dr. Michael Schwartz is a medical technologist who’s been involved in research as well as clinical ventures.  He received his degree from California State Univ., Long Beach, and trained in Medical Technology in 1988.  After working in clinical hospital laboratories for three years, he worked on the development of the first magnetic cell selection device, the Isolex 50, along with the semi-automated Isolex 300i in the early nineties.  he have been involved in transplantation medicine, providing stem cell analysis for autologous and allogeneic transplantation.  He also helped pioneer ex-vivo cell therapy for the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma.  This therapy also was utilized by a group he was associated with that not only provided this activated autologous lymphocyte therapy, but they provided TIL and LAK cell therapy, as well, based on the work of Steven Rosenberg.
More recently, he have been involved in clinical flow cytometry, specifically leukemia/lymphoma detection and have started several clinical flow cytometry laboratories over the past several years.  Formerly, he was a flow cytometry trainer, manager and development scientist at various laboratories, and He is currently a consultant, providing professional services to labs and physician office practices who would like to offer these services to their clients, and patients.

His research interest are Clinical hematology/oncology consulting. 

Dr Cohen has been active in the scientific community for over 30 years. She started as a member of the British Association of Young Scientists at the age of 15, obtained her first science degree at 21 and her Immunology PhD at 25. She has been a research scientist and lecturer in prestigious institutions around the world [including Addenbrookes' Hospital (Cambridge), The Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology (London), The Mount Sinai Hospital (New York) and The Royal Postgraduate Medical School (London)].  She left mainstream science in 2001 research to follow her passion of science communication.

Stem Cells; Immunology

Jennifer Barnes is currently the Director of Medical Affairs and Communications at Da Vinci Research Solutions, in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. She received her doctoral degree in translational research from the National University of Ireland, Dublin. In her current role, She works with community-based physicians and researchers to identify, initiate, and support clinical research endeavors in many different therapeutic areas. Much of her current work involves scientific publication planning, writing, and editing, as well as regulatory affairs and other communications. She is certified as an Editor of the Life Sciences (ELS).

The regulation of interleukin-13 receptor alpha 2 in the development of idiopathic lung fibrosis. Since receiving her doctorate degree, She has worked with many clinicians, scientists, pharmaceutical and device companies, and key opinion leaders in multiple therapeutic areas to move clinical research endeavors from the bench to the bedside. 

Dr. Deepa Rana Jamwal from the beautiful hilly state of Himachal Pradesh located in India. She completed her MS in zoology from Punjab University and PhD from Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh India in Immunology. She worked extensively on human samples during her PhD to understand the effects of antiviral therapy on dendritic cell biology in chronic hepatitis patients. After completing her PhD, she took the position of Research Associate at Department of Immunobiology at University of Arizona, Tucson in 2012.

There, she worked on T cell receptor repertoire using Deep Sequencing (Illumina) to understand the effects of Aging on immune system. Due to her interest in clinical immunology and autoimmunity she moved to Steele Children’s Research Center, University of Arizona, Tucson in 2014. Presently she was engaged in understanding the cross talk of various immune cells and dendritic cells in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Innate and Adaptive Immunology especially Dendritic Cell Biology in Infectious and Autoimmune Diseases

Jianwei Zhou is an associate professor, the vice director of Medical Laboratory of Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical College, the part time teacher of Jining Medical College, the member of Jining Medical Association, an Editorial Board Member ofAmerican Journal of Medical Sciences and Medicine, the peer reviewer of Preparative Biochemistry & Biotechnology, Journal of Immunology Research, Journal of Immunology and Clinical Research, the Journal of China Medicine and Pharmacy. He takes up the study of immunology, especially in the field of tumor immunity and infection immunity. Till now, he has successfully gained or completed ten research programs, and as the first author, he has issued about forty articles in the journals of China and other countries, one fourth of them were indexed by SCI, EI or ISTP. Besides, he has obtained two utility model patents and one invention patent

Research interest is focused on Clinic Immune which includes autoimmune disease, laboratory diagnosis of tumor, T cell immune, etc..

Perricone Carlo is Specialist in Rheumatology, First Prize XXVIII cycle Ph.D. Student in Immunological, Hematologic and Rheumatological Sciences at Sapienza University of Rome, since November 2011. He received his Master Degree with honors in Medicine and Surgery in July 2007 at the University of Rome Tor Vergata and with honors in the title of Specialist in Rheumatology at the Sapienza University of Rome in April 2012. His scientific work has been devoted to the study of autoimmune diseases with particular emphasis of systemic lupus erythematosus and antiphospholipid antibody syndrome. His studies focused on the role of NK cells and the complement system in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases and the interactions between genetic and multifactorial diseases. In addition, part of his scientific work has been focused on the study of imaging ultrasound in rheumatic diseases. Teacher of musculoskeletal ultrasound for the European League Against Rheumatism and the Italian Society of Rheumatology. Founder of ReumaCamp for the Italian Society of Rheumatology.

The research activity is documented by more than 90 publications in extenso in prestigious national and international journals. He has authored and co-authored, as well as chapters in books and treatises. Referee for more than 30 peer-reviewed journals including Arthritis and Rheumatism and Rheumatology (Oxford). Member of the Editorial Board of the World Journal of Immunology, and Autoimmunity Reviews. He has participated as investigator in clinical trials of phase III, randomized, controlled, double-blind, multicenter studies. In addition, he has participated as a speaker/chairman at numerous courses, seminars and conferences at national and international level.

• The role of IVIg in the treatment of autoimmune diseases
• Immunology of reproduction with particular reference to the role of NK cells in the antiphospholipid syndrome and systemic lupus erythematosus
• Role of antioxidants, particularly glutathione, in autoimmune diseases
• Complement and autoimmunity
• Smell and rheumatic diseases
• Gout: diagnosis and therapeutic aspects
• Genetic basis of autoimmune diseases
• Imaging rheumatology: the role of musculoskeletal ultrasound in rheumatology

Dr. Benoit Chassaing obtained his PhD in microbiology at the University of Clermont-Ferrand (France), identifying factors involved in the virulence of adherent and invasive Escherichia coli strains (bacterial pathovar involved in the etiology of Crohn's disease). In 2011, with Pr. Arlette Darfeuille-Michaud as a mentor, he identified among other bacterial factors that long polar fimbriae are express by adherent and invasive Escherichia coli strains, leading to their ability to target M cells lining Peyer's patches surface.

             Since his PhD defense in 2011, he has been working at Georgia State University as a post-doctoral fellow with Dr. Andrew T. Gewirtz on various subjects related to mucosal immunology. Working on how genetic and environmental factors can perturb intestinal microbiota composition in a detrimental way leading to intestinal inflammation, He identified that adherent and invasiveEscherichia coli infection can lead to long term microbiota composition alterations, leading to a pro-inflammatory microbiota involved in intestinal inflammation appearance and perpetuation. Later, he identified that Mice lacking the receptor Toll-like receptor 5 (which recognizes flagellin) specifically in the intestinal epithelial cells lining the intestine, develop low-grade intestinal inflammation and metabolic syndrome.

                More recently, working on environmental factors involved in the appearance of chronic intestinal inflammation and metabolic syndrome, he identified that dietary emulsifiers, which are added to most processed foods to aid texture and extend shelf-life, can alter the gut microbiota composition and localization to induce intestinal inflammation that promotes development of both inflammatory bowel disease and metabolic syndrome. He observed that emulsifier’s consumption changed the species composition of the gut microbiota and did so in a manner that made it more pro-inflammatory. Specifically, this altered microbiota had enhanced capacity to degrade and infiltrate the dense mucus layer that lines the intestine, and which is normally largely devoid of bacteria. Furthermore, alterations in bacterial species resulted in bacteria expressing more flagellin and lipopolysaccharide, which can activate pro-inflammatory gene expression by the immune system.

His research interests are intestinal inflammation, innate immunity, chronic inflammatory bowel diseases, microbiota in health and disease, intestine/microbiota interaction.

Gregory Lee received his Ph. D from the California Institute of Technology and completed his postdoctoral studies at the University of California, San Diego. He became a full Professor at the University of British Columbia in 1989, and retired in 2012 with the title of Professor Emeritus. He is the co-founder of Vancouver Biotech Ltd. He has published more than 200 papers, including 30 papers in cancer research. He has been serving as an editorial board member of the Journal of Carcinogenesis and Mutagenesis, and the Journal of Cancer Science and Therapy since 2012.

Research and development of antibody-based anti-cancer drugs.

Dr. Satyendra Kumar received his Ph D from Pune University (National Institute of Virology, Pune) India (2010). He came to University of Nebraska Medical centerat Omaha as a Postdoctoral fellow for brief period in 2009-2010 in Dr. Ming Fong Lin’s lab (UNMC.BMB, USA). Later joined Dr Amy Kenter’s lab, Associate Professor of Department of Microbiology and Immunology (2010-2015), and became Visiting Research Assistant Professor in 2015. Since 2010, he has been working on understanding the physiological consequences of Class Switch Recombination (CSR) followed by light chain rearrangement in early B cells on humoral immune responses.

Physiological roles of Class Switch Recombination (CSR) in early B cells.
Impact of premature CSR in early B cells on immune checkpoint leading to initiation of autoimmune diseases.
Developing novel antibody therapeutics targeting autoimmune diseases.

Arunava Bandyopadhaya received his bachelor and master’s degree in Zoology form University of Calcutta, India. He worked on the mechanisms of reactogenicity of cholera vaccine strains under supervision of Dr. Keya Chaudhuri in Indian Institute of Chemical biology, India and received his Ph.D in Life Sciences (Microbiology & Immunobiology) from Jadavpur University, India. He is presently a research fellow and working with Prof. Laurence G. Rahme in Massachusetts General Hospital & Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Redhu received his Ph.D. in Immunology from University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada. He obtained his Bachelor’s degree from Kurukshetra University and Master’s degree in Biotechnology from Bundelkhand University, India. He spent his early career in India at National Institute of Immunology, and All India Institute of Medical Sciences studying immunology and clinical microbiology in the laboratory of Prof. Sarman Singh. During his graduate work under the mentorship of Dr. A. Soussi Gounni in Canada, he studied the regulation and function of IgE Fc receptors and TSLP in allergic airway inflammation and asthma. He has received numerous travel and merit awards including the prestigious E. L. Drewry Memorial Award for best research thesis work, Apotex Fermentation Inc. Award for Excellence in Molecular Biology Research, and Doctoral Dissertation Award at University of Manitoba. He is serving on the editorial board of SOJ Immunology, the Bionanofrontiers, and as a reviewer for many journals in the field of Immunology.

Dr. Redhu is currently at Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA, USA. He is interested in uncovering the mechanisms that lead to intestinal mucosal homeostasis and immunoregulatory pathways that prevent the development of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD).

Microbiota-host Interaction, Intestinal inflammation, Mucosal Homeostasis, Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD), Crohn’s Disease, Ulcerative Colitis, Allergic Inflammation, Asthma and COPD, TSLP, IgE, Fc Receptors

Dr. Abdolreza Esmaeilzadeh completed his Ph.D. degree in medical Immunology at School of Medicine, Tarbiat Modares University studying on “An Invivo and Invitro Study on the Effects of IL 27 Gene Transfer in a Syngeneic Mouse Breast Cancer Model, A Candidate for the Gene therapy of Breast Cancer” (Winter 2012). Also, during in his Ph.D. level, his work was focused on the developing transfection of GL26 murine Glioma cell lines with mIL-27 cDNA for Brain Glioma Immune-Gene therapy and Induction of allogeneic subcutaneous Glioma tumor animal model with the GL26 cell line. His MSc. project was focused on Reproduction Immunology. He has a bachelor's degree in Clinical Laboratory Sciences from Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Now, some of his students are in high ranking universities such as Harvard, McGill and Tokyo University to continue their education.

He serves as a reviewer Journal of Genes and Immunity from Nature Publishing Group and reviewer and editorial board of Journal of Genetic Syndromes & Gene Therapy; also an reviewer and editorial board member for some of scientific international (e g; Global Journal of Stem cell Research and Transplantation, Immunology research, Gene and Cell Therapy and another international and national journals, and has published over 60 papers in peer-reviewed journals, including original articles, hypothesis, editorial, Letter , reviews; and author of 3 textbook . Also, he has over100 articles in congress as an invited speaker and /or oral presenter including international and national meetings; and four clinical trials.

The developing transfection of GL26 murine Glioma cell lines with mIL-27 cDNA for Brain Glioma Immune-Gene therapy and Induction of allogeneic subcutaneous Glioma tumor animal model with the GL26 cell line.

Dr. Murli Manohar obtained his Ph.D in Biochemistry from the CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute/ Jamia Hamdrd, INDIA where he studied the pathophysiology and treatment options for endocrine related cancers and explored the anti-tumor effect as well as molecular mechanism of polyphenolic phyto-compound “Epigallocatechin-3-gallate” on endometrial cancer. He also did identification of several human endometrial proteins, which might be associated with infertility. Dr. Manohar has gained his B.Sc. and M.Sc. form University of Lucknow, India. Since long time Dr. Manohar was interested in eosinophil associated diseases, because they have the dual role in health and diseases, therefore, he moved to Tulane Eosinophilic Disorder Centre, USA and currently working on the various the role of eosinophils, IL-5 and IL-18 in the pathophysiology of acute pancreatitis, chronic pancreatitis, eosinophilic pancreatitis, fibrosis as well as pancreatic cancer.  Dr. Manohar is the member of various scientific societies such as American Association of Cancer Research, American Gastroenterological Association, and American Association of Immunologist. He serves on the reviewer board of the Cancer Letter, Life Sciences, RBM online, Mediators of Inflammation, and SOJ Journal of Gastroenterology, Pancreatology & Liver Disorders. 

General interest includes gastrointestinal disorders, acute pancreatitis, chronic pancreatitis, fibrosis, eosinophil associated disorders and pancreatic cancer. His research is mainly focused to establish the critical role of eosinophils in promoting pancreatitis, and associated fibrosis that leads malignancy. 

Mojtaba Mafi M.D., Medical Doctor/ Physician, graduated from Tehran University, School of Medicine with honor. He studied in neurosurgery ward and graduated with A score with thesis on Meningioma Brain Tumor during 6 years. With continuing my practice with special consideration on psychosomatic disorders and completed many post graduate courses on health psychology, addiction medicine, sexual disorders therapy successfully. He passed many post graduate courses in Neuro, approved by Medical sciences university. As well, He have been passed post graduate courses on Nutrition, Gastroenterology and hepatology, Obesity treatment and diabetes approved by Tehran University of Medical sciences and successfully passed more than 10 programs with certificates and membership in Iranian Association of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Having honor of working as associate of Iran Hepatitis Network and Gastroenterology and Hepatology research center, Middle East Liver Diseases Center (MELD).

• Neuroscience
   
• Neurosurgery
   
• Neurology
   
• Neuropharmacology
   
• Neuropsychology
   
• Metabolic diseases
   
• Hypertension