Thanks to the continuing collaboration of its Official Journal, the European Journal of Immunology and to the generous contribution of the Fondation ACTERIA - EFIS is pleased to announce the shorlisted recipients of EFIS-EJI and EFIS-ACTERIA Travel Grants for the 17th International Congress of Immunology - IUIS 2019 - to be held October 19-23, 2019, in Beijing:

• Yunhao Zhai - Centre d’Immunologie de Marseille Luminy, Aix Marseille University, France (Societe Francaise d'Immunologie - SFI)
• Na Li - Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands (Nederlandse Vereniging voor Immunologie - NVvI)
• Valentina Pucino - University of Birmingham, United Kingdom (British Society for Immunology - BSI)
• Irene Mattiola - Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany (Società Italiana di Immunologia, Immunologia Clinica e Allergologia - SIICA)
• Gennaro Prota - University of Oxford, United Kingdom (British Society for Immunology - BSI)
• Ana Rita Faria dos Santos - i3S - Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Portugal (Sociedade Portuguesa de Imunologia - SPI)
• Ramy Elsaid - Institut Pasteur de Paris, France (Societe Francaise d'Immunologie - SFI)
• Carla Guenther - University of Helsinki, Finland (Suomen Immunologiayhdistys Ry - SIY; Scandinavian Society for Immunology - SSI)
• Andrea Ponzetta - Istituto Clinico Humanitas, Rozzano, Italy (Società Italiana di Immunologia, Immunologia Clinica e Allergologia - SIICA)
• Natasja Wul Pedersen - Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark (Dansk Immunologisk Selskab - DIS; Scandinavian Society for Immunology - SSI)

Building on consensus reached during the first EFIS Strategic Retreat in Berlin this past March, three EFIS Task Forces, composed of representatives nominated by National Societies, are now taking shape and will soon kick off. Read more here.

EFIS is excited to share that the Impact Factor of European Journal of Immunology (EJI) has increased to 4.695. A special thanks to EFIS Societies and their members for your essential contributions in reaching this milestone: your research is advancing the field and EFIS hopes you’ll continue to publish with EJI in the future. Visit here to get started!

The call for applications for Travel Grants for the 17th International Congress of Immunology - IUIS 2019 is now closed. Results will be announced by mid July 2019.

The Human Cell Differentiation Molecules-Human Leukocyte Differentiation Antigen Workshop is inviting the submission of newly generated monoclonal antibodies against G protein-coupled receptors for validation and CD nomenclature assignment. More details are available here or on the HCDM homepage.

The annual Day of Immunology (DoI) is approaching - April 29, 2019 - and it’s time again to leave the lab and clinic and let the general public know the importance of immunology to global health and of your research in the field!

EFIS, together with IUIS, will be awarding cash prizes for the best 1) international, 2) European, 3) newcomer, and 4) theme-oriented campaigns over the past three years (2017-2019) to be announced and conferred at IUIS 2019 in Beijing this coming October. Full details are available here.

Following their admission to the IUIS, EFIS is delighted to officially welcome its new affiliates: the Luxembourg Society for Allergology and Immunology (LSAI) and the Association of Immunologists in Bosnia and Herzegovina (AIB&H)! With the inclusion of the LSAI and the AIB&H, EFIS now counts 35 Members!

In addition, EFIS extends its warmest greetings to incoming Society Presidents Alexander Rosenkranz (ÖGAI), Luca Vannucci (CIS), Felix Wensveen (HID) and Arne Akbar (BSI). Read here this latter's welcome address to the BSI Membership base, and his encouraging words regarding interaction with National Societies.

EFIS looks forward to integrating its new Members to the utmost in the growing European immunology community, and to working to the advantage of all affiliates to advancing efforts to address the challenges and needs of researchers and clinicians in immunology and related fields on a European level.

Following the untimely passing of Vito Pistoia in September, a consultation was held among EFIS Member Societies to invite their preferences from among three shortlisted society-nominated candidates for the position of Editor-in-Chief of Immunology Letters: Rudolf Valenta (ÖGAI), Luis Graça (SIP) and Francesco Annunziato (SIICA).

The results of the consultation are now in, and the EFIS Board is pleased to welcome Francesco Annunziato as the new Editor-in-Chief of Immunology Letters.

In welcoming Francesco, the EFIS Board also wishes to thank Václav Hořejší for his invaluable service in this difficult interim period, and to express its gratutude to all other candidates for having submitted impressive and certainly qualified applications for the position.

EFIS is pleased to announce the election of Prof. Federica Sallusto, Professor of Medical Immunology at the ETH Zurich and Group leader of the Cellular Immunology Laboratory at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine, Bellinzona, to the Office of EFIS President-elect!

 

Federica Sallusto will formally assume her appointment on January 1st, 2019, and will join incoming President Andreas Radbruch, Past President René van Lier, Secretary General Pablo Engel and Treasurer Winfried F. Pickl to form the 2019-2021 EFIS Board.

 

In accepting her appointment, Prof. Sallusto had this to say:

 

“We all share a great passion for immunology and understand the importance of our discipline for the advancement of basic science and for human health.  As Europeans we need to work together to advocate for immunology research at all levels. Through its many activities, EFIS has been supporting the European immunology community for more than 40 years, having as high priority programs for the education of the next generation of immunologists. I am eager to give my contribution to strengthen these programs.”

 

Prof. Sallusto’s biosketch can be downloaded here.