Professor Dr. med. Reinhold Ernst Schmidt (1951 – 2022)

It is with great sadness that the EFIS Board announces the passing of former EFIS Treasurer, Professor Reinhold Schmidt, who died on 23rd January 2022.

Reinhold Schmidt was the Director of the Department for Immunology and Rheumatology at Hannover Medical School (MHH). He started his career studying Medicine and Psychology at the University of Bonn, followed by training in internal medicine, rheumatology and immunology in Bonn, Boston and London. In 1995, he was appointed full Professor and Director of the Department of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology at the MHH. Since 2004, he was also the Director of the Jeffrey Modell Center (JMF) for Diagnostics and Therapy of Immunodeficiency at the MHH. His research interests included, autoimmunity, the pathogenesis of immunodeficiencies and HIV/AIDS.

Among his many noteworthy appointments and awards, Reinhold Schmidt will be perhaps best remembered for his dedicated service to advancing clinical and translational immunology research. He was a true advocate of immunology: at the national level in Germany, he was President of the German Society for Immunology (DGfI) between 2005 and 2006; at the European level, he served as Treasurer on the EFIS Board for nine years (1998 – 2006), and internationally, he was Chairman of the Clinical Immunology Committee and Councillor for the International Union of Immunological Societies (IUIS) for more than a decade. Furthermore, as President of the 2nd European Congress of Immunology (ECI 2009), he played a pivotal role in organising one of the most successful ECIs to date.

Speaking on behalf of the entire EFIS Board, Past President Sergio Romagnani said, “I knew Reinhold Schmidt very well as he served as Treasurer while I was EFIS President from 2000 to 2003. During this time, I had the opportunity to appreciate his impressive scientific competence, as well as his enthusiasm and love for clinical immunology. But I would like to remember Reinhold as a kind and affable man, full of cheer and able to instill happiness around him. I am mourning his departure, together with all people who have had the pleasure and the privilege of meeting and loving him", Sergio Romagnani, Professor Emeritus, University of Florence, Italy and EFIS Past President.

The EFIS Board send their sincere condolences to the family of Reinhold Schmidt – a wonderful friend and colleague who will be sorely missed.

At its most recent General Assembly, EFIS Societies expressed their voice, and with a convincing mandate elected Bojan Polić of the Croatian Society as 2022-2024 EFIS President-elect and Marieke van Ham of the Dutch Society as 2022-2024 EFIS Secretary General. A special word of thanks is due to Jacek Witkowski, nominated by the Polish Society, and Pärt Petersen, nominated by the Estonian Society, for their willingness to run for the offices of President-elect and Secretary General, respectively. EFIS congratulates both newly-elected officers, who guarantee outstanding scientific and managerial skills, and who will join incoming President, Federica Sallusto, outgoing President Andreas Radbruch, and Treasurer Winfried Pickl to form the EFIS Board 2022-2024.

Congratulations to the Italian Society for Immunology, Clinical Immunology and Allergology, selected during the most recent EFIS General Assembly to host the 8th European Congress of Immunology (ECI) in Florence in September 2027. Sincere thanks are extended, as well, to the Polish, Spanish and Swiss Societies for their bids to host the ECI in Krakow, Madrid and Geneva, respectively. Looking forward to welcoming everyone to the cradle of the Renaissance in 2027!

EFIS is delighted to announce the recipient of the 2021 EFIS-EJI Ita Askonas Award: Christiane Opitz, Group leader since 2013 of the Brain Cancer Metabolism Unit of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and resident of the Neurology Clinic and National Center for Tumor Diseases, University Hospital of Heidelberg. Nominated by the German Society for Immunology, Dr. Opitz has distinguished herself  for her studies on the immunological resistance of glioblastoma, in particular for the identification of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor as a key molecule harnessed by the tumor in evading immunity, and tryptophan metabolites as central in this process, discoveries that have opened up entirely new opportunities for treatment of this currently incurable cancer. Dr. Opitz's prize will be formally conferred during the EFIS Awards Symposium on Thursday, September 2nd, 2021 during Virtual ECI 2021.

EFIS is pleased to announce the winners of the 2021 Eastern Star Awards

• Đorđe Miljković, Department of Immunology, Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković”, University of Belgrade for his proposed research on the role of gut microbiota and gut immune cells in the CNS-directed autoimmunity induced in rats without the use of the complete Freund’s adjuvant

• Ondřej Štěpánek, Laboratory of Adaptive Immunity, Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, for his project on the molecular basis of T-cell memory.

Congratulations to both awardees!

The FONDATION ACTERIA and EFIS are delighted to announce the winners of the 2021 ACTERIA Early Career Research Prizes awarded by EFIS!

On the recommendation of the ACTERIA Prizes Selection Jury, the 2021 ACTERIA Early Career Research Prizes are awarded to

• In Immunology - Charlotte Scott, VIB-UGent Center for Inflammation Research, Belgian Immunological Society (BIS), for her work since earning her PhD on the characterisation of dendritic cells in the intestine and her proposed research on the functions of distinct hepatic macrophage populations in fatty liver disease.
• In Allergology - Nicolas Gaudenzio, Toulouse Institute for Inflammatory and Infectious Diseases (Infinity) - UMR 1291 INSERM - CNRS - University of Toulouse, French Society for Immunology (SFI, for his achievements following his doctoral dissertation on mast cell-T helper cell interactions during skin inflammation and his intent to investigate skin-projecting nociceptors as gate-keepers of neutrophil-driven damage during allergic contact dermatitis.

Congratulations to both 2021 Laureates! Read their interviews featured in the News & EFIS section of the European Journal of Immunology here, and learn more about the ACTERIA Prizes awarded by EFIS here.

Congratulations to EFIS' Official Journals - European Journal of Immunology and Immunology Letters - on their new impact factors: 5.532 and 3.685, respectively!

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If you you missed - or want to watch again - the EFIS/IUIS webinar "Immunology in the time of COVID-19: achievements and opportunities" broadcast live via Zoom and Twitch on April 29 to celebrate the Day of Immunology 2021, the recorded event, which attracted more than 3,000 attendees from 105 countries, is available here for viewing on demand.

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The BioMed Alliance, of which EFIS is a member, is raising awareness of the possible consequences of a poor implementation of the new EU Regulation for In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices. With only one year away from the date of application, many critical regulatory elements are not in place and important guidance is still lacking, making it extremely difficult for the EU diagnostic sector to be fully prepared in time for May 2022 and thereby threatening to affect patients’ lives across Europe. Read more here.

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Thanks to the continued support of the European Journal of Immunology and to the generous contribution of the Fondation ACTERIA, EFIS is delighted to announce that it will be awarding an unprecedented number of WAIVED REGISTRATION FEE GRANTS for students and early career researchers under 40 years of age wishing to attend the Virtual 6th European Congress of Immunology - ECI 2021 - to be held Sepember 1-4, 2021. Full details here.

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For the 2021 #DayofImmunology, EFIS, IUIS, the young EFIS network, and Immunopaedia have collaborated to produce the #ThankYouImmunology video campaign, which asked early career scientists the world over what immunology means to them and its importance as a medical science in the protection of health and the fight against disease. View all the the videos here.

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To celebrate the Day of Immunology 2021, EFIS and IUIS are jointly organizing a webinar on 29 April: Immunology in the time of COVID-19: achievements and opportunities. Featuring both presentations and a panel discussion, it will bring together global experts to take stock of where we are and what the future may hold.

REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED. However, the webinar will be made available for on demand viewing in the future. Check back here for more information in the coming days. A huge thanks to all who've registered, and enjoy the show!

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The ECI 2021 Organizing Committees have very closely monitored the ever-changing developments regarding the COVID-19 pandemic in the past few months. Regrettably, because the outlook presents too many uncertainties, the ECI 2021 Steering Committee, in unison with the EFIS Board, has decided to hold ECI 2021 as a virtual meeting. Continue reading here.

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Today, EFIS has published a new expert report which reviews vaccination strategies across Europe, effective scientific communication and public engagement, long-term immune monitoring programmes and equitable access to vaccines for all nations. The report has been produced by the EFIS Vaccination Task Force, a group of representatives from European immunology societies chaired by Dr Doug Brown, Chief Executive of the British Society for Immunology. The Task Force aims to address issues around COVID-19 vaccination at a European level. Download the report here.

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As the world continues to focus its attention, energies and resources to combat the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, EFIS trusts that its Member Societies and their membership ranks will want to commemorate April 29, 2021 as the international Day of Immunology. Let’s use this day once again to share with the general public how critically important immunology is for global health, and to champion the expert voices from our community as a vital part of this message. Further information - including details about prizes to be awarded by EFIS and IUIS to outreach campaigns - is available here.

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Following the remote consultation held in late 2020 inviting EFIS Members to express their preference among three shortlisted Society-nominated candidates, the EFIS Board is pleased to announce the election of Luis Graça as the new Editor-in-Chief of Immunology Letters. While welcoming Dr. Graça to his appointment, the EFIS Board also wishes to express its gratitude to the Hellenic and Croatian Societies for Immunology for the impressive and certainly qualified applications of their nominees, Dr. Constantin Baxevanis and Dr. Felix Wensveen, respectively.

Building on the efforts of junior researchers from several EFIS Member Societies, EFIS has launched the yEFIS Task Force with the intent to create a network dedicated to young immunologists throughout Europe. Read more here.

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Remember to save the date for the next European Congress of Immunology, September 1-4, 2021, Belgrade, Republic of Serbia.

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