Science AAAS and HudsonAlpha to Host International Immunogenomics Conference

Leading researchers who are doing cutting edge work in the genetics of the immune system-- from across Alabama, the US and Western Europe --will gather in Huntsville September 29th through October 1st to exchange ideas and information on the latest developments in the field at Immunogenomics 2014.

The American Association for the Advancement of Sciences, the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science, is partnering with the HudsonAlpha Institute of Biotechnology to organize the event which will take place on the HudsonAlpha campus.

The emerging field of immunogenomics is positioned at the heart of the movement toward personalized medicine and the use of DNA sequencing to improve disease diagnosis and treatment.

“The development of new tools and approaches are resulting in exciting advances in Immunogenomics, with implications for understanding fundamentally the immune system, as well as for applications to diagnosis and new therapy,” said Barbara R. Jasny, PhD, Science’s Deputy Editor for Commentary.

Session topics will include genetic and epigenetic regulation of the immune system, genetic regulation of pathogen sensing, the microbiome, functional genetics and the genetics of complex diseases. Immunodiversity and individual responses to immune challenge will be covered, along with medical genomics, clinical applications and immunotherapy, and immune system function in monogenic diseases.

The event’s distinguished keynote speakers are Christophe Benoist, PhD, MD, of Harvard Medical School, Mary Ellen Conley, MD, from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine, and Mark Davis, PhD, of Stanford University School of Medicine. In addition to other preeminent US researchers, program sessions will feature speakers from the UK, Spain, France and Germany.

Highly regarded Alabama-based researchers will also share their insights, including Richard M. Myers, PhD, and Jian Han, MD, PhD, of HudsonAlpha and Louis Bridges, MD, PhD, of UAB.

Bridges, who is known for his research into the genetics of arthritis in African American populations, will also be chairing a session on the genetics of complex diseases.

“We’ll be discussing what we’re learning about how genes work in complex diseases like lupus, Crohn’s disease and arthritis as well as in some infectious diseases,” Bridges said. “We’re looking at how to identify genetic factors and which regions and genes are at work. Sometimes multiple genes are involved, as well as interactions with the environment. Some seem to cause problems and the presence of others can have a protective effect. We’ll discuss how we can use the patient’s genetic code to diagnose and target the disease.”

Bridges says it is truly gratifying to have such a high level international conference hosted here in Alabama by such respected organizations as Science Magazine and HudsonAlpha.

“World leaders in scientific thought will be coming to our state to discuss some of the most exciting work happening today. For anyone interested in the area where genetics meets immunology, it’s going to be a wonderful opportunity to learn about some very intriguing new developments.”

HudsonAlpha Institute of Biotechnology, the site of the conference, is the cornerstone of the 152-acre biotech campus of Cummings Research Park, the second largest research park in the United States and the fourth largest in the world. The Institute was created as a wellspring of innovation and collaboration. The state-of-the-art facility houses both the Genome Sequencing Center and Genomic Services Lab, as well as lab space for other areas of research.

For more information about the conference and registration details, go to immunogenomics.com.