The Antibody Society is proud to provide funding for numerous antibody-related conferences and symposia organized by our members, including those listed below. In particular, we provide funding for conferences that encourage participation by postdoctoral fellows and graduate students.
2019 Society-funded meetings
9th Alpbach Affinity Proteomics workshop
March 11-13, 2019, Alpbach, Austria
The Alpbach workshop is regarded as one of the best meetings on antibodies and other protein-binding molecules and their role in defining the proteome. The combination of excellent science with mountain scenery and winter sports creates an atmosphere that makes this series of workshops exceptional. The program topics will include: complementarity of affinity and MS proteomics; Human Protein Atlas and Cell Atlas; quality, validation and standardization of binding reagents; recombinant technologies for binder generation; nanobodies and protein scaffolds; sensitive and multiplexed protein detection methods and diagnostic applications; and pharma developments in biomarkers and antibody therapeutics.
Antibodies & Complement
May 20-25, 2019, Girona, Spain
This 2nd conference on Antibodies & Complement will focus attention on key advances in both fields with the aim at fostering discussions between antibody experts and complement experts. Some of the critical topics to be covered include antibody & complement (novel) functions, human antibody repertoires, complement structure and subcellular localization, novel technologies, complement and antibody therapies. After the success of the first edition, this second conference on Antibodies & Complement should again be a forum for leaders in the field and new investigators coming from academia, industry and research institutes to discuss where the field is going and what challenges lie ahead.
Travel grants (€500-€650) will be awarded to selected students and postdocs attendees. Selection will be performed by the conference organizers and session chairs.
The Antibody Society is offering up to 7 travel grants to both recognize the research activities of promising students / postdoctoral fellows and provide educational opportunities to them. In order to be considered for this competition, you must be a student or postdoc member of The Antibody Society. If you are not already a member, you may register here for a free student or postdoc membership.
Requirements:
- Submit an abstract to the conference organizers by April 4, 2019
- Request financial support including a support letter from your mentor
- Register for free at The Antibody Society
2018 Society-funded meetings
Keystone Symposium “Antibodies as Drugs: Translating Molecules into Treatments”
February 25–March 1, 2018, Whistler, British Columbia, Canada
Scientific Organizers: Paul W. H. I. Parren & Erica Ollmann Saphire.
Sessions included:
Protective Antibody Responses
Workshop 1: Antibodies and Protection
From Molecules to Vaccines
Antibodies as Biopharmaceuticals
Antibody Fc-Mediated Mechanisms I
Antibody Fc-Mediated Mechanisms II
Workshop 2: Therapeutic Antibodies
Exploiting Effector Cell Responses
Novel Ways to Deliver Antibody Therapy
From Molecules to the Clinic
Congratulations to the following participants, who were selected to receive Society-funded scholarships based on the excellence of their posters:
Jeffrey J. Bunker, University of Chicago, USA
Philipp Leonhard Kolb, University of Freiburg, Germany
Maria Mar Naranjo, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France
Seline Zwarthoff, University Medical Center Utrecht, Netherlands
Gordon Research Conference “Antibody Biology and Engineering”
March 25-30, 2018, Renaissance Tuscany Il Ciocco, Lucca (Barga), Italy
Chair: Mark Hogarth & James Ernst; Vice Chair: Jeanette Leusen
The conference presented in-depth coverage of recent advances in this exciting field, in an informal setting designed to maximize interaction. Sessions included:
Therapeutic Antibodies
Antibody Properties and Diversity
Structure Function Relations
Immunoglobulin Effector Function
Antibody Cross-Talk
Orchestrating Antibody Responses
Alternative Antibody Dependent Responses
Pre-Clinical Antibody Evaluation
Keynote Session: Antibodies Therapeutics as Agents of Clinical Change
Power Hour
FASEB Science Research Conference “Immunoreceptors and Immunotherapy”
June 10-15, 2018, Snowmass, CO
Organizers: E. Sally Ward (Texas A&M University Health Science Center) & Stephen A. Beers (University of Southampton)
Sessions include:
Fc Receptors: From Structure to Function (Chair: Jenny Woof, University of Dundee)
Therapeutic Antibodies: Models and Mechanism (Chair: Stephen Beers, U. Southampton)
B Cell Receptor Signaling and Antibody Response (Chair: John Cambier, U. Colorado School of Medicine)
Inhibitory Receptors (Chair: Peter Sun, NIAID)
Cytokines and Signaling (Chair: Warren Leonard, NHLBI/NIAMS)
T Cell Receptor Recognition and Signaling (Chair: Michael Dustin, The Kennedy Institute)
Immune Responses in the Tumor Microenvironment (Chair: Pamela Ohashi, U. Toronto)
Immunotherapy (Chair: Jeanette Leusen, UMC Utrecht)
10th Waddensymposium: “Antibodies: central players in therapy and disease”
June 24 – 26, 2018, Hotel Duinzicht, Ouddorp (Zuid Holland), the Netherlands
Scientific/ organizing committee:
Prof.dr. W.E. Fibbe, Prof.dr. F. Koning, Prof.dr. P.W.H.I. Parren, Dr. L.A. Trouw
The theme of the 10th Waddensymposium is: “Antibodies: central players in therapy and disease”. Research within Leiden University Medical Center’s department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion includes studies of the role of antibodies in pathology of disease, studies of antibody-mediated mechanisms such as effector function (including complement activation), or the use of antibodies as reagents and tools. Current developments on the use of antibodies as diagnostic markers, but especially also the development of novel antibodies as therapeutics, have major impact on several of the LUMC medical research profiles including “Immunity, Infection and Tolerance”, “Cancer pathogenesis and treatment”, “Vascular and Regenerative Medicine” and “Neurosciences”. To this end, three major topics will be addressed:
- Antibody composition & complement
- Antibodies in disease and therapy
- Antibody pathogenicity
The symposium included three scientific sessions from Monday until Tuesday afternoon. Each of the three major topics were introduced by a tutorial, followed by scientific presentations. Ample time was provided for formal as well as informal discussions. The informal atmosphere supports fruitful interactions between the senior opinion leaders and colleagues and young researchers.
The Society’s first Award for Excellence was presented at the Waddensymposium. An independent jury consisting of Prof. Stephen Beers (University of Southampton) and Dr. René Pfeiffle (University of Erlangen) selected Sanne van de Bovenkamp as the overall winner. The jury indicated that they were not only highly impressed by the quality of Sanne’s presentation but also by her demonstrated ability to engage in an insightful scientific discussion.
In her presentation, Sanne described her recent work on the impact of Fab-domain glycosylation in the adaptive antibody response. Her studies demonstrate that Fab-domain glycosylation is subject to clonal selection and impacts on antibody affinity. Sanne performed her graduate work at Sanquin Research with Dr. Theo Rispens. She is currently a postdoc at the department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion at the Leiden University Medical Center in Leiden with Prof. Leendert Trouw. She is pictured here with Society Board of Director’s member Dr. Paul W.H.I. Parren and Prof. Beers.
