The "Onassis Series of Lectures in Immunobiology", seeks to provide an overview of major advances and evolving concepts in the field while at the same highlighting their relevance to health and disease. Some of the questions to be addressed in the meeting include: What are the antimicrobial and immune responses in Drosophila and Mosquitoes? How could they be exploited to advance our understating of the immune system in mammals and the protection against major health problems such as malaria? What determines the delicate balance between immunoprotection vs immunopathology in viral infections, a common cause of disease whose spectrum ranges from isolated disease to pandemics? How are B and T lymphocytic responses regulated and how could they be used for the development of vaccines or for specific immunotherapy? What controls the development of lymphoid organs in the gut - an important site for the first encounter of the host with exogenous pathogens and molecules? How environmental stimuli impact on innate and adaptive immune responses in the body and how are these regulated? What are the most important mechanisms accounting for the autoimmune diseases? Which genes and how are they placed in the mosaic of autoimmunity? What have we learned from studying autoimmunity and inflammation in humans and how could this be translated into better diagnostic and therapeutic tools?

Programme

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