ESF Research Conferences
ESF-FWF Conference in Partnership with LFUI
THE IMPACT OF THE ENVIRONMENT ON INNATE IMMUNITY: AT THE DEFENCE FRONTIER - THE BIOLOGY OF INNATE IMMUNITY
Chaired by
CHAIR:
- ProfessorPaulSchmid-HempelE-Mail
- ETH ZürichInstitute of Integrative Biology (IBZ)Department of Environmental SciencesExperimental EcologyZurichSwitzerland
VICE-CHAIRS:
- Dr.SophieArmitageE-Mail
- University of CopenhagenInstitute of BiologyDepartment of Population BiologyCopenhagenDenmark
- ProfessorJoachimKurtzE-Mail
- University of MünsterFaculty of BiologyAnimal Evolutionary Ecology GroupMünsterGermany
Dates
22-27 April 2007
Location
Universitätszentrum Obergurgl, Ötz Valley, near Innsbruck, Austria
The Obergurgl University Centre is located at an altitude of 1940 metres, in the highest glacial village in the Tyrol, at the end of the Ötz Valley and surrounded by numerous three-thousand metre peaks.
Final Programme & List of Accepted Participants
‘The impact of the environment on innate immunity: at the defence frontier – the biology of innate immunity’ is the first of two planned conferences, one in 2007 and one in 2009. In the 2007 conference we will set the stage for discussing basic knowledge about one of the most important defence functions of organisms against parasitic disease: the innate immune system.
The topics covered in this conference will include:
- immunity from the cellular and molecular level, through to the ecological level;
- how immune specificity is enabled in invertebrates;
- the impact of stress and fear;
- a theoretical angle on innate immunity;
- the interplay between innate immunity and sex and evolution;
- and finally, the interaction between innate immunity and social life.
The conference will be quite intimate – with around 100-120 participants, 21 of whom will be invited speakers. Each invited speaker will talk for 30 minutes, mainly on new or unpublished findings, and each talk will be followed by 15 minutes discussion time. The emphasis is very much upon discussion and there is plenty of time within the programme to make this possible. There will also be a formal poster session on the first day to give the opportunity to get to know one another early on.
Final Programme PDF (63 KB) Last Updated 16-April-2007 |
Abstracts, Posters & Short Oral Contributions
There will be no short talks other than those listed on the final programme. All other abstracts are accepted as posters.
Posters can be fixed with magnets and pins onto poster panels. Recommended poster size is 140 cm high x 100 cm wide. Use letters and drawings that can be read from approximately 100 cm distance.
List of Accepted Posters PDF (38 KB) Last Updated 16-April-2007 |
Group Transportation & Practical Information Guide
Detailed information on all practical aspects of the conference (access to site, registration & fee payments, accommodation, travel reimbursements...) is available from the Practical Information Guide. Please read it fully and carefully...
Practical Information Guide PDF (2.4 MB) Last Updated 13-December-2006 |
GROUP TRANSPORTATION
Two buses will be arranged on arrival day from Innsbruck railway station, via Innsbruck airport, to Obergurgl. The journey from the airport takes approximately 75 minutes (an hour and a half from the station).
Bus departure times - Sunday 22 April:
- from Innsbruck railway station: 15.45 – 18.15
- from Innsbruck airport: 16.00 – 18.30
Airport departure point: the meeting point is located just outside the small airport building. The coaches will have a sign in the window indicating “ESF Research Conferences” for easy recognition.
Group transportation back will be arranged in a similar way for the departure day.
Bus departure times – Friday 27 April:
- to Innsbruck railway station: 08.00 – 09.00
- to Innsbruck airport: 08.00 – 09.00
Do not forget to plan enough time for both journey and checking-in at the airport when booking your flight!
ACCOMMODATION
Please note that SINGLE accommodation can only be guaranteed to invited speakers. All other participants will have to share a TWIN room. In case single rooms would become available at the time of the conference, rooms will be attributed on a “first come, first served” basis. Only the TWIN conference fee (EUR 760) should be paid to the ESF when registering. The supplement for single (EUR 60) should be paid to Obergurgl University Centre. Should you wish to be put on waiting list for single accommodation, please contact Ms. Anne Blondeel-Oman.
Conference Fees
Fees (1) | What the fees cover |
EUR 820 | conference, meals and single room |
EUR 760 | conference, meals and twin OR double room (2) |
EUR 580 | non-resident: conference, meals (no room) |
(1) A 100 EUR supplement is charged on any payment received after the deadline (4 weeks prior to the conference) | |
Registration Form
All participants - including speakers & session chairs - are kindly expected to confirm their attendance (and, when applicable, to pay the conference fee) by filling in a Registration Form.
Closing date for registration & fee payment: 23 March 2007 
ESF Contact
- Ms.AnneBlondeel-OmanE-Mail
- Conference Officer
Phone: +32 (0)2 533 2020
Fax: +32 (0)2 538 8486
Please quote 07-223 in any correspondence.
Partnership
This conference is organised by the European Science Foundation (ESF) in partnership with the Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung in Österreich (FWF)
Quicklinks
- Chaired by
- Dates
- Location
- Final Programme & List of Accepted Participants
- Abstracts, Posters & Short Oral Contributions
- Group Transportation & Practical Information Guide
- Conference Fees
- Registration Form
- ESF Contact
- Partnership
- Links of Interest
Further pages
- ESF-FWF-LFUI Conference on The impact of the environment on innate immunity: the threat of diseases (2009)
- Invertebrate Immune Systems are Anything but Simple, Conference finds
A hundred years since Russian microbiologist Elie Metschnikow first discovered the invertebrate immune system, scientists are only just beginning to understand its complexity. Presenting their findings at the Impact of the Environment on Innate Immunity, scientists showed that invertebrates have evolved elaborate ways to fight disease.
© Richard Naylor, University of Sheffield
- ESF Conference examines into insect’s immunity system The long-held idea that only vertebrates have sophisticated adaptive immune systems that can protect them for life against many pathogens after being infected by them just once has been revised in recent years. It turns out that many insects also have a form of immune memory that protects them against reinvasion by a pathogen they have previously encountered. This was just one of the striking discoveries discussed at the recent conference on Innate Immunity and the Environment, organised by the European Science Foundation (ESF).