Seminars
The Greater Manchester Immunology Group (part of the Manchester Immunology Research Group) is affiliated with the British Society for Immunology (BSI) and runs both evening and lunchtime seminars in term time. This is made possible by generous funding from the BSI and some outside corporate sponsorship. Seminars are always delivered by specialists in their field, usually from outside The University of Manchester. All seminars are held on South campus.
Current and past programmes
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Faculty Events Reports
[-] Greater Manchester Immunology Group Regional Meeting – "Dendritic cell regulation of immunity and autoimmunity"
Meeting held on 15 July 2011, Michael Smith Building, University of Manchester
An ongoing effort to understand how dendritic cells (DC) orchestrate immune responses and how they are regulated prompted a gathering of immunology researchers in Manchester to hear about recent discoveries. There is growing interest in the use of dendritic cells as cell-based therapeutics to regulate or restore immune tolerance in autoimmune diseases as well as to exploit their inducible adjuvant properties to enhance vaccination, particularly in tumour immunotherapy.
Presentations began with Jon Austyn (University of Oxford) who described a novel immune modulator from tick saliva and a screen of layered double hydroxide compounds that are being developed as new potent adjuvants. Catharien Hilkens (Newcastle University) presented work on the development of semi-mature, tolerogenic DC, for controlling inflammation and autoimmune pathology in rheumatoid arthritis. Sandra Diebold (King’s College London) described the effects of synthetic RNA to activate IFNα production from DC and enhance anti-tumour immune responses. Thomas Brocker (Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich) presented a series of studies probing the role of microRNA in DC development and function. Irmgard Foerster (IUF, Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine, Dusseldorf) described the role of CCL17/Tarc in orchestrating the response of DC to insults at barrier surfaces. Not to be restricted to 'DC' cell types, Sabine Eming (University of Cologne), described the involvement of macrophages at various stages of physical wound healing. Finally, David Hume (University of Edinburgh) gave a gene expression clustering analysis of phagocytic cells in mice in relation to macrophages, splenic DC populations, and in vitro generated macrophages and DC. He proposed that DCs are just modified macrophages and cautioned that experimentally generated 'DC' may not have the desirable functional abilities of their in vivo macrophage counterparts. This sparked a lively extended question period.
A poster session showcasing immunology research from Manchester and northern regional BSI affiliates, proved popular with delegates and speakers alike. The day ended with a social reception at which all the speakers welcomed further questions and discussion. Overall, the mixture of presentation topics and the exchange of ideas provided something for everyone.
Many thanks to Caroline Aylott, Rachel Ashworth, and Alyson Chambers for organising and helping out, and the BSI for sponsoring an informative and productive event.
Douglas Millar
Disease Systems
University of Manchester
Images of GMIG Meeting, 15th July 2011.
Images of GMIG Meeting, 15th July 2011.
Images of GMIG Meeting, 15th July 2011.
Images of GMIG Meeting, 15th July 2011.
Images of GMIG Meeting, 15th July 2011.