Join us at the 12th European Mucosal Immunology Group Meeting
in Bern, Switzerland

Join us at the 12th European Mucosal Immunology Group Meeting
in Bern, Switzerland

EMIG (European Mucosal Immunology Group) is a group of European scientists working in the field of Mucosal Immunology trying to build up a close network of collaborations within Europe. The group is connected to the Society for Mucosal Immunology (SMI), a world-wide society of more than 900 scientists and clinicians in the field of mucosal immunology. These groups worked tirelessly to build a European scientific network organizing biannual meetings. During EMIG conferences we aim to cover all the different disciplines within “mucosal immunology”, such as host-pathogen interactions at mucosal surfaces (such as the intestine, the airways, the urogenital tract and the skin), developmental aspects of mucosal immunity, regulation of mucosal inflammation and tissue repair, gene-environment interactions in mucosal diseases, microbiome and more.

Keynote speakers

Yasmine Belkaid, PhD

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Bethesda, USA

Dr. Yasmine Belkaid obtained her Ph.D. in 1996 from the Pasteur Institute in France on innate responses to Leishmania infection. Following a postdoctoral fellowship at NIAID on immune regulation during Leishmania infection, she joined the Children’s Hospital Research Foundation in Cincinnati as an assistant professor in 2002. In 2005, she joined the Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases as a tenure-track investigator. Since 2008, she has worked as an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania and is leading the Mucosal Immunology Section at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the NIH.

Her research focuses on the understanding of host-microbe interactions at barrier sites, especially in the intestine and the skin.

Eran Segal, PhD

Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot,
Israel

Eran Segal is a Professor at the Department of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics at the Weizmann Institute of Science, heading a lab with a multi-disciplinary team of computational biologists and experimental scientists in the area of Computational and Systems biology. His group has extensive experience in machine learning, computational biology, probabilistic models, and analysis of heterogeneous high-throughput genomic data. His research focuses on Microbiome, Nutrition, Genetics, and their effect on health and disease. His aim is to develop personalized nutrition and personalized medicine.

Prof. Segal published over 140 publications, and received several awards and honors for his work, including the Overton prize, awarded annually by the International Society for Bioinformatics (ICSB) to one scientist for outstanding accomplishments in computational biology, and the Michael Bruno award. He was recently elected as an EMBO member and as a member of The Young Israeli Academy Of Science.

Prof. Segal was awarded a B.Sc. in Computer Science summa cum laude in 1998, from Tel-Aviv University, and a Ph.D. in Computer Science and Genetics in 2004, from Stanford University. Before joining the Weizmann Institute, Prof. Segal held an independent research position at Rockefeller University, New York.

Invited speakers

A group of 13 Invited Speakers from European research institutions covering a wide range of topics within Mucosal Immunology could be recruited. We are very grateful for their acceptance to speak at EMIG2023.

Andreas Diefenbach, MD, PhD

Charité Hospital, Berlin,
Germany

Gérard Eberl, PhD

Institut Pasteur, Paris,
France

Hamida Hammad, PhD

VIB, Ghent,
Belgium

Mathias Hornef, PhD

RWTH Aachen,
Germany

Eugene Butcher, MD

Stanford University
United States

Joanne Konkel, PhD

University of Manchester,
United Kingdom

Andrew Macpherson, MD PhD

University of Bern,
Switzerland

Maria Rescigno, PhD

Humanitas University, Milan,
Italy

Nicola Segata, PhD

University of Trento,
Italy

Emma Slack, PhD

ETH Zürich,
Switzerland

Gitta Stockinger, PhD

Francis Crick Institute, London,
United Kingdom

Nassos Typas, PhD

EMBL, Heidelberg,
Germany

Henrique Veiga-Fernandes, PhD

Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, Lisbon,
Portugal

Scientific program

Information and scientific program.

Organizers

Dr. Francesca Ronchi

Associate Professor at the Institute for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Charité, Berlin,
Germany

Dr. Stephanie Ganal-Vonarburg

Assistant Professor in the Division Gastroenterology / Mucosal Immunology at the Department for BioMedical Research,
University of Bern,
Switzerland

Dr. Christoph Müller

Professor and Head of Experimental Pathology at the Institute of Pathology,
University of Bern,
Switzerland

Dr. Christoph Schneider

Assistant Professor at the Institute of Physiology, University of Zurich,
Switzerland

Registration

Early bird registration Regular registration
(until February 28th, 2023) (March, 1st – June 11th, 2023)
Student 300 CHF 350 CHF
Regular 400 CHF 460 CHF
Industry 500 CHF 600 CHF
Gala dinner ticket 70 CHF 70 CHF
Registration will be possible from December 5th, 2022.
Early bird registration and abstract submission will be open until February 28th, 2023
Registration will close on June 11th, 2023

Registration includes participation in the scientific sessions, coffee breaks, lunches and a reception during the poster session on the first evening. Participation in the Gala Dinner and party on the second evening is upon registration only. Tickets are 70 CHF.

Registration is limited to 300 participants. First come, first served!

PhD students and early postdocs are encouraged to submit an application for one of the Young Researchers Travel Grants sponsored by Society for Mucosal Immunology (SMI), the European Federation of Immunological Societies (EFIS)-European Journal of Immunology (EJI), the EoE Foundation and by Janvier labs. Please, upload a short letter of motivation, a reference letter from your supervisor, a 1-page CV and a publication list as one single pdf document on the registration website.

Travel Grants

Young Researcher Travel Grants are available for PhD students and early postdocs and are sponsored by the Society for Mucosal Immunology (SMI), the European Federation of Immunological Societies (EFIS)-European Journal of Immunology (EJI), the EoE Foundation and by Janvier labs. Up to 700 CHF can be requested to cover travel, accommodation and registration costs.

Application deadline is February 28th, 2023. Please include application documents as a single pdf document during your registration.

The following documents are required components of the application:

  • Short letter of motivation
  • Recommendation letter of the principal investigator
  • 1-page CV of the applicant
  • Publication list of the applicant

Gala Dinner/Party

The traditional EMIG Gala Dinner and Party will take place on the evening of the 13th of July in the Restaurant „Kornhauskeller“ (Kornhausplatz 18, 3011 Bern). Enjoy a welcome reception and dinner, as well as a lively party while enjoying the old town of Bern. The Welcome Apero starts at 6:45/7:00 pm. Please bring your badge and dinner ticket.
For registered participants only.

Location

University of Bern, von Roll
Fabrikstrasse 6, Room 001
3012 Bern
Switzerland

PostAuto Line 101, Direction Güterbahnhof, Stop Güterbahnhof (www.postauto.ch)

Bus Nr. 20, Direction Länggasse, Stop Länggasse (www.bernmobil.ch)

Travel

By train

Bern is extremely well connected to all larger Swiss towns, as well as to Europe’s most important cities. Passengers can reach Bern from Zurich, Basel, Interlaken, and Lucerne in an hour or less with a direct connection, and in few hours from Lausanne and Geneva. The trains connect Bern directly to the main airports as well.

By plane

Zurich and Geneva airports are well connected directly to the Swiss rail network.

The Basel EuroAirport Mulhouse Freiburg can be reached via Basel SBB train station in 15-20 minutes.

Accommodation

A number of hotel rooms in different categories have been pre-reserved for EMIG2023 participants through the tourism office of the city of Bern. First come, first served. Please note that booking and payment of the rooms happens under full responsibility of the participant. The EMIG organizers do not take any responsibility for the reservations. If you are interested in booking one of these rooms, please click on the link below. 
Information will follow.

The City of Bern

The city of Bern is the capital of Switzerland. It is famous for its picturesque old town originating from the medieval age, which has been declared as UNESCO World heritage. Especially in summer, Bern is a very lively and green city with endless spots to take a coffee or a drink outside or walk along the “Aare” river.

As the political center of Switzerland, it is home to the Swiss Parliament and a large number of international embassies. Bern has a very international character with many international students and about a quarter of its population originating from abroad. The official language spoken in Bern is German, but French and English is routinely spoken as well.

Bern is also the capital of the canton of Bern, one of the biggest cantons of Switzerland and home to the famous 4000 m-high Swiss Alpine peaks, Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau, which can be reached in about 1.5 hours from Bern.

What to do in Bern:

  1. Take a walk through “The Old City of Bern” and walk by the “Einstein” house
  2. Stop by the beautiful parliament building (“Bundeshaus”) and enjoy the view on the Bernese Alps from the back of the building
  3. Visit the Cathedral (Münster) and the platform beside for a spectacular view on the river
  4. Say hello to our 3 bears in “Bärenpark”
  5. Visit one of the numerous museums in town (Einstein museum, Zentrum Paul Klee, Alpine museum, Communication museum, etc.)
  6. Refresh yourself by a swim in the river at “Marzili public pool” (recommended only for good swimmers and with instructions through locals)

Childcare

We are actively working on a possibility to offer childcare options for younger children during the conference. This will most likely be organized through the existing daycare system of the University of Bern. More information to follow shortly.
If you would be interested in such a possibility, please, do not hesitate to contact one of the organizers. This may also help us to estimate the interest in such a service and help us in planning it accordingly.

Contact

For inquiries regarding registration, abstract submission or any other questions, please contact one of the organizers

Prof. Dr. Francesca Ronchi,

Dr. Francesca Ronchi,
francesca.ronchi

Prof. Dr. Stephanie Ganal-Vonarburg,

Dr. Stephanie Ganal-Vonarburg,
stephanie.ganal

Prof. Dr. Christoph Schneider,

Dr. Christoph Schneider,

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