WEDNESDAY 22nd

4:00 – 5:00       Welcome Reception, Wistari Terrace

5:00 – 6:00       Keynote Presentation Nancy Manley, University of Georgia, USA

THURSDAY 23rd

Breakfast and early morning snorkelling (high tide 9:35am)

Adaptive Immunity and Thymic Development - (Reef to bedside)

 CHAIRS: Nuno Alves and Jennifer Cowan

 10:00 – 10:20   “The immunogenetics of sexual parasitism in deep-sea anglerfish” Jeremy Swann (Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Germany)

10:20 – 10:40   “Tracing the evolutionary history of blood cells to the unicellular ancestor of animals” Yosuke Nagahata (Kyoto University, Japan)

10:40 – 11:00   “Identifying mechanisms of thymus and parathyroid cell fate specification using single cell RNA-seq” Michael Nunneley (University of Georgia, USA)

11:00 – 11:20   “Impaired lymphostromal cross-talk results in profound abnormalities in the distribution and diversity of thymic epithelial cells in Rag1 mutant mice” Francesca Pala (NIH, USA)

11:20 – 11:40   “Cortical thymic epithelial cell diversity occurs via loss of a Foxn1- dependent gene signature driven by thymocyte crosstalk” Graham Anderson (University of Birmingham, UK)

11:40 – 1:00     Group Photo on Wistari Terrace; Lunch break/free time

Thymic Epithelial Cell Maintenance and Function

CHAIRS: Ellen Rothenberg and Viktoria Major

1:00 – 1:20       “Developmental conversion of thymocyte-attracting cells into self-antigen-displaying cells in thymus medulla epithelium” Izumi Ohigashi (Tokushima University, Japan)

1:20 – 1:40       “Ikaros-control of Medullary Thymic Epithelial Cell Development and TSA Gene Expression” Michael Waterfield (University of California San Francisco, USA)

1:40 – 2:00       “The transcription factor Foxo3 controls the homeostasis and functional heterogeneity of medullary thymic epithelial cells” Nuno Alves (Universidade do Porto, Portugal)

2:00 – 2:20       “Thymus architecture directs human T cell development through sex-specific spatially defined niches” Laura Stankiewicz (University of British Columbia, Canada)

 2:20 – 2:40       “Learning to live with the thymic roller coaster” Seung Woo (Sam) Kang (Arizona State University, USA)

 2:40 – 3:00       “H3K27me3 marks in thymic epithelial cells: Does dose matter for development and function?” Anja Kusch (University of Oxford, UK)

 3:00 – 3:40       Afternoon tea/coffee

Early T Cell Differentiation

CHAIRS: Michele Anderson and Anja Kusch

3:40 – 4:00       “Gene regulatory network tug of war and transcription factor site swaps shape early T cell development” Ellen Rothenberg (California Institute of Technology, USA)

4:00 – 4:20       “Bcl11b utilises distinct mechanisms to regulate T cell fate determination at discrete intrathymic developmental contexts” Tom Sidwell (California Institute of Technology, USA)

4:20 - 4:40        “Intrathymic dendritic cell precursors promote human T-lineage specification via IRF8-driven transmembrane TNF” Kai Ling Liang (Ghent University, Cancer Research Institute Ghent, Belgium)

4:40 – 5:00       “Quantitative high-resolution mapping of intrathymic cell-cycle dynamics in vivo” Andreas Krueger (Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Germany)

5:00 – 6:00       Sunset Drinks and Networking or Turtle Hatchling tour

FRIDAY 24th

Breakfast and early morning snorkelling (high tide 10:10am)

Late T Cell Differentiation

 CHAIRS: Eric Huseby and Wan-Lin Lo

10:00 – 10:20   “Functionally distinct CD8/MHC-I T cell lineage fates induced by different coreceptor gene loci and different MHC-I selecting peptides” Alfred Singer (NIH, USA)

10:20 – 10:40   “Notch Signaling Regulates Acquisition of Immune Effector Programs During Agonist Selection of Intraepithelial Lymphocyte Precursors and Invariant Natural Killer T cells” Cynthia Guidos (Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute/University of Toronto, Canada)

10:40 – 11:00   “Phosphorylation of Runx proteins controls thymocyte fate” Ichiro Taniuchi (RIKEN IMS, Japan)

11:00 – 11:20   “Re-evaluating the role of coreceptor-LCK association in T cell receptor signalling” Nicole La Gruta (Monash University, Australia)

11:20 – 11:40   “A three-step process for regulatory T cell development in thymus” WanJun Chen (NIH, USA)

11:40 – 12:00   “How autoreactive thymocytes differentiate into regulatory versus effector CD4 T cells after avoiding clonal deletion” Xuguang Tai (NIH, USA)

12:00 – 1:00     Lunch break/free time

Education and Emigration – part 1

CHAIRS: Graham Anderson and Izumi Ohigashi

1:00 – 1:20       “The role of cathepsin L in shaping a functional CD4+ T cell repertoire” Elisabetta Petrozziello (Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, Germany)

1:20 – 1:40       “Single-cell multi-omic analysis of thymocyte development reveals drivers of CD4/CD8 lineage commitment” Ellen Robey (University of California Berkeley, USA)

1:40 – 2:00       “MHC-II polymorphisms regulate non-cognate negative selection to CD4 T cell orchestrators of type-1 diabetes” Eric Huseby (University of Massachusetts, USA)

2:00 – 2:20       “Natural co-expression of 2 TCR clonotypes due to TCRa allelic inclusion enables development of unique repertoire of autoreactive TCRs” Gerald Morris (University of California San Diego, USA)

 2:20 – 2:40       “A single amino acid substitution in the adaptor LAT accelerates TCR proofreading kinetics and alters T cell selection, maintenance, and function” Wan-Lin Lo (University of Utah, USA)

 2:40 – 3:00       “Identification of thymoproteasome-dependent MHC-I-associated peptides" Yousuke Takahama (NIH, USA)

 3:00 – 3:40       Afternoon tea/coffee

 Education and Emigration – part 2

CHAIRS: Stephen Daley and Anastasia Kousa

3:40 – 4:00       “Identification of T lymphocytes specific to an IFNg inducible lysosomal thiol reductase (GILT)-dependent, class II MHC-associated epitopes” Xiao He (University of Utah, USA)

 4:00 – 4:20       “Cellular and molecular mediators of thymic DC homeostasis and activation” Jayashree Srinivasan (University of Texas Austin, USA)

 4:20 – 4:40       “CCR4 and CCR7 differentially regulate thymocyte localization with distinct outcomes for central tolerance” Lauren Ehrlich (University of Texas Austin, USA)

 4:40 – 5:00       “Identification of a novel mechanism responsible for CD8 T cell tolerance” Sherif Badr (NIH, USA)

 5:00 – 5:20       “Delineating cortical and medullary tolerance mechanisms in the thymus” Stephen Daley (Queensland University of Technology, Australia)

 5:20 – 5:40       “A novel lineage of RORgt+ antigen-presenting cells reveals symmetry between thymic and peripheral immune tolerance” Chrysothemis Brown (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, USA)

5:40 – 6:40 POSTER SESSION with sunset drinks

 “The Goodpasture’s disease T cell self-peptide epitope is less antigenic than variant peptides with a single amino acid substitution” Jerry Wang (Queensland University of Technology, Australia)

“The Role of BRD4 in Thymic Differentiation and Function” Dinah Singer (NIH, USA)

“Thymic B cell isotype switching contributes to central T cell tolerance and limits autoimmune diabetes” Félix Lombard-Vadnais (McGill University/Centre de Recherche de l’Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont, Canada)

“Spatiotemporal regulation of endogenous retroelements in thymopoiesis” Jean-David Larouche (Université de Montréal, Canada)

“Lin28/Let-7 regulates thymic growth and involution and modulates MHCII expression in thymic epithelial cells” Shiyun Xiao (University of Georgia, USA)

“Spatial mapping of the human thymic transcriptome identifies sex differences in the morphological compartments” Anneke van Dijk and Viktoria Hennings (University of Gothenburg, Sweden)

“Developing PSC-derived off-the-shelf therapies for restoring thymus function in immunodeficiency” Rachelle Duffin (Cartherics Pty Ltd, Australia)

SATURDAY 25th

Early Breakfast

 γδ T cells and ILC

CHAIRS: Ellen Robey and Francesca Pala

8:30 – 8:50       “Human Vγ9Vδ2 T cells develop within the postnatal thymus defined by distinct 

molecular and cellular changes” Sedigheh Jalali (Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Australia)

8:50 – 9:10       “The medulla controls effector primed gdT-cell development in the adult murine thymus” Kieran James (University of Birmingham, UK)

9:10 – 9:30       “Sequential and interwoven requirements for HEB and Id3 in fetal gamma-delta T cell commitment and functional programming” Michele Anderson (Sunnybrook Research Hospital, Canada)

9:30 – 9:50       “Thymic innate lymphoid cells promote thymocyte differentiation of transplanted hematopoietic progenitors in immunodeficient mice” Chloé Houques (Institut de Génétique Moléculaire de Montpellier/University of Montpellier, France) 

9:50 – 10:10     “TissueGnostics” Rupert Ecker (TissueGnostics and Queensland University of Technology, Australia)

10:10 – 10:30   Morning tea/coffee

10:30 – 1:00     Free time for snorkelling and/or lunch (high tide 11:20am)

Breaking a thymus – thymic involution

CHAIRS: Lauren Ehrlich and Chrysothemis Brown 

1:00 – 1:20       “Emergence of atypical epithelial features with age limit thymic function” Anastasia Kousa (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, USA)

1:20 – 1:40       “Age-related defects in the thymic epithelium are linked to impaired regeneration of the involuted thymus” Kelin Zhao (Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Australia) 

1:40 – 2:00       “Role of β-catenin in thymic epithelial cells for postnatal thymic development and involution” Sayumi Fujimori (Tokushima University, Japan)

2:00 – 2:20       “Reversal of thymic involution stalls age-associated mortality of Toxoplasma gondii challenged mice” Jennifer Cowan (University College London, UK)

2:20 – 2:40       “Aged thymus-enhanced and periphery-accumulated pTreg cells hamper trafficking of immune cells into the inflamed aged central nervous system (CNS)” Dong-Ming Su (University of North Texas Health Science Center, USA)

2:40 – 3:00       “Single-cell analysis unveils the age-related dynamics of human T-cell intrathymic development and homeostasis in the peripheral.” Hongbo Hu (Sichuan University, China)

3:00 – 3:30       Afternoon tea/coffee

Restoring a thymus – thymic regeneration

CHAIRS: Cynthia Guidos and Kieran James

3:30 – 3:50       “Reconstitution of immune function in aged mice by in vitro-generated progenitor T cells” Juan Carlos Zúñiga-Pflücker (University of Toronto, Canada)

3:50 – 4:10       “Dying to regenerate: Balance of cell death detection coordinates endogenous tissue repair in the thymus” Jarrod Dudakov (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, USA)

4:10 – 4:30       “Intravital microscopy of the native thymus” Joel Spencer (University of California Merced, USA)

4:30 – 4:50       “Development and characterisation of a micro-well array-based miniaturised thymic organoid model” Viktoria Major (University of Edinburgh, UK

4:50 – 5:10       “Growing thymic epithelial cells as organoids maintains thymus functionality” Tania Hübscher (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland)

5:10 – 5:30       “Restoration of human T cell development after correction of CD3d severe combined immunodeficiency through adenine base editing” Gay Crooks (UCLA, USA)

5:30 – 6:30       Sunset Drinks and Networking or Turtle Hatchling tour

SUNDAY 26th

Early Breakfast

Regulation of T cell responses

CHAIRS: Sedi Jalali and Elizabetta Petrozziello

8:30 – 8:50       “Recirculating Tregs as drivers of endogenous thymic regeneration acute injury, regeneration, and ageing” Andri Lemarquis (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, USA)

8:50 – 9:10       “Iron homeostasis in mitochondria is critical for the survival of naïve but not effector CD4 T cells” Cheong-Hee Chang (University of Michigan, USA)

9:10 – 9:30       “Improving T cell activation by limiting mitochondrial-derived ATP transfer to the cytosol” Michael Berger (Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel)

9:30 – 9:50       “Redox balance and T cells in NAFLD pathogenesis” Tony Tiganis (Monash University, Australia)

9:50 – 10:10     Morning tea/coffee

10:10 – 1:00     Free time for snorkelling (high tide 11:20am) and/or lunch

Stromal Biology

CHAIRS: Nicole LaGruta and Laura Stankiewicz

1:00 – 1:20       “Mechanisms of age-related lymph node stromal degeneration” Janko Nikolic-Zugic (University of Arizona, USA)

1:20 – 1:40       “Development of human stromal niches: genetic and anatomical predisposition to immune mediated inflammatory disease” Mark Coles (University of Oxford, UK)

1:40 - 2:00        “Diverse spleen mesenchymal cell populations direct homeostasis and immunity” Scott Mueller (University of Melbourne, Australia)

2:00 – 2:20       “Stromal-immune cell interaction in human lymphoid organs” Burkhard Ludewig (Kantonsspital St.Gallen, Switzerland)

2:20 – 2:50       Afternoon tea/coffee

Cancer and Immunotherapy 

CHAIRS: Jarrod Dudakov and Cheong-Hee Chang

2:50 – 3:10       “The role of bile acids in T cell activation” Marcel van den Brink (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, USA)

3:10 – 3:30       “TGFβRII signalling induces a myofibroblastic CAF phenotype and suppresses T cell proliferation” Mohammed Abuwarwar (Monash University, Australia)

3:30 – 3:50       “Development of “TCR cassette method”: a new method to transduce pluripotent stem cells with exogenous TCR gene” Hiroshi Kawamoto (Kyoto University, Japan)

3:50 – 4:10       “Impact of genetic polymorphism in PSA gene on prostate cancer tumor immune-profile” Jyotsna Batra (Queensland University of Technology, Australia)

4:10 – 4:30       “A tumour suppressor function for pro-survival BCL-2 proteins in the absence of thymic cell competition” MengXiao Luo (Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Australia)

4:30 – 4:50       “Utilizing distinct CAR and TCR signaling cascades to enhance cellular immunotherapy” Nicholas Gascoigne (National University of Singapore, Singapore)  

6:30 onwards    Sunset drinks and final conference dinner on the Wistari Terrace