Events

ImmU is excited to have world-renowned tumor immunologist Ton Schumacher as our guest speaker at the kick-off lecture for the Immunology Utrecht series of lectures.  Next to his position at The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Schumacher is involved in the development of novel immunotherapeutics in biotech and in venture capital.

The lecture starts online at 16.00 until 17.00CET.

Q&A will follow the lecture. 

Oncode-PACT aims to realize a self-sustainable drug development machine with the integration of state-of-the-art innovative technology platforms. Utrecht researchers involved in Oncode-PACT will present their roles in this initiative. 

The programme, location, dates and times will follow.

Programme details, location, dates and times will follow

Our guest speakers for the first in the UMI Hub series of webinars on Structural Virology will be on Thurs Apr 14.

Utrecht University speaker, assistant professor Daniel Hurdiss, Biomolecular Health Sciences will present. Daniel’s research aims to understand the molecular basis of virus replication, receptor interactions and inhibition with antiviral compounds.

Utrecht University, assistant professer, Joost Snijder, Faculty of Science, will also present. Joost’s research work investigates the molecules that make up viruses using an arsenal of structural biology and biophysical techniques.

The webinar will be chaired by Prof. Frank van Kuppeveld is Professor of Molecular Virology at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University.

Programme - Integrated Structural Virology

Chair: Frank van Kuppeveld

16.00  – 16.05   Introduction: Frank van Kuppeveld

16.05 – 16.45    Using integrative structural biology to understand antiviral mechanisms of action - Daniel Hurdiss

16.45 – 16.50    Q&A from the audience with the speaker moderated by Frank van Kuppeveld

16.50 - 17.30     The glycan shield of viral envelope proteins - Joost Snijder

17.30 - 17.35     Q&A from the audience with the speaker moderated by Frank van Kuppeveld

Bacterial and human immune mechanisms against infections

Our first guest speaker for this webinar is Dr. Stan Brouns from the Technical University, Delft. Dr. Broun's research group investigates the interaction between microbes and bacteriophages. They study the mechanisms that bacteria use to protect themselves from infections including CRISPR, and explore the adaptations that viruses have evolved to avoid defense systems. They isolate and engineer bacteriophages for phage therapy applications.

Dr. Magda Berkowska, LUMC, Leiden, is our second guest speaker. Magda investigates immune responses to vaccination and natural infection with the ultimate goal to find novel correlates of protection and improve current vaccination strategies. 

The webinar will be chaired by prof. Suzan Rooijakkers, Department of Medical Microbiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Programme – Bacterial and human immune mechanisms against infections

Chair: Suzan Rooijakkers

16.00  – 16.05   Introduction: Suzan Rooijakkers

16.05 – 16.45     CRISPR-Cas and other anti-viral immune systems in Bacteria- Stan Brouns (TU Delft, The Netherlands)

16.45 – 16.50    Q&A from the audience with the speaker moderated by Suzan Rooijakkers

16.50 - 17.30     B cells in Bordetella pertussis infection and vaccination – monitoring of an ongoing immune response - Magda Berkowska (LUMC, Leiden, The Netherlands)    

17.30 - 17.35     Q&A from the audience with the speaker moderated by Suzan Rooijakkers

The first series of talks will be from postdoctoral fellows from the molecular virology group of prof. Frank van Kuppeveld at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine

Chair: Frank van Kuppeveld

16.30  – 16.35   Introduction: Frank van Kuppeveld

16.35 – 16.50    Novel vaccination strategies that provide broad protection against antigenically variable viruses - Irina Albulescu

16.50 – 17.05   Highly potent anti-SARS-CoV-2 multi-DARPin therapeutic candidates - Daniel Hurdiss

17.05 – 17.15    Q&A moderated by Joost Snijder

The second presentation will be from Dr. David Veesler, The Veesler lab, Structural Biology of Infectious Diseases, Washington University

17.15 - 17.55     Structure-guided design of a SARS-CoV-2 subunit vaccine - David Veesler

17.55 - 18.10     Q&A moderated by Joost Snijder

We are delighted the prof. Luke O'Neill has accepted our invitation to present at one of our seminars. Luke O'Neill is a professor of Biochemistry and Immunology at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland.

Prof. O'Neill was awarded the Royal Dublin Society & The Irish Times Robert Boyle Medal for scientific excellence in 2009, the Royal Irish Academy Gold Medal for Life Sciences in 2012 and the European Federation of Immunology Societies (EFIS) Medal in 2014. He was elected a member of the Royal Irish Academy (MRIA) in 2004 and the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO) in 2005. O'Neill was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2016

Celia Berkers, prof. of Metabolomics, Utrecht University will chair the sessions. The first presentation will be from a Ph.D. student from Celia's group.

Thursday,  May the 20^th from 16.30  to 18.00 hrs

Chair: Celia Berkers

16.30 – 16.35    Introduction: Celia Berkers

16.35 – 16.50    How CVB3 modifies host nucleotide metabolism: an integrative analysis of metabolomics and phosphoproteomics data - Lonneke Nouwen

16.50 - 17.00      Q&A moderated by Celia Berkers

17.00– 17.05      Introduction: Celia Berkers

17.05 – 17.45      Adventures in Inflammation Research - Luke O'Neill

17.45 – 18.00     Q&A  moderated by Celia Berkers

We are delighted to announce our guest speaker Prof. Benjamin Willcox, scientific director of Cancer Research UK Birmingham Centre, UK at the Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy. 

Prof. Willcox, leads an active research group in the field of cancer immunology and immunotherapy, with a focus on understanding immune receptor recognition. His recent work focuses on novel tumour antigens and unconventional T cell function, particularly in immunosurveillance of cellular stress. 

Prof. Jürgen Kuball, Laboratory of Translational Immunology, UMCU will chair the session. The first presentation will be from Jurgen's group, on the UMI Hub cancer showcase project - γδ T-cells against leukemia.

Thursday, June 24^th from 16.30 to 18.00 hrs

Chair: Jürgen Kuball

16.30  – 16.35    Introduction: Jürgen Kuball

16.35 – 16.50     γ9δ2T cell diversity and the receptor interface with tumor cells - Dennis Beringer

16.50 - 17.00      Q&A moderated by Jürgen Kuball

17.00 – 17.05     Introduction: Jürgen Kuball

17.05 – 17.45     Unique innate-like and adaptive paradigms in the human γδ T cell compartment: room for everything - Benjamin Willcox

17.45 - 18.00      Q&A from the audience moderated by Jürgen Kuball

We are delighted to announce our guest speaker - Dr. Brandon Dekosky, from the University of Kansas. ​The DeKosky laboratory works to invent and apply advanced NextGen molecular biology techniques to accelerate development of new human vaccines and therapeutics.   

The lab has a special focus on understanding highly effective human antibody responses to persistent viral infections (including HIV, EBV, CMV), and in characterizing the antibody response to experimental vaccines. For more information please see the lab webpage, http://www.dekoskylab.org 

Thursday, September 9^th from 16.30 to 18.00 hrs

Chair: Suzan Rooijakkers

16.30  – 16.35   Introduction: Suzan Rooijakkers

16.35 – 16.50    High-resolution imaging of complement molecules on E. coli - Dani Heesterbeek

16.50 - 17.00     Q&A moderated by Suzan Rooijakkers

17.00 - 17.05     Introduction Suzan Rooijakkers

17.05 - 17.45     Next-Generation Platforms for Antibody Discovery and Engineering - Dr. Brandon Dekosky

17.45- 18.00      Q&A moderated by Suzan Rooijakkers

We are delighted to announce that prof. Marcus Groettrup has accepted our invitation to present at one of our seminars. Marcus leads the Groettrup immunology research group at the University of Konstanz, Germany. Research at the Chair of Immunology at the University of Konstanz aims to the detailed understanding of immunological phenomena - both in health and disease. We investigate systemic functions of immune cells, their plasticity, their functional interplay and the molecular mechanisms underlying the different functions of immune cells.

Thursday, November 18^th from 16.00 to 17.15 hrs

Chair: Alice Sijts

16.00  – 16.05    Introduction: Alice Sijts

16.05 – 16.15     Shaping of the immunopeptidome landscape by proteasome regulators. Postdoctoral fellow, Lena Wawrzyniuk 

16.15 - 16.20      Q&A from the audience moderated by Alice Sijts

16.20 – 17.00     How the ubiquitin-like modifier FAT10 controls the antiviral type I interferon response. prof. Marcus Groettrup

17.00 – 17.15    Q&A from the audience moderated by Alice Sijts

The annual Vaccine Symposium of the NWO Werkgemeenschap Vaccins, in collaboration with Infection and Immunity Utrecht, aims at highlighting the latest scientific achievements on vaccine research in The Netherlands.

The Vaccine symposium (I&I) 2021 will be held online from  Thursday 16 September 2021

Deadline for registration: Monday 13 September 2021

You can view the invitation and registration details here

The Science For Life Conference 2020 will be held online from 9.00 - 17.00 on Monday 08 November.

Full programme details can be found here.

You can view the invitation and registration details here.

The Science For Life Conference 2020 will be held online from 12.30 - 17.30 on Monday 16 November.

You can view the invitation and registration details here.

The annual Vaccine Symposium of the NWO Werkgemeenschap Vaccins, in collaboration with Infection and Immunity Utrecht, aims at highlighting the latest scientific achievements on vaccine research in The Netherlands

Held virtually on Thurs 9th Sept 2020

The Utrecht Molecular Immunology Hub regrets to announce that the seminar scheduled for Wednesday 15 April has been cancelled.

This is due to the current regulations and directives put in place by the Dutch government, due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
For further information, you can mail the coordinator’s office: MolecularImmunology-Hub@uu.nl

The Utrecht Molecular Immunology Hub regrets to announce that the seminar scheduled for Thursday 26 March has been cancelled.

This is due to the directive put in place by the University of Konstanz, prohibiting our guest speaker Marcus Groettrup from travelling to Utrecht, due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
 

For further information, you can mail the coordinator’s office: MolecularImmunology-Hub@uu.nl

The Utrecht Molecular Immunology Hub is pleased to announce its fourth seminar on Thursday 23 January.

Postdoctoral fellow Dani Heesterbeek, University Medial Centre Utrecht, will present a short talk on the UMI Hub showcase project entitled "Visualizing antibody-mediated killing of E.coli by the Membrane Attack Complex"

Our guest speaker, Prof. Maarten Merkx, leads the protein engineering research group operating at the interface of chemical and synthetic biology at the University of Technology, Eindhoven. His talk is entitled "Antibody sensing and actuation"

We cordially invite you to attend this seminar and join us on Thursday 23 January from 16.00 - 17.00.
Expand your network after the seminar and connect with other UMI-Hub members. Drinks and snacks will be provided.
 
Venue:
Q Auditorium, Q01.226 Radiotherapy, University Hospital, Utrecht Science Park, Heidelberglaan 100, 3584 CX, Utrecht.

Registration Required:

While attendance is free, you are required to register

For further information, you can mail the coordinator’s office: MolecularImmunology-Hub@uu.nl

The UMI HUb is pleased to announce that assistant professor David Veesler from The Veesler Laboratory, University of Washington, USA, will give a series of lectures in relation to molecular immunology from 6 -8 May 2020

Nearly every day coronavirus is in the news, but how do these viruses really infect us? And how can a better understanding of these infections at the molecular level help us to develop treatment strategies? In this lecture series, David Veesler from Washington University and colleagues from Utrecht University, will present their latest insights on virus infection acquired by structural and functional virology, with a focus on corona virus infection. 

All are welcome, participation is free, but registration is required.

PhD students must register for the whole lecture series by April 17.

hhttps://www.formdesk.com/universiteitutrecht-beta/UMIHub_Lecture_Series_2020

Location: Boothzaal, University Library, Heidelberglaan 3, Utrecht

Pre-registered PhD candidates can be awarded 1 ECTS and a UMI Hub certificate by attending the whole lecture course. 

PhD students will be assigned revelant publications to read two weeks prior to the lecture series.