NSI is a scientific association that arranges national and international meetings, organizes education seminars, workshops and public outreach programmes, as well as hosting social functions for its members. We are part of Scandinavian Society for Immunology.
Thanks to all the attendees for making our 42nd Annual Meeting such a great event! Also, thanks to our sponsors for joining with great and entertaining booths (Stemcell, ThermoFisher, JPT, BD, BioNordika, Cytiva, Sarstedt, ParseBiosciences)! We hope all of you had a good time and enjoyed both the scientific talks and the dinner afterwards!
Congratulations to all the winners of the competitions and thank you all for participating! Unfortunately, this year we have neither awarded NSI – Bogen Young Investigator Award nor Per Brandzæg’s Travel Grant, as there were no applicants. Remember to apply next year!
Best poster award: Thea Sjøgren (poster title: Cytokine autoantibody screening as a tool to decipher genetic causes of endocrine autoimmune disease )
Best talk award: Christine Skagen (talk title: Exploring the mechanism of autoantibody formation in Systemic Sclerosis )
NSI – Bogen Young Investigator Award: No applicants in 2024
Per Brandzæg’s Travel Grant: No applicants in 2024
We look forward to meeting all of you at the NSI Annual meeting 2024 tomorrow! The talks will start at 09:15!
Poster setup will be possible from 0830 onward (the poster walls should be delivered between 0815 and 0830. Unfortunately there were some last minute delays.) There should be some empty walls if those of you want to bring a poster that was not submitted in time.
Also, just a reminder about our annual dinner, which we hope many of you will attend. There will be food, drinks, music and our Quizmaster Gunnveig will host an exciting round of challenging questions (so make sure your thinking-caps are on!). The presentation prizes and poster prizes selected during the day will be announced during the dinner, so make sure to stick around!
For those attending the dinner and have not yet paid, please do so as soon as possible. It’s 200 NOK pr. person.
The payment options are:
If you wish to receive an electronic invoice, please send an e-mail to hanna.chan@medisin.uio.no with number of persons and PO number (if applicable). Please indicate name of participant(s).
Payment by Vipps: #831742
Payment by bank account: 0540.08.38560
If you have already sent in your registration, but would like to change your sign-up to the dinner, just drop an e-mail to NSI Treasurer: hanna.chan@medisin.uio.no
Dear NSI-members, this is the final reminder that you may apply for several prestigious NSI grants:
NSI- Bogen Young Investigator Award: A prize of NOK 50 000 for a young excellent researcher within the field of immunology. Please send nominations to Silke Appel (silke.appel@uib.no) before Nov 1, 2024.https://norwegianimmunology.org/nsi-bogen-young-investigator-award/
NSI Publication Award: Given to the 1st author(s) of an outstanding original scientific paper in the field of immunology. Please send nominations to Gunnveig Grødeland (gunnveig.grodeland@medisin.uio.no) before Nov 1, 2024.https://norwegianimmunology.org/nsi-publication-award/
Per Brandtzæg’s Travel Grant: Travel grant to support international travel for postdoc in the field of immunology (mucosal immunology will be prioritized). Please send your application to Gunnveig Grødeland (gunnveig.grodeland@medisin.uio.no) before Nov 1, 2024. https://norwegianimmunology.org/per-brandtzaegs-travel-grant/
NSI Travel grant: Please remember that persons from outside of Oslo who are presenting a poster or talk to the NSI Annual meeting on Nov 29 may apply for a travel grant. Deadline: Nov 15
Dear NSI members, NSI and the Norwegian Biochemical Society Oslo (NBS Oslo) jointly invites you to a guest lecture by Professor Kristian G Andersen (Scripps Research, La Jolla, USA), where he will give a lecture on “The origin of a pandemic – the facts and the fiction”.
Meeting details: Date/time: Thursday October 17th, 14:15-15:30 Location: Lille Auditorium, Domus Medica, UiO Gaustad Campus, https://link.mazemap.com/RDL5JFni Coffee/tea and refreshments are served from 14:00
Title of talk: The origin of a pandemic – the facts and the fiction
Short bio: Professor Andersen’s research interest is on host-pathogen interactions and his lab uses a broad array of approaches including sequencing, experiments, field work and computational methods. He has contributed much to the studies on Zika, Ebola, West Nile and Lassa viruses, and most recently, SARS-CoV-2, where he has been one of the key scientist investigating the origin of SARS-CoV-2.
Abstract: Understanding SARS-CoV-2’s origins is crucial for preventing future pandemics. Early reports and research identified Wuhan’s Huanan Market as a likely origin of the COVID-19 pandemic, but this hypothesis became controversial, with subject matter experts becoming frequent targets of rampant, and still-ongoing, conspiracism and political attacks. In a series of papers, our research has shown that the earliest COVID-19 cases, including those without direct links to the market, were both centered around on, and much closer to, the market than expected by chance. We also show that multiple species of likely intermediate hosts were for sale at the market, including clear genetic signatures of racoon dogs, bamboo rats, and civets co-mingling in samples also positive for SARS-CoV-2. Further, we found that virus and susceptible animal samples clustered in a specific corner of the market, exactly where wildlife was being sold prior to the start of the pandemic. Our phylodynamic analyses strongly suggest that at least two separate cross-species transmission events occurred in late November and early December 2019 at the market, with the timing of the early market outbreak corresponding to the start of the pandemic itself. Combined, our studies give us unprecedented insights into the origin of a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic at a granularity never previously achieved, pointing to the unregulated wildlife trade in China as the culprit, and the Huanan Market as the early epicenter of SARS-CoV-2 emergence.
Dear colleagues, It’s our pleasure to invite you to a seminar on “Deciphering the antibody repertoire using antibody proteomics”.
Location: Rødt Auditorium, Rikshospitalet Time: Tuesday 24 Sept, 10.00–12.00 (Sweets and fruits will be served before the start of the seminar)
Three speakers: Dr. Albert Bondt, Biomolecular Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics group at Utrecht University. 45 min, gscholar: https://scholar.google.nl/citations?hl=nl&user=zSueyEkAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate Talk title: Top-down immunoglobulomics: starting from the end Brief abstract of talk: “Antibodies are widely recognized for their important role in immunity. Antibodies are protein products of completely matured and highly specialized B cells. Most of the research that is currently being done, however, starts from intermediate stages in B cell development. We take another route, and study antibodies starting from their final developmental stage, namely the circulating and secreted proteins. In my presentation I will share some of our main discoveries and future research directions. “
Douwe Schulte, Biomolecular Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics group at Utrecht University, 25 min Talk title: Bottom-up immunoglobulomics
In our next NSI Rising Star Seminar, we will be hosting Clarissa Campbell (CeMM, Austrian Academy of Sciences) with a talk on “T cell regulation by bacterial metabolites”. Look forward to seeing you there!
Title of talk: T cell regulation by bacterial metabolites
Abstract: Intestinal microbial communities expand the functional capabilities of the host via their metabolic attributes. From energy harvest to the production of vitamins, the gut microbiota shapes mammalian physiology and is often considered a postnatally developed “organ”. Yet, the microbiome poses a formidable challenge to the immune system: How can we host trillions of bacteria without mounting an inflammatory response? Gut immune homeostasis relies on the balanced action of suppressive and inflammatory T cell subsets. Using transgenic mouse models, engineered bacteria and gnotobiotic experiments, we discovered that common products of bacterial metabolism including short-chain fatty acids and microbe-derived bile acids affect the differentiation of Foxp3+ immunosuppressive regulatory T (Treg) cells at the steady state. Further, we found that Treg cells induced in response to bacterial cues support the establishment and maintenance of intestinal microbial communities. More recently, we discovered that intestinal inflammation leads to the loss of microbe-derived bile acids, thus contributing to fuel T cell-driven pathologies. Altogether, our work uncovered a prominent role for microbial metabolites in shaping host immunity by modulating T cell responses both at the steady state and during inflammatory settings.
Bio: Clarissa Campbell studied biology with a minor in genetics at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and subsequently earned a master’s degree from the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ), investigating how bacterial molecules exert immunomodulatory effects on mammalian cells via nuclear receptors, a topic she would continue to explore throughout her career. She joined the Tri-Institutional Immunology and Microbial Pathogenesis Program at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York as a graduate student where she specialized in mucosal immunology and regulatory T (Treg) cell biology. After obtaining her PhD, Clarissa Campbell remained under the mentorship of Dr. Alexander Rudensky at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to continue her work on host-commensal interactions and pursue broader scientific questions bridging the fields of immunology and metabolism. Her research has characterized a circuit whereby microbial metabolites including short-chain fatty acids and secondary bile acids facilitate the differentiation of peripherally induced Treg cells, which in turn suppress immune responses to colonization and preserve a niche for a group of intestinal bacteria. More recently, she found that a bile acidsensing nuclear receptor contributes to the cell-intrinsic responsiveness of effector T cells to fasting. Clarissa Campbell joined CeMM as a principal investigator in July 2021. Her lab is interested in investigating how changes in microbial and organismal metabolism contribute to regulating immune-cell function.
The registration for the NSI annual meeting 2024, happening on November 29, is now open: https://nettskjema.no/a/440879. Also, please find below an overview of the NSI awards that you can apply for:
NSI – Bogen Young Investigator Award: A prize of NOK 50 000 for a young excellent researcher within the field of immunology. Please send nominations to Silke Appel (silke.appel@uib.no) before October 14, 2024.
NSI Publication Award: Given to the 1st author(s) of an outstanding original scientific paper in the field of immunology. Please send nominations to Gunnveig Grødeland (gunnveig.grodeland@medisin.uio.no) before October 14, 2024.
Per Brandtzæg’s Travel Grant: Travel grant to support international travel for postdoc in the field of immunology (mucosal immunology will be prioritized). Please send your application to Gunnveig Grødeland (gunnveig.grodeland@medisin.uio.no) before October 14, 2024.
NSI Travel grant: Please remember that persons from outside of Oslo who are presenting a poster or talk to the NSI Annual meeting on Nov 29 may apply for a travel grant.
In our next seminar from the NSI Rising Star Seminar series, we will be hosting Abigail Vanderheiden (Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, USA) with a talk on “ Investigating the contribution of the immune response to memory deficits after COVID-19 in mice”. Look forward to seeing you there!
Abstract: Millions of patients with post-acute symptoms of COVID-19 or ‘long-COVID’ are accumulating worldwide, however, the underlying mechanisms driving neurological dysfunction and how vaccination impacts risk are unknown. Current evidence suggests that SARS-CoV-2 does not cause widespread infection of the central nervous system (CNS). Despite this, post-mortem analyses of the hippocampi of COVID-19 patients have identified microglial activation, decreased neurogenesis, blood-brain barrier disruption, and pro-inflammatory cytokine production, including Interleukin-1b (IL-1b) a key component of the innate immune defense against viral infection. Here, we utilize a novel mouse model of the neurological effects of COVID-19 to investigate how innate immunity impacts memory deficits after SARS-CoV-2. We find that intranasal infection of C57BL/6J mice with the beta variant of SARS-CoV-2 (B.1.351) causes post-acute memory deficits as measured via the Novel Object recognition test that correlate with decreases in hippocampal neurogenesis and trisynaptic circuit synapse number. We find that SARS-CoV-2 infection prompts peripheral immune cell infiltration, persistent microglial activation, and elevated levels of IL-1b in the hippocampus. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that IL-1R1 signaling on neural stem cells promotes loss of hippocampal neurogenesis and subsequent memory deficits after SARS-CoV-2. Vaccination with a low dose of adenoviral vectored Spike protein prevents production of IL-1b in the hippocampus and subsequently protects against loss of neurogenesis and memory deficits after breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infection. Combined, these data identify microglial production of IL-1b as one pathway driving memory deficits after COVID-19 that can be prevented by prior vaccination.
Bio: Dr. Vanderheiden is a post-doctoral research scholar in the laboratory of Dr. Michael Diamond at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. Dr. Vanderheiden performed her Ph.D. work in Immunology under the mentorship of Dr. Mehul Suthar at Emory University (Atlanta, GA, USA) where she investigated innate immune signaling in response to West Nile virus and SARS-CoV-2 and helped develop a novel mouse model of SARS-CoV-2 infection. She began her post-doctoral training under Dr. Robyn Klein at Washington University in St. Louis, where she used this mouse model to investigate how IL-1 signaling promotes memory deficits after COVID-19. In 2023, Dr. Klein left Washington University and Dr. Vanderheiden moved to the lab of Dr. Michael S. Diamond do continue her post-doctoral studies on how the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection impacts post-acute neurological dysfunction after COVID-19.
In our next seminar from the NSI Rising Star Seminar series, we will be hosting Camilla Engblom (Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden) with a talk on “Mapping B and T cell receptors in tissues using spatial transcriptomics”. Look forward to seeing you there!
Abstract: B and T cells perform functions critical to human health and they develop, differentiate, and expand in spatially distinct sites across the body. Both B and T cells express clonal heritable antigen receptors that confer exquisite molecular (i.e., antigen) specificity. Antigen receptors can be defined by sequencing, but these methods require tissue dissociation, which loses the anatomical location, and the surrounding functionally relevant environmental cues. Linking specific clonal sequences to their molecular and cellular surroundings, i.e., ‘clonal niche’, could help us understand and harness B and T cell activity. A technological bottleneck has been to capture the location of antigen receptor sequences, and by extension B and T cell clonal responses, directly within tissues. To address this, we recently developed a spatial transcriptomics-based approach (Spatial VDJ) and associated computational pipelines to reconstruct B and T cell clonality in human tissues. Using this technology, we spatially resolve B and T cell receptors within immune and tumor tissues, as well as B cell clonal evolution within germinal centers. Combined, Spatial VDJ links B and T cell clonal responses to their microenvironment with applications to various immune-related pathologies, including infections, cancer and autoimmune diseases.
Bio: Dr. Camilla Engblom is a SciLifeLab Fellow and a recently appointed Assistant Professor in the Division of Immunology and Allergy and the Department of Medicine, Solna at the Karolinska Institutet (KI). She received her PhD in Immunology from Harvard University in 2017 focusing on long-range cancer-host interactions involving myeloid cells (Mikael Pittet’s lab at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School). As a MSCA postdoctoral fellow in Jonas Frisén’s lab (KI) in a collaboration with Joakim Lundeberg’s lab, Dr. Engblom developed a spatial transcriptomics-based tool (Spatial VDJ) to map B cell and T cell receptors within human tissues. Located at SciLifeLab and the Center for Molecular Medicine (KI), the Engblom lab’s main research focus is to spatially and functionally resolve B cell clonal dynamics during cancer.
Key publications:
C. Engblom*/K. Thrane*/Q. Lin*, et al. Science. (2023).
Zilionis R*, Engblom C*, Pfirschke C*, Savova V*, et al. Immunity. 2019. May 21;50(5):1317-1334.
Engblom C*, Pfirschke C, et al. Science. 2017 Dec 1;358(6367).
Pfirschke C*, Engblom C*, et al. Immunity. 2016 Feb 16;44(2):343-54.
