FOCIS Symposium Addresses
Cellular and Molecular Targeting in GvHD

ASBMT sponsored and conducted a symposium on cellular and molecular targeting of graft-versus-host disease at the 6th Annual Conference of the Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies (FOCIS) in June. 

FOCIS is a federation of 19 associations in the field of clinical immunology. 

The ASBMT symposium was part of a pre-conference program at the national meeting held in San Francisco.  Topics and speakers were:

• William Murphy, PhD, of the University of Nevada, Reno, chaired the session and spoke on proteasome inhibition and BMT – the effects of proteasome inhibition using bortezomib in GvHD and GvT, immunomodulatory effects of systemic proteasome inhibition, and means for circumventing potential toxicities with prolonged use.
  
  
• Pavan Reddy, MD, of the University of Michigan addressed histone deacetylase inhibition and GvHD – the preclinical evaluation of histone deacetylase inhibitors in BMT, immunomodulatory effects, effects on various immune cell-types, and effects on GvT.
  
  
• Robert Negrin, MD, of Stanford University discussed the role of regulatory T-cells and GvHD – biology of Tregs, characterization and role in GvHD, preclinical evaluation of their effects on GvHD pathology as well as graft-versus-tumor effects, homing and related topics.
  
  
• Samuel Strober, MD, also of Stanford University presented information about NK/T-cells and GvHD – the biology of NK/T-cells, immunomodulatory properties of the cells, and preclinical evaluation of the cells in BMT models.
  

Member organizations in the FOCIS federation are:

American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology
American College of Rheumatology
American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation
American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics
American Society of Transplantation
American Uveitis Society
American Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple
         Sclerosis
Association of Medical Laboratory Immunologists
Clinical Immunology Society
Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America
Immunology of Diabetes Society
International Complement Society
International Cytokine Society
International Society for Interferon and Cytokine Research
International Society of Neuroimmunology
International Society for Biological Therapy of Cancer
Society for Investigative Dermatology
Society for Mucosal Immunology
The Transplantation Society