January Virtual Webinar
Special Joint Webinar EMBRN – International Eosinophil Society on January 26th, 2022 at 9.30-11.00 Eastern time (UTC-5h), 15.30-17.00 Berlin time (UTC+1), 16.30-18.00 Jerusalem time (UTC+2)
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The recording is now available for everyone to watch here.
Agenda:
Why mast cells and eosinophils belong together
Francesca Levi-Schaffer, PharmD, PhD, FRCP Hon
Professor, Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics Unit, Institute for Drug Research, School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
Francesca Levi-Schaffer is a Professor in the Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics Unit, Institute for Drug Research, School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She holds the Isaac and Myrna Kaye Chair in Immunopharmacology. Prof. Levi-Schaffer completed her PharmD degree at the University of Milano, her PhD degree in Immunology at the Weizmann Institute, Israel, and her post-doctorate at Harvard Medical School. Prof. Levi-Schaffer’s expertise is in the area of immunopharmacology of allergy focusing on mast cells and eosinophils, their activating and inhibitory receptors, their cross-talk for a better prophylaxis/treatment of allergic diseases. Moreover, her lab studies the role of mast cells and eosinophils in hypoxia (allergy, COPD); mastocytosis and its treatment; the crosstalk between atopic dermatitis and asthma with the microbiome. Her lab is also developing novel monoclonal antibodies and bispecific antibodies against activating and inhibiting receptors on mast cells and eosinophils for the treatment of allergy and of selected solid tumors. In response to the current coronavirus disease (COVID-19), she is now looking for new therapy targets in COVID-19 patients.
Role of Mast Cells in Eosinophilic Esophagitis
Marc Rothenberg, MD PhD
Professor of Pediatrics
Bunning Chair of Allergy and Immunology
Director, Division of Allergy and Immunology
Director, Cincinnati Center for Eosinophilic Disorders
Director, Consortium of Gastrointestinal Disease Researchers (CEGIR)
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
Marc E. Rothenberg MD, PhD is the Director of the Division of Allergy and Immunology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, a tenured Professor of Pediatrics at Cincinnati Children’s and the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine (UCCOM), the Founder and Director of the Cincinnati Center for Eosinophilic Disorders (CCED), the Founder and Director of the NIH-sponsored, national Consortium of Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Disease Researchers (CEGIR) and the incumbent of the Bunning Chair of Allergy and Immunology. He graduated summa cum laude with Highest Honors in Chemistry and Biochemistry from Brandeis University. At Harvard Medical School (HMS), he completed the combined MD/PhD program with graduate studies in Immunology in Professor K. Frank Austen’s laboratory, interesting overlapping with Professor Levi-Schaffer. Dr. Rothenberg did a pediatric residency and combined fellowship in Allergy/Immunology and Hematology at Children’s Hospital in Boston and a postdoctoral training genetics at HMS. He came to the UCCOM and Cincinnati Children’s in 1996 and has helped build a top program in pediatric research; his division is a leader in pediatric allergy and immunology. His research is focused on molecular analysis of allergic inflammation, primarily on the pathogenesis of eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders (EGIDs). Dr. Rothenberg’s awards include the 2007 E. Mead Johnson Award from the Society of Pediatric Research and an NIH MERIT Award in 2010, and he has been recognized as a Highly Cited (top 1%) Researcher by Clarivate Analytics. He is an elected member of the ASCI, AAP, AAAS, SPR and Hewlett-Woodmere Alumni Hall of Fame. His publications number over 450. He is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology and co-Section Head of the Allergy and Hypersensitivity Section of Faculty 1000. He has served a four-year term on the Advisory Council of the NIAID, advising Dr. Anthony Fauci. His research has been supported by numerous sources including the NIH, Human Frontier Science Program Organization, Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Dana Foundation, US Department of Defense, US-Israel Binational Fund, CURED Foundation and PCORI. He has trained a myriad of clinical and research investigators in his own laboratory and also as Program Director and/or Co-Principal Investigator of several NIH training grants.
Role of eosinophils in mast cell-driven disorders
Joana Vitte, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Immunology at the Aix-Marseille University School of Medicine, Marseille, France
Associate researcher at the Desbrest Institute for Epidemiology and Public Health (IDESP) INSERM, Montpellier, France
President of the Scientific Council of the French Society of Allergology
Joana Vitte, MD, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Immunology specializing in Allergology. Her work focuses on translational research and innovative diagnostic approaches. She is currently the President of the Scientific Council of the French Society for Allergology and the Principal Investigator of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology Task Force on Allergic Broncho-Pulmonary Aspergillosis. She has a long-standing interest in mast cells not only as key effectors and master regulators of immediate hypersensitivity reactions, but also as elusive innate immune sentinels. Early research on COVID-19 innate immune responses led her to consider the functional cross-talk of eosinophils, basophils and mast cells in other diseases, and the potential diagnostic tools and therapeutic targets that may be uncovered by research collaboration in this field.