Vital to understanding immunodeficiency, autoimmune diseases or cancer

Jerusalem, February 16th 2012. -- The Institute for Advanced Studies (IAS) at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, in association with the Israel Science Foundation and Bar-Ilan University, will host a workshop examining methods for analyzing the development and evolution of lymphocytes.

The Lymphocyte Repertoire Workshop, which runs from February 19 to 23, will feature diverse experts including mathematicians, medical doctors, theoretical biologists and applied biologists.

Lymphocytes are white blood cells that help the immune system fight infections and protect the human body against disease. There are three main types: T cells, B cells, and NK or “natural killer” cells. Each type of lymphocyte comprises a wide range of cells with diverse characteristics and abilities called a ''repertoire''. Studying their development and activity is vital to understanding the immune response in healthy people and, conversely, in people suffering from immunodeficiency, autoimmune diseases or cancer.

''We need to examine hypotheses regarding immune activity and try to predict the outcomes of different medical treatments and new types of vaccines,” explains the workshop's organizer, Prof. Ramit Mehr from the Faculty of Life Sciences at Bar-Ilan University. “Therefore we must develop models and methods that will allow us to organize the data and extract meaningful information that will help us improve healthcare delivery.''' The workshop will present methodological innovations that can meet these needs, and new insights into the function of the immune system.

Among the presenters is Prof. Thomas B. Kepler of Duke University and Boston University in the United States, who will present a study in which he closely observed the immune response to influenza. The research produced significant insight into the way the immune system improves the affinity of antibodies to a viral protein.

Also presenting is Prof. Francesca Chiodi of the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, whose study deals with changes caused by the HIV virus in the B lymphocyte repertoire, responsible for creating antibodies. These changes are similar to changes in the immune system when the body ages, but the HIV virus accelerates the process.

Presenters hail from Australia, France, Israel, Italy, Sweden, The Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States, among other countries.

The workshop will take place at the Maison de France on the Edmond J. Safra Campus in Givat Ram.

Workshop website: http://immsilico2.lnx.biu.ac.il/WORKSHOP/Workshop.html

For more information, contact:

Mary-Ann Gurevich, Department of Media Relations, Hebrew University
02-5882811 (international: 972-2-5882811)
pressoffice@savion.huji.ac.il

SOURCE / Hebrew University