Past Conferences
2024 Conference
Center For Immunology
29th Annual Conference
Duluth, MN
October 21-22, 2024
This year marked the 29th annual CFI Conference, a milestone event held once again on the scenic shores of Duluth, MN at the DECC on Canal Park. The conference brought together over 160 scientists who shared their research and engaged in meaningful interactions, all within a beautiful and relaxing environment. The dedicated student organizers, Haeree Park Lang, Zoe Schmiechen, and Rocio Amaro Marquez, introduced several exciting new elements to enhance the conference experience.
The two-day event featured a series of short talks from pre- and post-doctoral trainees, invited speakers, and faculty. A highlight of the conference was the 3-Minute Talk competition, where nine trainees presented their work in an engaging and concise format. Attendees had the opportunity to vote for their favorite speaker, and a judges' panel, including Kris Hogquist, PhD, Tanya Freedman, PhD, and Michael Farrar, PhD, selected the top three winners. Although only four speakers were formally recognized, all the presentations were exceptional, and we gained valuable insights into the diverse research being conducted.
People's Choice Winner: Preethy Parthiban (Revelo Lab)
Judges' Panel 3rd place: Rocio Amaro Marquez (Blazar Lab)
Judges' Panel 2nd place: Sookyong Joo (Farrar Lab)
Judges' Panel 1st place: Jennifer Tuokkola (Schwertfeger Lab)
The conference also featured a dynamic poster session, providing attendees the opportunity to share their work and receive valuable feedback. The first evening concluded with a dinner and social mixer, complete with dancing and live music from "The Outliers," a cover band made up of our very own CFI members—Dr. Yoji Shimizu, Dr. Dan Mueller, and Dr. Sam Becker.
On day two, the event kicked off with breakfast and an exciting Speed Networking activity. Participants lined up in two rows and rotated to meet new people, answering fun and science-oriented questions such as “What’s your favorite fluorophore?” or “If you could be any cell, which one would you be and why?” This activity encouraged networking, introduced new connections, and sparked conversations that will likely lead to future collaborations.
The morning continued with a captivating talk by Chris Carlson of NarrativePros on “Presenting with Precision: A Proven System to Maximize Impact and Minimize Prep Time,” which included interactive activities aimed at enhancing presentation skills. The conference also featured three engaging 40-minute workshops on topics such as multiplex immunofluorescence, single-cell sequencing analysis, and practical considerations in spectral flow cytometry. These workshops allowed participants to delve deeper into emerging technologies and engage in in-depth discussions about techniques and results.
We extend our gratitude to our generous sponsors: Echo BioTech, GenScript, Miltenyi Biotech, Bio-Techne, STEMCELL Technologies, and Cytek Biosciences, whose support made this event possible.
2024 Immunology Conference
Day 1
Haeree Park Lang, Zoe Schmiechen, and Rocio Amaro Marquez,
Enjoying puzzles, dancing, and mingling with colleagues, attendees had a great time connecting and unwinding at the event.
Puzzles are underway, bringing some fun and friendly competition!
The Outliers, featuring a special guest performance by Dr. Marc Jenkins, singing his rendition of 'Ring of Fire'!
Drs. Nelson, Masopust, Dileepan, Mitchell, Spanier and Schultz
Chris Carlson of NarrativePros on “Presenting with Precision: A Proven System to Maximize Impact and Minimize Prep Time”
The audience engaging with Chris Carlson of NarrativePros
Speed Networking
2023 Conference
2022 Conference
2021 Conference
2019 Conference
2016-2017 Conference
Center For Immunology
22nd Annual Immunology Conference
Edgewater Hotel, Madison, WI
April 11-13, 2017
This year the 2017 Immunology Conference was co-sponsored by the Center for Immunology and the University of Chicago. For 2 days the attendees enjoyed the beauty of The Edgewater Hotel in Madison, Wisconsin, a half-way point for both colleges. The conference allowed over 160 scientists from both institutions to share their work and interact with each other in a beautiful and relaxing social setting. Each day was filled with short talks highlighting the work of pre and post-doctoral trainees, invited speakers, and faculty. A poster session was held each evening so that everyone had the opportunity to share their work and receive feedback. The first night was capped off with a dinner and a social mixer that included dancing and the musical stylings of "The Outliers", a cover band that features 2 of our very own faculty, Dr. Yoji Shimizu and Dr. Dan Mueller.
2015 Conference
Center For Immunology
21st Annual Immunology Conference
St. James Hotel, Red Wing, MN
October 12-13, 2015
For the last 21 years, the Center for Immunology has hosted a research conference for students, post-doctoral fellows, and faculty to focus on science away from the distractions of everyday life. Over the years the conference has been co-supported by several corporate sponsors, the current sponsor of the 2015 retreat is Affymetrix/eBioscience. The conference is an excellent opportunity for the participants to showcase their current research projects to each other and to the broader immunology research community at the University of Minnesota.
The two-day conference offers a series of short talks highlighting the work of pre and post-doctoral trainees, invited speakers, and faculty. All student attendees present a poster in an evening poster session showcasing their work. The first night is capped off with a dinner and a social mixer that includes dancing and the musical stylings of "The Outliers", a cover band that features 2 of our very own faculty, Dr. Yoji Shimizu, and Dr. Dan Mueller.
For the last 2 years, the two-day event has been held at the historic St. James Hotel in Red Wing, MN. Not only does this venue showcase the beautiful Fall colors found along the Mississippi River but the area offers a variety of recreational and shopping activities to fill your free time.
This year was a special year...we celebrated the career of Dr. Matthew Mescher spanning almost 40 years and many accomplishments. The first day of the retreat was devoted to Dr. Mescher and how he shaped not only the Center for Immunology but more than 15 Ph.D. students and over 21 Post-doctoral fellows and research associates. We were lucky enough to hear talks from Dr. Mescher's first and last graduate students as well as many in between.
Monday, October 12, 2015
9:00 - 9:45 Welcome – Marc Jenkins, Ph.D., Director, CFI
9:45 - 9:50 Matt Mescher, Ph.D.
9:50 - 10:10 Steven Balk, MD, Ph.D.(Grad Student 1976-1983) Professor, Harvard Medical School
“Advances in Prostate Cancer Pathogenesis and Therapy”
10:10 - 10:30Aaron Turkewitz, Ph.D.(undergrad 1979-1980) Professor, University of Chicago
“Inheritance vs innovation in the evolution of modern cells”
10:30 - 10:45 Coffee Break
10:45 - 11:10 Derry Roopenian, Ph.D.(Post-doc 1983 – 1984) Professor, The Jackson laboratory
“Getting here from there”
11:10 - 11:30 Steven Goldstein, M.D. Ph.D.(Grad Student 1983 – 1986) Professor, Sr. Vice President Brandeis University
“T cell activation and ion channels”
11:30 - 11:50 Kevin Kane, Ph.D.(Post-doc 1986 - 1991) Professor, University of Alberta
“Determinants of NK cell receptor recognition of MHC-I"
11:50 - 1:30 Lunch
1:30 - 1:50 Ross Kedl, Ph.D.(Grad Student 1993 – 1997) Professor, University of Colorado Denver
“T cell vaccinology… what attenuated infections aren’t telling us”
1:50 - 2:10 Clint Schmidt, Ph.D.(Grad Student 1995 – 2000) Dir. Res Operations, NovaDigm Therapeutic, Inc
”NDV-3, a vaccine to protect against Candida albicans and Staphylococcus aureus infections”
2:10 - 2:30 Chris Hammerbeck, Ph.D.(Grad Student 2001 – 2006) Research Immunologist, USAMRIID
"Hantavirus disease pathogenesis: Modulating the immune response to discover mechanisms of disease"
2:30 - 2:50 Zhengguo Xiao, Ph.D.(Post-doc 2004 – 2008) Associate Professor, University of Maryland
“Being Positive When It’s Negative”
2:50 - 3:10 Michael Gerner, Ph.D.(Grad Student 2003 – 2009) Research Fellow, NIAID, NIH
“Seeing things clearly now …"
Free time and set up posters starting at 4:00
6:00 - 7:30 Dinner
7:30 - 9:00 Poster session
9:00 - Social mixer featuring "The Outliers"
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
8:00 - 8:55 Breakfast
9:00 - 9:30 Yu-Jung Lee, Ph.D.
“Histocytometry”
9:30 - 10:00 Kaylee Schwefeger, Ph.D.
“Breast cancer, inflammation, and immunity: novel mechanisms of interaction”
10:00 - 10:20 Coffee Break
10:20 - 10:50 Sara Becker-Catania, Ph.D. (Affymetrix)
“Visualize the Whole Picture- A how to for multiplexed detection of RNA or protein expression”
10:50 - 11:20Lalit Beura, Ph.D.
"Normalizing pathogen exposure recapitulates adult human immune signatures in laboratory mice".
11:20 - 11:30 Final remarks
11:45 - 1:00 PI’s and Affymetrix meeting/lunch
Special thanks to our corporate sponsor: Affymetrix/eBioscience
