Autumn Immunology Conference

This proposal requests 2 years of support for the Autumn Immunology Conference (AIC), an annual gathering of immunologists at the Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile hotel in Chicago, IL. Year 1 will support the 52nd annual AIC on November 22-25, 2024 and Year 2 will support the 53rd annual meeting to be held November 21- 24, 2025. The purpose of AIC is to foster communication and collaboration among immunologists, particularly those located in the middle of the US. Chicago is an exciting destination, and within driving distance for many midwestern academic institutions that are home to numerous NIAID-funded investigators. Since its inception in 1972, AIC continues to be very highly regarded and has a fiercely loyal group of regular attendees from across the US. The Specific Aims of AIC are to: 1) disseminate new immunological research findings from top labs in the field, 2) provide a forum for trainees to hone their presentation skills, and 3) increase interactions between a diverse group of scientists interested in immunology research. The meeting starts with a “Meet the Speakers” event for trainees, a Keynote speaker, and a welcome reception on Friday. Saturday & Sunday have similar structures: morning symposia, then smaller themed workshops, followed by poster sessions. The meeting ends on Monday with just a morning plenary session. Each year, three different topic areas are chosen for the morning symposia. For 2024, 6 female & 6 male invited speakers will present talks on Innate Immunity, Immune Regulation at Barriers, & Mucosal Vaccines; the 2025 topics will be chosen by the AIC Chair in consultation with the Executive Council (EC) at the spring planning meeting. All accepted abstracts (typically ~275 from postdocs/grad students/staff/undergrads) are invited to give a 10 min. talk during the afternoon workshops, followed by a 1 h poster presentation. AIC is organized by a dedicated all-volunteer group of faculty that serve multi-year terms including the “leadership track” that consists of a 4 year commitment to serve as the Workshop Coordinator, the Secretary, the Chair, and then the Past Chair/Councilor. Since 1992, the EC has strived to maintain a gender balance amongst its members; we typically rotate males and females to enter the leadership track. Another unique feature of AIC is the Undergraduate Workshop with a Careers in Immunology panel discussion and a table fair of PhD programs in Immunology. AIC is truly a formative experience for trainees and this remains one of the most positively evaluated aspects of the meeting. New for this renewal application is a partnership with the Black in Immuno group that will provide a breakfast panel discussion event for trainees who are underrepresented minorities in science. This year we will also expand our Wallace Diversity Fellows program, which has been providing travel awards and networking opportunities to underrepresented minorities since 1972. The volunteer EC works hard to solicit academic and corporate donations so that we can keep the registration fee low, allowing as many trainees as possible to attend this meeting. In fact, the registration fee is waived for any undergrad who presents an abstract.