Invited Speakers

Keynote Lecture

David Artis, PhD

Michael Kors Professor of Immunology, Department of Medicine; and Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Department of Microbiology and Immunology
Director, Jill Roberts Institute for Research in Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Director, Friedman Center for Nutrition and Inflammation
Co-Director, Allen Discovery Center for Neuroimmune Interactions

Dr. Artis completed his doctoral research at the University of Manchester, UK, focusing on immunity and inflammation in the intestine, before pursuing post-doctoral training at the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied immune responses at barrier surfaces. He joined Penn’s faculty in 2005, becoming a Professor of Microbiology in 2014, and later moved to Cornell University as the inaugural Michael Kors Professor of Immunology and Director of the Jill Roberts Institute for IBD Research. His research investigates pathways regulating immune cell functions and host-microbiota interactions, employing advanced techniques like single nucleus sequencing and CRISPR. With over 180 peer-reviewed publications and an H-index of 94, Dr. Artis has been NIH-funded since 2004 and has received numerous awards for his contributions to immunology.

Paul Kallos Memorial Lecture

Zuhair K Ballas, MD

Professor of Medicine, Immunology Division of the Department of Internal Medicine, University of Iowa and the Iowa City Veteran Affairs - United States
Editor-In-Chief of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology

Dr. Ballas has been actively engaged in immunology research for more than four decades. His focus has been on studying the role of natural killer (NK cells) in health and disease with emphasis on their role in tumor surveillance, inflammatory disorders and immunodeficiency. He has done some of the seminal studies on the lymphokine-activated killer cells (LAK) and the effect of CpG oligodeoxynucleotides on NK cell activation in vivo and in vitro using humans and mouse models.Dr. Ballas is an active physician who cares for patients with Allergic, inflammatory and immune dysfunction disorders. By their very nature, disorders of the immune system cross all organ systems and thus Dr. Ballas also functions as an internist specializing in patients with complex or undiagnosed diseases. In addition, he serves as the director of the cellular immunology diagnostic laboratory, and he oversees the University of Iowa Flow Cytometry Core Facility. Dr. Ballas has over 175 refereed scientific publication.

Carl Prausnitz Lecture

Clare Lloyd, PhD, FRSB, FMedSci


Head of the Respiratory Division, National Heart & Lung Institute - London
Vice Dean (Institutional Affairs) Medicine, Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College

Clare Lloyd is Head of the Respiratory Division at the National Heart & Lung Institute in London. She trained in immunology at Kings College London and undertook Postdoctoral research at Guys Hospital London and Harvard Medical School, Boston. She worked in a Biotech company in Cambridge USA, investigating the functions of type2 molecules in different disease settings. She returned to the UK to start her own group and has been funded by serial Wellcome Trust Senior Fellowships.  Work in her lab investigates how the immune system senses the inhaled environment, examining how different stimuli influence development of pulmonary inflammation and tissue remodelling across the life course, using mouse models, imaging, cell biology and transcriptomics. She is Vice Dean for Institutional Affairs in the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College, leading on EDI and career development across the Faculty. Clare is an elected fellow of the Royal Academy of Medical Sciences.

Symposium Spotlight: Genetic Mechanisms Involved in Allergic Diseases

Genetics Dissection of Eosinophilic Esophagitis
Marc Rothenberg, MD, PhD

Dr. Marc Rothenberg is the Director of Allergy and Immunology at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, a Professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, the Founder and Director of the Cincinnati Center for Eosinophilic Disorders, the Founder and Director of the NIH’s Consortium of Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Disease Researchers and the incumbent of the Bunning Chair of Allergy and Immunology. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine.  His research is focused on understanding mechanisms of allergic inflammation.  His laboratory takes multidisciplinary approaches, including the development of preclinical murine models of allergic disease, genetics, genomics, molecular immunology, cellular biology, and biochemistry, and includes a clinical research unit, focused on proof-of-principle studies in humans. He has published over 500 peer review articles and has made instrumental contributions have led to approval of several drugs and an expanding a pipeline of therapeutics, and diagnostics. 

Presidential Lecture

Thomas Bieber, MD, PhD, MDRA

Scientific Director, Medicine Programs, Kühne-Foundation, Medicine Campus Davos, Switzerland
Senior Medical Advisor, Bieber Dermatology Consulting, Bonn, Germany
Department of Dermatology, University Hospital of Zürich, Switzerland

Prof. Thomas Bieber is a professor of Dermatology and Allergy. He holds MD and PhD degrees from the University of Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg, and an MDRA from the University of Bonn. He specializes in preclinical and clinical drug development, as well as legal and market access aspects of drug development. He has significant expertise in translational and precision medicine for skin diseases.

He chaired the Department of Dermatology and Allergy at the University of Bonn from 1997 to 2023 and has been a guest professor at the University Hospital of Zürich since 2024. Prof. Bieber was the chief editor of Allergy from 2010 to 2017 and led the Christine Kühne–Center for Allergy Research and Education. He founded Davos Biosciences and is the founder of Bieber Dermatology Consulting.

Prof. Bieber has authored over 650 publications (h-index = 106), more than 100 book chapters, and several books. He is a highly cited researcher and a member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. His honors include the Heisenberg Fellowship, the Karl-Hansen-Award, the Pharmacia International Research Award, and the Gold Medal of the Foundation for Allergy Research in Europe. He has delivered numerous prestigious lectures worldwide.

 

Relaxing Lecture

Karolina Lisak Vidović

Karolina Lisak Vidović is a Croatian television and radio editor and presenter, currently serving as the Head of the Culture Department at Croatian Radio and Television (HRT). She graduated from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb with a degree in Art History and Comparative Literature. At HRT, she hosts and edits the television show What Is a Classic?, a program dedicated to literary classics, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2025. The show explores and analyzes some of the most significant works of world literature, discussing their relevance in contemporary contexts and aiming to make literary classics accessible to a broader audience. For 25 years, she hosted and edited the weekly literary radio show Box of Letters on HRT’s First Program, a staple in promoting literature. She is also a frequent moderator at literary festivals and participates in discussions on literature and culture. In her public appearances, she emphasizes the importance of reading to counter stereotypes, ignorance, and intolerance. She is known for her nuanced approach to literary criticism, connecting classic works with current societal issues. Her work often involves collaborations with both domestic and international authors, with a particular appreciation for works that address universal human themes and challenges. Beyond her role at HRT, her cultural contributions are widely recognized in the broader cultural and literary sphere.

Last updated: December 19, 2024