We are excited to celebrate the International Day of Immunology (DoI) on the 29th April.
Every year on 29 April, IUIS and EFIS bring the global immunology community together to celebrate the International Day of Immunology (DoI). A key highlight of this campaign is the official Day of Immunology webinar, featuring outstanding speakers and timely scientific discussions designed to raise awareness of immunology and explore the annual theme.
The topic of this year is “Regulatory T Cells: Guardians of Immune Balance”.
This year’s campaign explores how Tregs preserve immune stability in complex environments - from the gut to the brain - and how understanding their role is reshaping our approach to cancer, infection, and autoimmune disease.
Alongside the IUIS/EFIS webinar, the yEFIS network and the young national immunological societies are running their own outreach activities.
You can find below information regarding the different campaigns and don't forget to join us on social media to spread the word and raise awareness. We look forward to seeing the community engage using #DayofImmunology and #RegulatoryTCell.
IUIS/EFIS DoI webinar - April 29th, 15:00 CET
The IUIS/EFIS DoI webinar is featuring Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2025 laureate Professor Shimon Sakaguchi, alongside other distinguished scientists, for what promises to be an engaging and insightful program.
Agenda 15:00: Welcome & Introduction - Rita Carsetti and Federica Sallusto 15:05: Keynote Lecture - Shimon Sakaguchi 15:35: Human Treg Cell Heterogeneity and Plasticity: Challenges and Opportunities for Cell Therapy - Makoto Miyara 16:05: An Inflammation-Dependent Requirement for Foxp3 - Joris van der Veeken 16:25: Orchestrating Anti-Tumor Immunity and Autoimmunity via Regulatory T Cells- Alissafi Themis 16:45: Live Q&A with Speakers 16:55: Short Break 17:00: Panel Discussion - Moderated by Bob Balderas with speakers, journal editors, and industry representatives 17:50: Closing Remarks - Rita Carsetti and Federica Sallusto
Registration is now open for the webinar! You may use this link to sign up for the live webinar and add it to your calendar.
German Young Immunologists DoI special seminar series - April 21st & May 4th, 5pm CET
We're looking forward to hosting two Treg renowned experts and fantastic speakers, who'll walk us through the wonderful world of Tregs over both fundamental and applied aspects, for the upcoming Day of Immunology Special Seminar series:
April 21st: How early-life perturbations and microbiota affect the development of tissue-resident Tregs - Prof. Jochen Hühn (Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research)
May 4th: Antigen-specific regulatory T cells: from basic biology too engineered immune regulation - Prof. Matthias Hardtke-Wolenski (Hannover Medical School)
French Club of Young Immunologists webinar - April 23rd, 16:00 CET
The FCYI is celebrating the International Day of Immunology (celebrated on April 29th of every year) with a special webinar on Thursday 23rd of April at 4pm CET.
On the program:
Keynote presentation: Regulatory T cells: in Pursuit of a Disruptive idea - Prof Talal Chatila (Harvard Medical School, USA)
ECR presentation: Treg instability at steady state across tissue - Théotime Lavergne (Infinity, Université de Toulouse, France).
Young Scandinavian Society for Immunology event - April 29th, 12:00-13:00 CET
Together with SSI, the young SSI is excited to support the celebration of the Day of Immunology 2026 in Helsinki!
Join ySSI at the University of Helsinki (Biomedicum 1, P-floor) on 29 April from 12:00–13:00 for a fun and interactive event. Meet new people and the immune cells that have always had your back!
Meet handmade crochet versions of immune cells
Join our Immunology Lottery for a chance to take home your own handmade cell
Put your lab skills to the test in a pipetting competition (prizes included!)
Enjoy snacks, networking, and good company
Come boost your immune knowledge and maybe even form some long-lasting “memory”.
In the days leading up to the event (19–28 April), they’ll also be sharing fun facts about immune cells (yes, the same ones you can win in the lottery) on their Linkedin channel, so stay tuned!
Czech Young Immunologists event: 5th CYI Mixer - April 29th, 13:30-19.30 CET
In-person meeting organized by the Czech Young Immunologists (CYI) of the Czech Immunological Society (CIS) and Faculty of Science Charles University on the occasion of the International Day of Immunology 2026 and as a celebration of the Immunology study program at the Faculty of Science.
When? Tuesday 29th April, 13:30 - 19:30 Where? The Botanical Garden of the Faculty of Science (Na Slupi 433/16, Prague 2)
Young Portuguese Society of Immunology events - April 29th, 17:30 CET
The ySPI is thrilled to share our contributions to the 2026 Day of Immunology celebrations!
This year, we are celebrating Regulatory T cells: guardians of immune balance.
Throughout April, the ySPI Instagram page has been dedicated to highlighting previous editions of the Day of Immunology, Portuguese contributions to this important initiative, and, in particular, research papers from Portuguese groups on Tregs over the years. If you have not yet seen these posts, we invite you to follow us and explore our Day of Immunology highlight on Instagram @yspimmunology.
During late April and early May, members of the ySPI team and other SPI volunteers, will be bringing immunology to secondary and primary schools in Lisbon, Porto, Aveiro and Braga. This inspiring initiative will reach more than 200 students, and with this we hope to share our passion for immunology while inspiring the next generation of scientists.
Finally, we are also pleased to highlight and invite everyone to the seminar that our SPI President, Dr Bruno Silva-Santos, will be delivering in Coimbra in person and online via Teams. The seminar will focus on “Manipulating 𝛾𝛿 T cells for cancer immunotherapy and bypassing suppression by Treg cells.” Please join us on 29 April at 16:30 GMT / 17:30 CET either in person or via this link.
Thank you for your continued support, and we hope you enjoy celebrating this year’s Day of Immunology with us!
Swiss Young Immunologists Society event - April 29th, 17:00-18:00 CET
The SYIS and SMyLE are coming together to celebrate the Day of Immunology with a special seminar: “Connecting Myeloid Science and Young Immunologists.
Join them for a hybrid event featuring two outstanding speakers: Prof. Dr. Melanie Greter (UZH) and Dr. Pascale Zwicky (Weizmann Institute of Science).
Come for the science and stay for the apéro! We’ll also host a fun quiz on myeloid cells, let’s see who really has no secrets left to uncover 👀
Young Irish Society of Immunology webinar - April 30th, 2pm CET
The young Irish Society of Immunology (yISI), in collaboration with the ISI, are excited to invite you to join their DoI special seminar on Thursday 30th April at 2pm CET.
On the program:
Keynote lecture: Regulatory T cells and Stromal Cells: Partners in Suppression - Prof. Matt Griffin (University of Galway)
ECR presentation: From force to function: Mechanical Signals in Treg Induction - Dr Róisín Lynch (Trinity College Dublin)
