Speakers

Ido Amit is Professor at the Weizmann Institute of Science and leads a systems immunology programme that develops and applies single cell and spatial genomic technologies. He and his team map immune cell types, states and regulatory circuits across development, cancer, autoimmunity and neurodegeneration and work to translate discoveries into new immunotherapies.
The laboratory integrates advanced computation with experimental methods and collaborates widely with clinicians and technologists. Its tools reveal targets and pathways that inform therapeutic concepts and connect atlas building with intervention. Amit’s group continues to push single cell and data driven approaches that reshape how researchers analyse and manipulate immune function.

Petra C. Arck is Professor of Feto Maternal Medicine at the University Medical Center Hamburg Eppendorf and leads a research programme on immunity in pregnancy. She and her team examine endocrine and immune interactions at the maternal fetal interface and study how these interactions support healthy gestation and offspring outcomes.
The laboratory combines experimental models with large human cohorts to map immune adaptation, define risk patterns and propose translational approaches for assessment and intervention. Arck builds interdisciplinary collaborations across obstetrics, immunology and epidemiology so that mechanistic insight aligns with clinical relevance. Her contributions advance understanding of immune modulation in pregnancy and promote integrated analyses that link molecular signatures with maternal and neonatal health.

Simone Becattini is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology and Immunology at the University of Geneva. His research explores how immune responses to the intestinal microbiota and bacterial pathogens are generated, and how these microbes, in turn, interact with and adapt to the host immune system.
His laboratory combines immunological and microbiological models with state-of-the-art sequencing and functional approaches to dissect this complex host–microbe dialogue. Becattini established his research group in Geneva with the support of an SNSF Eccellenza Professorial Fellowship.

Hyun-Dong Chang is Full Professor and Chair of Cytometry at Technische Universität Berlin and leads the Schwiete Laboratory for Microbiota and Inflammation at the German Rheumatism Research Center in Berlin. He and his team study how the intestinal microbiota interacts with host immunity in chronic inflammatory disease and how cytometry can profile microbial communities and host responses at high resolution.
The laboratory develops and applies microbiota cytometry to fingerprint disease associated communities, to monitor changes under therapy and to link microbial states with clinical phenotypes. Chang previously served as scientific head of the Flow Cytometry and Cell Sorting Core Facility at the same center and helped advance community standards in cytometry. His current work emphasises host microbiota dialogue and aims to provide quantitative tools that support translational rheumatology and the development of new strategies for inflammatory disorders.

Michel Enamorado is Assistant Professor of Dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and heads the Enamorado Laboratory. He investigates neuroimmune mechanisms at barrier tissues and in chronic inflammatory disease, connecting immune responses, neuronal function and tissue repair.
His group integrates mouse genetics, gnotobiotic systems and analysis of human samples to define how inflammation and commensal interactions shape sensation and healing in skin. Enamorado holds affiliations with the Friedman Brain Institute, the Precision Immunology Institute and the Mark Lebwohl Center for Neuroinflammation and Sensation, reflecting the cross disciplinary scope of his programme. The laboratory builds mechanistic insight into neuroimmune pathways with the goal of informing targeted approaches for inflammatory skin disease and related conditions.

Maike Hansen leads a research group in Biophysical Chemistry at Radboud University in the Netherlands. Her goal is to identify key factors allowing for robust outcomes in noisy environments, such as the cell. In pursuit of this goal, she is using single cell biology, cell-free biochemistry and mathematics to study the fundamental aspects of gene expression. Her team develops predictive models and experimental tools to understand how noise shapes transcriptional programmes in homeostasis and disease contexts, like cancer therapy resistance.

Stefan Jordan leads the research group for Nutritional Microbiology and Immunology at the Heidelberg University Hospital. He his goal is to develop immunomodulatory therapies for prevention or treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases, autoimmune disorders, and cancer. With this aim, he focuses on understanding the anti-inflammatory and anti-aging effects of caloric restriction and the role of the microbiome and immune system in that process.

Ana Victoria Lechuga Vieco is Junior Group Leader at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine in Barcelona and directs the Mitochondrial Biology and Tissue Regeneration Lab. She investigates how mitochondrial genetics and quality control shape tissue homeostasis, ageing and repair across model systems and human samples.
Her group applies single cell and multi omic approaches to map mitochondrial states, immune interactions and bioenergetic resilience during stress. Lechuga Vieco is building collaborations that link mechanistic mitochondrial biology with regenerative strategies in health and disease. Her programme aims to translate fundamental insight into approaches that enhance tissue repair and performance.

Christian Münz is Professor and Co Director of the Institute of Experimental Immunology at the University of Zurich, where he heads Viral Immunobiology. He investigates immune control of oncogenic gamma herpesviruses with emphasis on Epstein Barr virus (EBV) and studies antigen processing including roles for macroautophagy. Münz trained in Germany and the United States and moved to Zurich to develop translational models that connect viral infection with human immune responses. Recognition of his contributions includes the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Investigators in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease Award and the Sobek Award for work linking EBV with multiple sclerosis.
His laboratory uses humanised mouse systems and cellular immunology to define mechanisms of antiviral control and to identify targets for intervention.

Professor Sabine Tejpar, MD, PhD, is a clinician–scientist based at KU Leuven and University Hospitals Leuven (UZ Leuven) who combines subspecialty clinical practice in gastroenterology and digestive oncology with an active translational research program.
Her laboratory focuses on the molecular biology and molecular genetics of colorectal cancer with the explicit aim of translating biological insights into better biomarkers and therapies for patients. Major themes in her work include molecular subgrouping of colorectal tumors (including work on consensus molecular subtypes), predictive and prognostic biomarker development (for example RAS/EGFR pathway markers and tumor-sidedness), preclinical model development (including patient-derived organoids), and single-cell/transcriptomic profiling to resolve intratumor heterogeneity.

Joris van der Veeken leads the T cell Differentiation and Function Group at the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology in Vienna. He investigates gene regulatory circuits that control T cell activation, specialisation and tolerance in infection, cancer and autoimmunity.
His laboratory combines genetics, genomics and cellular immunology to link transcriptional control with immune cell states and dysfunction. Van der Veeken earned a PhD at Cornell University and completed postdoctoral research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center before establishing his group in 2021. He now develops mechanistic frameworks that reveal regulatory nodes in adaptive immunity and works with collaborators to connect basic discovery with disease relevant models.