This meeting will take place at The Biopark, Hertfordshire, UK and has CPD approval.
The Chair will be Prof. Paul Lehmann, Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, USA

Four clearly distinct, focused sessions are planned.. Session A will cover different applications of ELISPOT that are unique to the technique and should be of general interest because it can be applied to all fields of study in which ELISPOT is used. Session B will be dedicated to ELISPOT standardization, harmonization and validation.  There are three major multicenter programs ongoing and these will provide a briefing on the progress they have made. Sessions C and D are assigned to the ELISPOT reagent and instrument manufacturers to share new developments on their front. Session E is dedicated to questions and answer. Participants will be asked to submit questions before the meeting, and also to ask questions ad hoc – these questions will be discussed.

The Agenda includes:

Session A. Unique applications of ELISPOT will be covered, in particular:

A1. Measuring the frequencies of antigen-specific T cells by ELISPOT
A2. Measuring cytokine signatures of CD4 cells by ELISPOT: Th1, Th2, Thpp, Th17 and more – cognate vs. bystander
A3. Identifying in vivo activated CD8 effector cells via their perforin and granzyme production
A4. Identifying hepless, lethargic T cells via TRAIL ELISPOT assay
A5.  Detecting multifunctional T cells via their cytokine co-expression
A6. Measuring T cell avidity using ELISPOT.
A7. Detecting T cells in extralymphoid tissues including the target organ of autoimmunity. How representative are measurements of T cells in the blood vs. the target organ).
A8. The impact of APC on cytokine production
 
Session B.  Summary of ELISPOT standardization, harmonization and validation efforts.
B1. Cancer Vaccine Consortium
B2: The Newcaps effort
B3:  The Tubingen effort
B4:  ELISPOT assay development, qualification and validation (

Session C.  News on the ELISPOT reagent front – emphasis on multiplexing.
 (C1) CTL- reference PBMC and serum free media
 (C2) Mabtech kits
 (C3) U-CyTech kits
 (C4) Diaclone kits

Session D. News on the ELISPOT reader front – emphasis on multiplexing
 (D1) CTL
 (D2) BioSys
 (D3) AID

 Session E.  Question/answer sessions. Participants will be asked to submit questions before the meeting, and to ask questions ad hoc – this questions will be discussed.

The deadline for Early Registration is 20th July 2009. After this time fees will double.
The deadline for Abstract submissions is 10th July 2009

If you would like to book a place, please visit: www.regonline.co.uk/elispot09