8th CEND Annual Symposium

Emerging and neglected diseases are a group of debilitating and often deadly infections. As a group, these diseases are poorly understood and generally lack effective tools for prevention, control, and treatment. CEND Annual Symposium aims to strengthen connections between San Francisco Bay Area scientists working on infectious diseases of global health importance and the broader global health research, product development, and advocacy communities. The symposium features a dynamic list of invited speakers from around the world, including scientists from developing countries. Each January the event attracts over 400 registrants. Participants include academic researchers from UC Berkeley, UCSF, Stanford, UC Davis as well as representatives from local biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies and global health nonprofits.

8th Annual CEND and Inaugural Immunotherapeutics and Vaccine Research Initiative (IVRI) Symposium

The 8th Annual CEND Symposium took place on Friday March 25, 2016.

"Harnessing the Immune System to Fight Cancer and Infectious Diseases”
Friday March 25th, 2016 — 9:00 am to 5:00 pm (reception and poster session to follow)
UC Berkeley, Li Ka Shing Center Auditorium, Room 245

This year, CEND is joining with UC Berkeley's storied Cancer Research Laboratory (CRL) to bring you leading figures in immunology and vaccinology at the forefront of developing immune based science to tackle the twin scourges of cancer and infectious diseases.

Symposium Agenda

9:00 AM Breakfast & Coffee

9:30 AM Welcome & Opening Remarks

9:40 AM "Immune Checkpoint Blockade in Cancer Therapy: New Insights, Opportunities, and Prospects for a Cure", James P. Allison, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

10:30 AM “T-Cell Memory and Exhaustion”, Rafi Ahmed, Emory University

11:20 AM “Insights from Listeria monocytogenes for the Development of Effective Cancer Immunotherapy Strategies”, Tom Dubensky, Aduro Biotech

12:10 PM Lunch

1:10 PM “Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Vectors: Exceptional Efficacy from Unconventional Cellular Immune Responses", Louis J. Picker, Oregon Health and Sciences University

2:00 PM “Modulation of Innate Immunity in Cancer”, Nina Bhardwaj, Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai Hospital

2:50 PM Coffee break

3:20 PM “The Mechanistic Basis of Cancer Immunotherapy”, Ira Mellman, Genentech

4:10 PM Panel Discussion: Moonshot 2020 - Prospects for Immunotherapies as Cures for Cancers and Infectious Diseases

5:00 PM Poster Session & Reception

This year's symposium featured a poster session to complement the exciting line-up of plenary speakers. Posters were invited in topics relevant to the topic of the symposium including basic or translational science in infectious diseases, immunology, or immuno-oncology. Poster titles and abstracts may be viewed here.

Parking & Directions

Getting to UC Berkeley: Public transit | Driving

Downtown Bekeley BART: Li Ka Shing Center is 5-10 minute walk from Downtown Berkeley BART.

Public Parking garages:

View UC Berkeley Vistor Parking Map in a larger map

Street parking: Metered and two-hour street parking are available around campus, but it can be hard to find a spot. More information.

The 7th Annual CEND Symposium took place on January 9, 2015.

Vaccines and Therapeutics for Emerging and Neglected Infectious Diseases: From Science to Solutions

For a story about the 7th Annual Symposium, please follow this link.

Videos of the 2014 and 2015 CEND Symposium Events