Otto Balsiger

It’s British Science Week! 🔬

The 2026 theme is “Curiosity: what’s your question?”

At the BSI we’re celebrating by sharing activities and resources exploring the immune system, from vaccines to allergies, to spark and explore that curiosity.

🔗 vist.ly/4u8kq

#BSW26

Studying how environment shapes immunity? 🌿🧬 The Ecoimmunology Special Collection is open for submissions, spanning wild systems, naturalised lab models, holistic human studies, and computational advances.

Learn more: https://academic.oup.com/discovimmunology/pages/calls-for-papers

Do read this great new paper from @discovimmunol.bsky.social

🔬 New open‑access research shows how T‑cell signals (CD40L & IL‑4) can reduce NK‑cell ADCC against malignant B cells, revealing a resistance mechanism to anti‑CD20 therapy. Combining anti‑CD20 + anti‑NKG2A may overcome it.

Read: vist.ly/4tzga

🔬 Open‑access study investigates how neutrophils contribute to multiple sclerosis.

Using proteomics, it reveals altered granule proteins, shifts in pro‑inflammatory signalling, reduced T‑cell suppression, and enhanced Th17 differentiation in MS.

Read: vist.ly/4tuwr

Looking forward to this

Develop your skills in single cell and spatial omics, now essential in the world of immunology!

Join us in April 2026 for a 5-week online course, rated 9.5/10 by participants.

Exclusive discount is available to BSI members 👀 Secure your spot today: bit.ly/4rNRGEb

It’s so important to highlight the importance of vaccines

🔬 New open‑access review explores tumour‑associated macrophages (TAMs): their role in tumour progression, metastasis, therapy resistance, and the ongoing challenge of identifying reliable TAM surface markers for immunotherapy development.

🔗 https://bit.ly/4i95qnm

Last chance to submit your abstract for #OIS26 ⏰

The deadline is 23:59 GMT this Sunday 1 March. Selected abstracts will be chosen for short talks at the Oxford Immunology Showcase on 1 April 2026.

Do not miss your chance to present your research. 🔗 bit.ly/4qUY8bD

Pneumovax 23 (PPV23) is being discontinued from routine use in the UK.

Read our consensus statement on implications for immunodeficiency diagnosis and immunoglobulin access to help avoid unnecessary diagnostic delay or inequity of access to care.

bit.ly/4aOAt6f

Got immune metabolism research to share?

Submit an abstract for our UK immunometabolism meeting 2026 taking place 16-17 April 2026. The deadline is next Thursday, 5 March, so don't miss out! #UKimmunomet26

Submit and register here: https://bit.ly/493uE45

🚨 Call for Papers! “CD40 turns 40: Four Decades of ‘Forty’-fying Immunotherapy.”

We invite submissions on CD40/CD154 biology & therapeutic innovation across cancer, autoimmunity, transplantation & allergy.

📝 Deadline: March 2026
📩 More info: journals@immunology.org

🗓️ One month to go!

Vaccine Engagement Day 2026 is on 25 March. Our campaign resources are now live, so get ready to #CelebrateVaccines and highlight the vital role immunisation plays in protecting individuals & communities.

🔗 Learn more here: https://bit.ly/3MI35X0

Looking to build vital skills for your future? Additional training or workshops could give you an important edge!

Our Career Enhancing Grant supports training like this. Applications close 25 March.

Explore how we can support you & apply here: https://bit.ly/3QedNDL

🧪 Study shows Staphylococcus aureus exotoxin SEB can bind and activate the immune receptor 2B4, driving allergic inflammation. 2B4‑KO mice showed reduced inflammatory responses, suggesting 2B4 as a potential therapeutic target.

🔗 https://bit.ly/4my2B1e

Final reminder! Apply for the BSI-CIPN Clinical Audit Grant by this coming Monday, 23 February 2026.

Up to £5,000 available, funded by an educational grant from Grifols.

Apply here: https://bit.ly/49ULl3k

🧬 Research shows newborn immunity differs sharply from adults: NK cells and ILCs are functionally mature at birth, while NKT‑like cells are far less abundant and less active. Important context for understanding early‑life infection risk.

🔗 https://bit.ly/3JfJag1

🧬 Spatial profiling of metastatic dMMR colorectal cancer shows why some lesions respond to PD‑1 therapy: responsive sites have strong cytotoxic/IFN‑γ activity, while resistant ones show immunosuppressive macrophage programs.

🔗 https://bit.ly/4qSV3bL

#Immunotherapy #CancerResearch

Immune therapies are transforming medicine, but progress depends on collaboration across academia, industry and the clinic.

Join sector leaders at the BSI Immune Therapies Summit, 18–19 May in Cambridge, to discuss what comes next for immune therapy development.

Register now 👉 bit.ly/4s1nFR9

This is going to be a great event #ImmuneAgeing26

Metabolic dysregulation plays a key role in Behçet’s disease. Elevated glucose & TAG levels drive Th1 differentiation, CD8⁺ T cell activation and B cell antibody production, contributing to immune dysfunction.

Read the study: https://bit.ly/44HA2t9

Want to submit an abstract for the Oxford Immunology Symposium 2026? #OIS26

Not long left! Deadline is on Sunday 1 March. Join colleagues from across Oxford to showcase your research in adaptive and innate immunity!

Submit your abstract & register here: https://bit.ly/4qUY8bD

📢 UK clinical immunology teams! Applications are still open for the BSI-CIPN Clinical Audit Grant, funded by Grifols.

Up to £5,000 per project, funding awarded by March 2026.

Apply by 23 February 2026! https://bit.ly/49ULl3k

📢 Special Collection CD40 turns 40: Four Decades of ‘Forty’-fying Immunotherapy🧬

Exploring 40 years of CD40/CD154 biology, therapeutics, and future directions across cancer, autoimmunity, transplantation & allergy.

Submissions open until March 2026: https://bit.ly/4rMo7lY

CASPASE‑8 supports T cell survival through mechanisms beyond repressing RIPK1‑dependent necroptosis. Conditional deletion studies reveal its essential role in CD8⁺ T cell maintenance and NKT cell development.

Read more: https://bit.ly/4r8Edqc

Otto Balsiger: ‘The four-day working week is a good way to support our teams’ Léa Legraien talks to Otto Balsiger, director of finance, membership and publishing at the British Society for Immunology...

So honoured to have been interviewed for the latest issue of Charity Finance

IFNγ from activated CD4⁺ T cells is a key driver of B‑cell differentiation and autoantibody production in IMQ‑induced lupus mice.

IFNγ deficiency dramatically reduced disease features, a promising immune pathway for future SLE therapies. https://bit.ly/4qs1hyZ

New in Immunotherapy Advances: CD137 aptamer–shRNA chimeras show promise for targeting intratumoral Tregs. This approach downregulates key genes like EzH2 & Nrp1 in CD137⁺ Tregs and malignant cells, offering a potential new route for tumour immunotherapy.

🔗 https://bit.ly/4ad5S3o

Highlighting this article that explores an alternative way of assessing mTOR inhibition therapy following kidney transplantation.

Read the article here: https://bit.ly/4kyQn9w