Harvard Retreat 2019

In keeping with tradition three i-Target doctoral students Steffen Dickopf, Arman Öner (AG Kobold/Endres) and Lisa Pfeuffer (AG Ruland) were invited to attend the annual Immunology Retreat of Harvard University. This year the retreat took place in North Falmouth, Massachusetts, USA, between October 25 and 27, 2019. The retreat is an event in which scientists, physicians and students working in the field of Immunology come together, present their latest findings and exchange ideas.

Each year our i-Target doctoral students are given the unique opportunity to participate in the Immunology Retreat of Harvard University. The retreat is an annual event designed to bring students and scientists from collaborating universities together in a casual setting. The aim of the retreat is to encourage exchange of ideas, inspire new joint efforts between partners and strengthen the transatlantic bond between universities.

This year the program included scientific talks held by prominent immunologists, poster presentations done by doctoral students and unstructured time to allow students to exchange ideas about the current landscape of immunology and immunotherapy.

The program started with a general session themed around cancer immunotherapy. After moderators opened the floor for talks, Harvard Immunology Program Director Dr. Shiv Pillai took the stage. Dr. Pillai extended a warm welcome to all the participants in his opening remarks, which was followed shortly after by Prof. Stefan Endres who gave an overview of the most recent work done in the Division of Clinical Pharmacology at the LMU Munich. A principal investigator of the division, Dr. Lars König, was also among the speakers. This general session was followed by poster presentations of the doctoral students.

In the poster session students got the chance to present their work and polish their communication skills. In return they received valuable feedback on their projects from top immunologists and their peers. After some refreshments the students participated in social activities and had the chance to get to know their peers better.