Charles J Malemud received the PhD from George Washington University in 1973 and completed postdoctoral studies at the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1977. He is Professor of Medicine & Anatomy in the Division of Rheumatic Diseases and Senior Investigator in the Arthritis Research Laboratory at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. He has published more than 200 papers and reviews primarily in the field of chondrocyte biology. He is on the editorial board of several rheumatology, immunology and musculoskeletal journals and is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Clinical and Cellular Immunology.

Biology of the Musculoskeletal System Intracellular Signal Transduction Pathways Inflammation Pro-inflammatory, Anti-Inflammatory & Anabolic Cytokines Apoptosis Matrix metalloproteinases Osteoarthritis Rheumatoid Arthritis Fibromyalgia Autoimmune Disorders Research Interest

Ahmed Hegazi (or Ahmed Gaffer Hegazi; احمد جعفر حجازى) (born May 31, 1948) is currently a Professor of Microbiology and Immunology in the department of Zoonotic Diseases, National Research Center, Egypt. Prof. Hegazi received his masters degree in 1979, and his PhD in 1981. Hegazi's research work has been focused lately on bee products and their therapeutic effects. Hegazi Organized and contributed to national and international research projects since 1977 and up till now; he has been the principal investigator on multiple research projects within the National Research Center. He has published 166 scientific papers and articles in national and international journals. He also served on the board of multiple national and international scientific journals. Dr. Hegazi is also the president of the Egyptian Environmental Society for Uses and Production of Bee Products, secretary of the Egyptian Society of Apitherapy, secretary general of the African Federation of Apiculture Associations, and a member of the International Apitherapy Commission (APIMONDIA). Awards First Class Decoration of Excellence, Egypt, 1995 The Senior Scientist Prize of National Research Center, Cairo, Egypt, 1996 The National Scientific Prize In Biological Sciences, Egypt, 1990 The Scientific Prize of The National Research Center, Cairo, Egypt, 1989 The Second Best Research Paper Award, International Congress of Propolis, Bones Airs, Argentina, 2000 Main Speaker Award,10th Academic Conference, PRA and NAS (Nippon Apitherapy Soc.) Japan, 2006 2 Bronze medals from The International Innovation Fair of the Middle East, Kuwait, 2007 Patents Patent No. 8901 at 22/08/2006: A novel drug from natural products with new therapeutic modalities in treatment of psoriasis Patent No. 1005 at 02/01/2006: A novel drug from natural resources for controlling Fascioliasis Patent No. 270: at 01/06/2005: A novel drug from medicinal plants with antiatherosclerotic (hypocholesterolaemic), antioxidant and cardio protective properties. Patent No. 272: at 01/06/2005: A novel drug from natural resources with antiatherosclerotic (hypocholesterolaemic), antioxidant and cardio protective properties. Scientific Activities Editor in the following International Journals: Research Journal of Allergy, 2007 International Journal of Virology, 2007 Current Research In Tuberculosis, 2007 Research Journal of Veterinary Science, 2007 Research Journal of Microbiology, 2007 International Journal of Cancer Research, 2007 Research Journal of Medicinal plants, 2007 Referee in the following International Journals: Journal of Planta Medica, 2005 Journal of Evidence Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2006 International Journal of Radiation Biology, 2007

Apitherapy, Immunology

I am Oliver, Associate Professor in Unit for Laboratory Animal Medicine (ULAM) and Department of Microbiology and Immunology. I am also an affiliated member of the Center for Computational Medicine and Biology (CCMB) and a member of the (Comprehensive Cancer Center) in the University of Michigan (UM) Medical School. Our laboratory research is focused on host-Brucella interaction and bioinformatics. I had my D.V.M. education at Jiangxi Agricultural University and my M.S. degree (Co-advisors: Professors Zhongzhi Zhang and Hanchun Yang) in Infectious Diseases and Veterinary Preventive Medicine at China Agricultural University in China. I obtained my professional assistant veterinarian license during my two-year employment at Beijing Xijiao Livestock and Poultry Company, Beijing, China. My training in Brucella research started in 1996 in Dr. Gerhardt Schurig’s immunology laboratory at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech). I obtained my Ph.D. in Dr. Schurig's lab in 2000. I then worked in the same lab as a postdoc for half a year. I obtained my M.S. degree (research advisor: Dr. Pedro Mendes) in computer science in Virginia Tech with a focus on bioinformatics in May 2002. After graduation I worked as a senior research associate for three years in Dr. Bruno Sobral’s group at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI). I joined UM in July 2005 as an assistant professor and became an associate professor in September 2011 (with tenure).

Yongqun Oliver research interest are Brucella pathogenesis, vaccine research and development and Bioinformatics.

Yehuda Shoenfeld works at Sheba Medical Center in Tel HaShomer and the Sackler Faculty of Medicine at Tel-Aviv University. He is the incumbent of the Laura Schwarz-Kipp Chair for Research of Autoimmune Diseases. Shoefeld is the editor of two journals, Harefuah (Medicine) in Hebrew with English abstracts and Israel Medical Association Journal (IMAJ). He is editor-in-chief of Autoimmunity Reviews,[1] and co-editor of the Journal of Autoimmunity.[2] Head Zabludowicz Center for Autoimmune Diseases Incumbent of the Laura Schwarz-Kipp Chair for Research of Autoimmune Diseases Editor, Israel Medical Association Journal (IMAJ) Editor-in-chief of Autoimmunity Reviews Co-editor of the Journal of Autoimmunity Tel-Aviv University

Autoimmune Diseases, Immunomodulation Tel: (972)-3-5308070 Fax: (972)-3-5352855

Michael G. Hanna, Jr. received his PhD in experimental pathology and immunology from the University of Tennessee in 1964. He was on staff of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, biology division from 1964-75. During this period he pioneered the early concepts of tumor immunology. He also served as a consultant with NASA for the lunar receiving laboratory during Apollo 11 and 12, for which his expertise in immunology was used in the testing of the lunar core powder for immunogenic or pathogenic materials. Dr. Hanna served during1975–83 as Director of the National Cancer Institute, Frederick Cancer Research Center (MD, USA). In this position he created a center of research excellence for the NCI and established the Biological Response Modifier Program which led in the development of resources for immunotherapy of cancer. He was Chief Operating Officer during 1984–94 of Organon Teknika/Biotechnology Research Institute and Senior Vice President of Organon Teknika Corporation, a subsidiary of Akzo Nobel, The Netherlands. He developed and obtained approvals for TICE BCG for the treatment of carcinoma in situ (CIS) bladder cancer, which remains the standard of care for prophylaxis of recurrence of superficial bladder cancer and therapy of CIS. Subsequently, Dr. Hanna founded PerImmune Inc., for which he served as President and Chief Executive Officer before it merged with Intracel Corp. in1998. He continued to work for Intracel Resources as Chief Scientific Officer and Chairman. In 2007, Dr. Hanna founded Vaccinogen Inc., where he served as Chairman and CEO. Currently, Dr. Hanna is Chairman Emeritus. The company is a pioneer in the field of cancer vaccines and is developing OncoVAX, an autologous vaccine designed to elicit a specific immune response against cancer cells. The Phase III vaccine is being investigated for treatment mainly of colon cancer, but also for melanoma and renal cell carcinoma. In addition to cancer therapy research and development, Dr. Hanna has been involved in Homeland Security. He served as Chairman of the Department of Commerce Biotechnology Advisory Committee (1984–9) and also participated in the Department of Defense Technical Working Group for Biotechnology (1988–9). PerImmune completed a Department of Defense contract to manufacture the current effective therapeutic for Botulinum toxin, an equine heptavalent anti-toxin. Dr Hanna’s research resulted in over 225 publications in international peer-reviewed journals and book chapters, and he holds 10 patents related to immunotherapy. Dr Hanna has been the recipient of numerous honors and awards and has serves on many editorial boards.

Immunology, Vaccines

James Mansfield is a scientist with over 25 years of experience in spectral imaging,in-vivo spectroscopy and applied data analysis, directed towards finding of novel optical methods for the diagnosis and monitoring of medical conditions. He is currently the Director of Quantitative Pathology Applications at PerkinElmer where he is the senior application scientist for their multispectral and digital pathology product lines. He is an associate editor of the American Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, holds 6 patents, has over 50 publications and has served as an invited speaker, session chair and organizer at a variety of international conferences.

Immunology

Yong Li, is an Associate Professor within the Department of Pediatric Surgery at the University of Texas, School of Medicine at Houston. He also is appointed as an Associate Professor in the Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine at The Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases (IMM) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Dr. Li completed his MD and PhD training in China and was a general surgeon before he went to London in 1997. His first research position as a postdoctoral fellow was at the Imperial College School of Medicine in the UK (1997-1999), and later as a postdoctoral research associate at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC (1999-2002). He was promoted to a research assistant professor in 2002, assistant professor in 2004 (within tenure track system in 2006), and lead his research team to successful approaches in the field of stem cell and anti-fibrosis in regenerative medicine. These projects also include the enlargement and application of adult stem cells (muscle and skin) to repair traumatic injury (muscle, tendon, spinal cord and brain) and congenital diseases (DMD). They also began to study some projects such as the dedifferentiation process within skeletal muscle, cartilage and neuronal system of mammals and related aging research. As of 2011, Dr. Li has published over 66 refereed journal articles and review papers and five book chapters. He also serves as an associate editor or on the editorial board of five journals, and over five scientific communities including some grant reviewing boards. Dr. Li has won over twenty international awards for his scientific advances, including most recently, the Michael Miller Young Investigator Award at Children’s Hospital of UPMC. He is also a very successful grant-funded faculty member with grants from the National Institute of Health (NIH) and Department of Defense (DOD). He also is a great mentor and supervisor of students, medical residents and research fellows; several of his students and follows have won numerous national and international awards and scholarships including one student who won the 2011 National Goldwater Scholarship. Dr. Li is recognized as a leader in two scientific fields which include dedifferentiation related stem cell studies and fibrosis studies in tissue biomedical engineering. Within the newly established program in Children’s Regeneration Medicine at UTHealth, Dr. Li and his team has continual interest in investigating the fields of stem cells, fibrosis prevention and tissue engineering by using ground-breaking molecular and cellular biology techniques. Beside basic biomedical studies, Dr. Li will also conduct departmental projects in translational studies and clinical applications for utilizing stem cells and bioengineered tissues to repair congenital diseases of children such as diaphragmatic hernia and Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

Children’s Regenerative Medicine The project will use various cell sources combined with bioengineering scaffolds to build functional tissues for repair of pediatric defects, such as children’s diaphragmatic hernia Dedifferentiation and Stem Cell Populations The project aims to enlarge the stem cell pool without genetic modification as a cell source for regenerative medicine. Adult Embryonic Potential Stem Cells and Application Obtain natural embryonic potential stem cells from adult tissue for utilization in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Fibrosis and Prevention Studies Investigate the mechanism behind the fibrosis process after injuries and diseases, and seek methods for prevention of fibrous scar tissue formation

Jianfei Yang is a Principal Scientist and a project leader for a Th17 cell target at Tempero Pharmaceuticals, a GSK company, in Cambridge, MA, USA. He received a PhD in Pathology from Niigata University in Japan in 1997. He then obtained postdoctoral training in Dr. Ken Murphy’s lab at HHMI and Washington University. In the past 15 year, he has been studying the role of CD4+ T helper cells in immunity and diseases. He has more than 10 years of experience in autoimmune disease research and pharmaceutical drug development. He has published numerous papers and patents.

Immunology

Anil Shanker is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Cancer Biology at Meharry Medical College. He is also a member of Vanderbilt-Ingram Comprehensive Cancer Center at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Shanker obtained his PhD from Banaras Hindu University in 1999. He performed his postdoctoral studies at the CNRS/INSERM Center of Immunology, Marseille, France and the National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland. His pioneering work with solid tumor models demonstrated that activated CD8 T cells provided a necessary “help” to dormant NK cells in eliciting their antitumor function. His laboratory is currently focused on understanding mechanisms of functional cross-talk between T cells and NK cells in tumor models. He is also dissecting the mechanisms of immunomodulation by the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib and Notch ligand DLL1 in adoptive T cell/NK cell transfer settings in an effort to design novel combinatorial immune strategies in cancer patients. He has over 30 research publications to his credit in cancer and immunology journals.

Tumor immunity and immunotherapy, T cell and NK cell biology, immune effector mechanisms, apoptosis signaling, thymic hormones, regulation of the innate and adaptive bidirectional cooperativity

Kaihong Su obtained her doctorate degree and post-doctoral training from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). After being a faculty member at UAB for 5 years, she joined the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 2008 to continue her research. The long-term goal of her lab is to understand the molecular mechanisms for autoimmune diseases, including SLE and RA. She has published 26 papers in reputed journals and served as ad-hoc reviewer for a number of scientific journals.Biography

Immunology autoimmune diseases autoantibodies and neutrophils Research Interest

John C. Cambier is Distinguished Professor and Chairman of Integrated Department of Immunology at University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine and National Jewish Health. He received his BS in 1970 from Southwest Missouri State University and MS in Virology in 1972 and PhD in 1975 from University of Iowa. He received National Research Service Award (NIH) in 1975 and Research Career Development Award (NIH) in 1982. In 2002, he received Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award (NJMRC).

Immunology
Tolerance and autoimmunity
Immune responses

Jin Wang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology & Immunology at University of Southern California, USA. He has published many scientific papers.

Molecular regulation of immune responses by apoptosis and autophagy Apoptosis pathways in lymphocytes

Upon completion of a MD degree at Beijing Medical University and a PhD degree in Pathology at the University of Wisconsin Madison. 1998 Dr. Yin pursued her clinical residency training in Anatomic Pathology and Clinical Pathology followed by two fellowships in Hematopathology and Molecular Genetic Pathology respectively at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center MDACC. She is board certified by the American Board of Pathology in Anatomic Pathology Clinical Pathology Hematology and Molecular Genetic Pathology Dr. Yin is currently an assistant professor at the Department of Hematopathology at MDACC and an assistant professor at Graduate School of Biomedical Science at the University of TexasHouston. In addition to clinical service and fellowship and postdoc education Dr. Yin has been actively participating multiple research projects in leukemia and lymphoma which has led to over 50 research papers editorial reviews and book chapters. She is serving as reviewers for over 10 journals.

Mechanisms of imatinib resistance in patients with chronic myelogenous leukemiaMolecular monitoring of responses to kinase inhibitors in chronic myelogenous leukemiaClinical, morphologic and molecular genetic features of acute myeloid leukemia Immunoglobulin gene rearrangement in acute myeloid leukemiaClinical, morphologic and molecular genetic features of a variety of lymphomasMolecular markers as a tool in the diagnosis, targeted therapy and prognosis in cancer.

Nurieva Roza Insafetdinovna is an assistant professor in the Department of Immunology at MD Anderson Cancer Center, USA. She has more than 30 publications.

Immunology