WELCOME
It is my great pleasure to invite you to the 3rd International Neonatal & Maternal Immunization Symposium (INMIS). This symposium ‘Global Strategies for Global Impact’ will be held in The Gambia, West Africa on the 4th till 6th of November 2015, supportedby the Medical Research Council (MRC) Unit (UK), The Gambia.
This meeting was initially scheduled for March 2015, but we postponed it due to the Ebola crisis in West Africa. We are pleased to say that we have not seen a single case of Ebola ever in The Gambia, and that the regional situation is now so much improved that we feel confident to now invite you all back to our coast.
Following the great success of our first two symposia in Turkey in 2010 and 2013, we are looking forward to the first INMIS symposium to be hosted in Africa. This exciting location will put the opportunities and challenges of neonatal and maternal immunisation into a global context. Neonatal and early infant morbidity and mortality remain the highest in sub-Saharan Africa and other resource limited settings, and this is where novel preventative strategies are likely to have the greatest potential to benefit pregnant women and their infants.
Over the last few years, a number of clinical trials have enrolled mothers and infants into vaccine studies, including in Africa. This next INMIS will allow us to assess the lessons learned from these and other ongoing international trials, to discuss current scientific progress in maternal and neonatal immunology, infections and immunizations, in the broader context of infectious disease epidemiology and public health.
The symposium will provide an update on key areas in maternal and neonatal immunisation including the development and utilization of vaccines for pathogens that affect maternal and child health, such as pertussis, influenza, group B streptococcus, respiratory syncytial virus, meningococcus and pneumococcus. The symposium will cover the latest progress in our understanding of the basic science of maternal, neonatal and vaccine immunology with a focus on human studies. This will include the effect of maternal immunity on infant vaccine responses and the role of breast milk and the microbiome in early immunity. With a focus on practical aspects of research and implementation, we will discuss opportunities and potential barriers for pregnancy and neonatal immunization.
Interactive panel discussions will feature throughout the 2 days and will involve leaders from international funding agencies, including the BMGF, who is supporting the symposium, and representatives from WHO, vaccine industry and researchers.
Attended by many international leaders in the field, the symposium promises once again to provide a comprehensive scientific and practical update for all those with an interest in maternal and neonatal infection, immunity and vaccination. The African setting will provide a lively forum in which to discuss the ‘hot topics’ in this exciting and evolving field.
A call for abstracts will open in the next 4 weeks.
We look forward to seeing you in The Gambia in 2015!
On behalf of the organisers,
Sincerely
Professor Beate Kampmann