Former travel grant recipient Dr. Maialen Sebastian de la Cruz of the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) in Spain is an editor of the Signals+ newsletter. She interviewed the 2024 winners to capture their impressions while still fresh.
The 12th Annual Meeting of the International Cytokines and Interferon Society (ICIS) was held this year jointly with the Korean Association of Immunologists (KAI) International Meeting from the 20th to the 23rd of October in Seoul, Korea. Unquestionably, Cytokines 2024 was a huge success. This was corroborated by the opinions of the over 40 Travel Award Winners that were able to travel to Korea. Two months have gone already since then, and as we still want to keep our memories fresh, here’s a compilation with some of their comments and experiences.
For most of them, Cytokines 2024 was their first in person meeting. However, some attended other Cytokines meetings in prior years, both in person and virtually. In all cases, was grateful for receiving the Travel Award to attend Cytokines 2024 in Seoul. In addition, when they were asked If they would like to attend another meeting in the future, all of them agreed that they would love to.
“Absolutely! It was one of the best conferences I have ever attended and will definitely look forward to attending again.” – Amir Shamshirian, ICIS-Pfizer Junior Investigator Award winner
“Yes! I am excited to continue attending Cytokine meetings, and look forward to attending next year in Seattle, where I currently live and work.” – Dr Will Grubbe
“Of course. I would like to continue to attend Cytokines meeting to have opportunities for collaborative research.” – Daiya Ohara
Cytokines 2024 and KAI 2024 was held in in the COEX conference complex in the Gangnam area of Seoul, where almost 2000 people from 36 countries met for four days to learn and share their knowledge about cytokines research. Despite being a crowded international conference, it was very well organized, and attendees appreciated it. They also mentioned the kind and friendly environment of the meeting, ideal for networking.
“The venue was spectacular. It was one of the most beautiful convention centers I have ever seen. The meeting was very well organized, and everyone was very friendly which made it a great space to network.” – Víctor Vázquez
“The meeting was extremely well-organized, and I really appreciated the welcoming atmosphere. It was great to meet so many talented researchers and have the opportunity to engage in meaningful discussions. Furthermore, the meeting was a fantastic opportunity to reconnect with existing collaborators and expand my professional network. I’m hopeful that it will lead to a few new collaborations in the future.” – Dr Ina Rudloff
“What I liked most about the meeting was connecting with peers from different parts of the world. Particularly interacting with other PhD students and learning about their experiences and future career plans. The talks were super inspiring, and the organization and execution were excellent. It is, without a doubt, the best meeting I have ever attended.” –Eugenio Contreras Castillo,ICIS-Pfizer Junior Investigator Award winner
“Apart from the excellent talks and fun networking opportunities, it was also the most well-organized conference I have ever attended!” – Anjali Yennemadi
“What did I like most about the meeting? The well-organized committees and the joyful discussions.” – Dr Jongho Ham
“The diversity and range of talks was great. The event was also very well organized. In addition, I met several people and had good informal interactions with them. These are extremely valuable overall from my perspective!” – Dr Jishnu Das
“I loved the fact that I had some opportunities to get advice about my career from many young PIs.” – Daiya Ohara
In this sense, the Early Career Researcher (ECR) Networking event and the Gala dinner were a success another year in a row.
“I really enjoyed the networking events. As I was the only one in my lab attending, this event allowed me to connect with other students and scientists. It was easy to break the ice and talk. By the end of my networking table, we had all become pretty good friends and hung out together for the rest of the meeting.” – Eugenio Contreras Castillo
“I really enjoyed the ECR Networking event because we broke into randomly assigned small groups, which made it easier to connect with other people.” – Víctor Vázquez
“I attended the Early Career Researcher event, as well as the Gala, and both were wonderful. It is great to go to these events and meet people in the community who can serve as mentors and friends in my scientific journey.” – Dr Will Grubbe
“I loved the early career researcher event, as it was a fun mixer with so many like-minded people working in the most diverse areas. The chance to try Korean finger food was also unmissable and it was such an excellent spread!” – Anjali Yennemadi
“The Gala dinner was great! I also had many opportunities to connect with researchers during breaks and poster sessions. One of the most memorable moments for me was a fascinating conversation with Dr Drew Weissman, a Nobel Prize winner, about a part of my ongoing project. It was an inspiring discussion that left a lasting impression on me.” –Amir Shamshirian
Regarding the location, Seoul also got favorable outcome among participants.
“It was great that the meeting was at an international location since it presented opportunities to interact with a new group of people as well as explore an exciting city.” – Víctor Vázquez
“Visiting Seoul was a wonderful bonus, making the experience even more memorable.” – Dr Ina Rudloff
“My lab group and I had the best time attending the conference, but also sightseeing around Seoul! In particular, we became really good friends with a fellow-PhD student studying in Seoul and it was fun to see the city with him!” – Anjali Yennemadi
Lastly, the scientific part of the meeting; which included 24 symposia, 9 lightning talks sessions, 6 Industry sessions, 3 poster session with over 600 posters, and 2 keynote speakers; fully satisfied the attendees too, who stated that attending this meeting will definitely be very helpful for their careers.
“It was exciting to see the cytokine community interested in computational systems immunology (the core of my research program)! So, it was very helpful from that perspective.” – Dr Jishnu Das
“It certainly will be very helpful for me. I work only on IFN alpha in autoimmunity, so it was really helpful to see other cytokine-focused research in this area, as well different diseases where IFN alpha was the focus.” – Anjali Yennemadi
“Attending this meeting was incredibly beneficial. It expanded my professional network, provided exposure to innovative research, and allowed me to exchange ideas with leaders in the field.” –Amir Shamshirian
“Attending this meeting helped expand my knowledge in different aspects of Immunology. I made new connections. And personally, it was the very first time that I had the opportunity to give a talk at an international meeting outside my country and in English. It was very empowering and made me gain confidence. I will always be grateful for this opportunity.” –Eugenio Contreras Castillo