2026 Special Interest Group Satellites

Check back to learn about the session options and program details coming soon.  New this year, 6 Sessions will be presented on Monday, September 14th, 2026 in conjunction with SLB 2026. Main conference registration is required to join the SIG day and a single additional $60 fee applies to participate in the sessions on September 14th which includes the morning, afternoon and late afternoon sessions of your choice, and lunch. Morning coffee and an afternoon coffee break will also be provided.

SIG 1: Immune Exhaustion, from Innate to Adaptive Immunity, and Rejuvenation (8:30am-11:30am)
Chair: Liwu Li

• Targeting Chronic Inflammation and Immune Cell Exhaustion to Reduce Risk for Age-related Neurodegenerative Diseases, Malu Tansey, Indiana University School of Medicine
• Monocyte Exhaustion, Propagation and Rejuvenation Therapeutics, Liwu Li, Virginia Tech
• Immuno-exhaustion in the Lung Tumor Microenvironment, Haitao Wen, Ohio State University
• Title TBA, Skip Garcia, Scripps Institute
• It’s All About Proteostasis: The Hidden Logic of T-Cell Exhaustion, Zihai Li, The Ohio State University

SIG 2: Naturally Occurring Veterinary Diseases as Models for Human Diseases (8:30am-11:30am)
Chair: Rosemary Bayless
Sponsored by Veterinary and Comparative Clinical Immunology Society (VCCIS)

• Between Mice and (Wo)men: Leveraging Spontaneous Animal Diseases to Benefit Human and Veterinary Patients, Rosemary Bayless, North Carolina State University, College of Veterinary Medicine
• Barn Dust to Breathlessness: Macrophages as the Nexus of Equine Asthma, Janet Beeler-Marfisi, University of Guelph, Ontario Veterinary College
• What Baby Farm Animals Bring to the (S)Table: Translational Insights into mTB, RSV and Beyond, Londa Berghaus, University of Georgia, College of Veterinary Medicine
• Beyond Hemostasis: Platelets, Neutrophils, and the Immunothrombotic Axis in Dogs and Cats, Ronald Li, North Carolina State University, College of Veterinary Medicine
• Dendritic Cell Modulation: The Foundation for Next-Generation Therapeutic Cancer Vaccines in Comparative Oncology, Matthew Berry, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, College of Veterinary Medicine

SIG 3: Where and When: Spatiotemporal Determinants of Neutrophil Function (12:30-3:30pm)
Room: Ballroom A
Chair: Ronen Sumagin

• Spatially Defined Neutrophil Programs Shape Intestinal Inflammatory Outcomes, Ronen Sumagin, Northwestern University
• Neutrophil Reprogramming and Bacterial Tolerance in Mucoobstructive Lung Disease, Rabindra Tirouvanziam, Emory University
• Temporal Labeling Reveals Prolonged Neutrophil Survival and Distinct Migration Patterns Following Cerebral I/R Injury,Dave Sullivan, Northwestern University
• The Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase CD45 promotes Neutrophil Transepithelial Migration, Antimicrobial Function and Colonic Mucosal Repair,Jennifer Brazil, University of Michigan
• Novel Mechanisms Regulating Neutrophil Recruitment and Heterogeneity in Sterile Inflammation, Jaehyung (Gus) Cho,WasU Medicine

SIG 4: Beyond the Tumor Paradigm: The Expanding Biology of Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells(12:30-3:30pm)
Room: Ballroom C
Co-Chairs: Jordan Brauner and Katherine Bline

• Metabolic Remodeling of Granulocytic Myeloid-derived Suppressor Cells (G-MDSCs) During Staphylococcus aureus Biofilm Infection, Tammy Kielian, University of Nebraska Medical Center
• Resolution of Post-Lung Transplant Injury by MDSCs via MerTK-dependent Efferocytosis, Ashish Sharma, University of Florida College of Medicine
• At the Crossroads with MDSCs: Identifying Senescent Myeloid Cells that Exacerbate Tuberculosis Pathology, Somanth Shee, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University
• Myeloid Cell Control of the Immunopathogenesis of Malaria, Tracey Lamb, University of Utah 
• The Double-Edged Nature of Myeloid Suppression in Persistent Coinfection, Ankita Garg, University of Georgia College College of Veterinary Medicine 
• Beyond Supportive Care: Targeting Myeloid-derived Suppressor Cells in Pediatric Critical Illness, Katherine Bline, Nationwide Children's

SIG 5: Metabolic Control of Leukocyte Biology in the Tumor Microenvironment (3:45-6:45pm)
Room: Ballroom A
Chair: Hind Rafei

• Tumor-infiltrating Microbes and Their Impact on the Tumor Microenvironment, Christopher Johnston, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
• Macrophage Metabolic Barriers: Gatekeepers of Tumor Immune Evasion, Stanley Huang, The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center
• Stromal and Fibroblast Metabolism as a Checkpoint for Anti-Tumor Immunity, Ranjan Upadhyay, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
• GARP-mediated TGFβ Activation Shapes Immunosuppression in the Tumor Microenvironment, Maria Velegraki, The Ohio State University Medical Center
• Title TBA, Yingshi Chen, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP)/University of Pennsylvania

SIG 6: Neuroinflammation Meets Metabolic Disease, T cell Circuits across Brain and Liver (3:45-6:45pm)
Room: Ballroom C
Chair: Smita Iyer

• T cells in MASLD-associated Neuroinflammation, Smita Iyer, University of Pittsburgh
• The Role of CD8+ T Cells in High-fat Diet-induced Memory Deficits in Aged Rats, Ruth Barrientos, The Ohio State University
• Sustained Neuroinflammation and Neurological Deficit after Mild TBI, Dandan Sun, University of Pittsburgh
• Title TBA, Alexis Stranahan, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University
• Brain Endothelial Cell Metabolism in Neuroinflammation: Insights from Sepsis and Ischemic Stroke, Candice Brown, Indiana University School of Medicine