Workshop: North American Comparative Immunology Workshop, Santa Barbara, CA

所有的生物体都需要免疫系统来保护它们免受病毒和其他致病微生物的侵袭。然而，从蠕虫到人类，不同动物的免疫防御系统的比较显示出令人惊讶的多样性。例如，哺乳动物和蛔虫使用一套完全不同的免疫“工具”来实现相同的目标：识别和消除病原体。这次研讨会要解决的中心问题是：“免疫系统如何在不同的生物体中运作，免疫机制的多样性能为我们理解动物的免疫进化提供什么见解？”这次研讨会将聚集研究各种生物(蠕虫、苍蝇、鱼、海胆、被囊类、青蛙和人类)的研究人员，举行一次小型会议，促进不同领域的研究人员之间的思想交流，并促进研究人员之间的新合作。这次会议产生的新见解最终可能提供新的应用视角，例如新的诊断和临床应用。此外，更好地了解不同的免疫系统可以为如何维持饲养的动物的健康提供新的想法，这些动物是为了食物而饲养的，或者是由于环境变化的影响而处于压力之下的。由于农业或其他环境压力造成的过度拥挤通常反映在免疫反应较弱，对疾病的易感性增加。此外，会议将提供一个场所，让年轻的研究人员，包括本科生、研究生和博士后研究员，有机会向社会介绍他们的研究成果，在一个有利于指导和培养他们的职业生涯的互动环境中。在会议上提交的研究将在网站(可通过http://www.mcdb.ucsb.edu/people/faculty/detomaso)访问并在免疫学杂志上发表)上公开获得。

All organisms require an immune system to protect them from viruses and other disease-causing microbes. However, comparisons of immune defenses of different animals, from worms to humans, have shown a surprising diversity. Mammals and roundworms, for instance, use a completely different set of immune "tools" to accomplish the same goal: the recognition and elimination of pathogens. The central question to be addressed in this workshop is: "How do immune systems operate in different organisms, and what insights can the diversity of immune mechanisms offer to our understanding of the evolution of immunity in animals?" This workshop will bring together researchers who study a diverse array of organisms (worms, flies, fish, sea urchins, tunicates, frogs and humans)for an small meeting that will foster an exchange of ideas between investigators in different fields and stimulate new collaborations between investigators. The new insights arising from this meeting could ultimately provide fresh applied perspectives, such as novel diagnostic and clinical applications. In addition, a greater understanding of diverse immune systems could provide fresh ideas on how maintain the health of animals that are being reared for food, or under stress due to the impacts of environmental change. Overcrowding due to farming, or other environmental stress is often reflected in a weaker immune response, with an increased susceptibility to disease. In addition, the meeting will provide a venue that gives younger investigators, including undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows, the opportunity to present their research to the community, in an interactive environment conducive to guiding and nurturing their careers. The research presented at the meeting will be publicly available on a website (accessible via http://www.mcdb.ucsb.edu/people/faculty/detomaso) and published in an immunology journal.