British Society for Immunology: vaccines and mucosal immunity

The Annual Congress of the British Society for Immunology was well attended with over 1000 British scientists converging on the small Yorkshire town of Harrogate. Wide-ranging and varied, the topics covered included the biochemistry of signaling as well as sessions examining dietary influences upon mucosal immunity. The plenary session on the morning of Wednesday 6 December focused on immunology at the cell surface, where many speakers discussed the role of lipid rafts in immune cell signaling. A session of particular interest followed the plenary session, hosted by the Vaccine Immunology Group. Discussion centered around a number of novel vaccines currently under development, with the emphasis on finding alternatives to the use of hypodermic needles. A number of interesting posters affiliated to this session reflected the high quality of the research presented at the meeting in general.