ImmunoOncology Premeeting

WMIC 2023 was kicked off with an ImmunoOncology Premeeting, which featured over 5 sessions and 20 international speakers, from junior faculty to senior investigators representing academia and industry experts.

Premeeting Objectives

  1. Appraise innovative nanobody platforms and immunoPET tracers that enable noninvasive visualization of immune cell dynamics to guide immunotherapies.
  2. Examine cutting-edge techniques like intravital microscopy, immunoPET, and mathematical modeling that provide insights into immune cell behaviors to inform detection, prognosis, and treatment of inflammation-driven diseases.
  3. Assess emerging approaches in immunoPET biomarker development and quantification that show potential for identifying predictive biomarkers, optimizing immunotherapies, and illuminating biological mechanisms.

Overview of Sessions

This scientific session highlights emerging PET imaging agents based on nanobody technology that enable noninvasive tracking of immune responses during cancer and immunotherapy. Speakers will discuss engineering nanobody tracers targeting specific immune cell proteins and using them to illuminate immune cell dynamics and cytotoxicity. These novel approaches provide unique in vivo insights that have potential to guide more precise immunotherapies. Overall, this session will showcase innovative nanobody platforms that are advancing immunotherapy through enabling visualization of immune system behavior.

Agenda and Speakers

This session will showcase emerging immunoPET approaches to track immune cells and activation patterns in cancer, infections, and autoimmunity. Speakers will present innovative methods to visualize CD8+ T cells, cytokines, and systemic immune responses in humans and models. The research indicates PET imaging of engineered antibody fragments enables noninvasive quantification and spatial mapping of immune dynamics. Overall, these novel in vivo imaging techniques provide critical insights into immune behavior to guide immunotherapies and transform our understanding of the immune system.

Agenda and Speakers

This session will highlight emerging techniques to visualize immune and inflammatory dynamics in diseases like cancer. Speakers will discuss innovative approaches to image macrophages, T cells, cytokines, and signaling pathways in situ using intravital microscopy, PET, and biomarkers. The research reveals how immune cells sense surroundings to regulate function, consume nutrients, and drive inflammation. Overall, these novel imaging methods will provide unprecedented insights into immune cell behaviors and responses to transform detection, prognosis, and treatment of diseases driven by inflammation.

Agenda and Speakers

This industry session will highlight emerging immunoPET tracers and quantification approaches to visualize the tumor microenvironment and guide immunotherapies. Talks will cover an immune-oncology consortium, PD-L1/PD-1 imaging agents, and CD8-targeted minibodies that enable whole-body mapping of T cells. The research shows promise for identifying predictive biomarkers, optimizing treatments, and illuminating mechanisms. Overall, by advancing noninvasive imaging of immune dynamics, these industry efforts aim to transform immunotherapy outcomes for patients.

Agenda and Speakers

This session will highlight emerging techniques to track T cell distribution and activation using immunoPET tracers and cell labeling approaches. Speakers will discuss novel biomarkers and platforms to visualize responses to immunotherapies such as CAR T cells. The research shows promise for elucidating T cell pharmacokinetics, improving treatments, and predicting outcomes. Overall, by advancing noninvasive quantification of T cell dynamics, these imaging innovations aim to guide precision immunotherapies and provide insights into immune responses.

Agenda and Speakers

This session will highlight emerging clinical applications of immunoPET to guide immunotherapies. Speakers will discuss novel tracers to quantify T cell activation, granzyme release, and checkpoint expression. Early findings indicate these imaging biomarkers may identify responders, predict outcomes, and elucidate mechanisms. Mathematical models are also being applied to interpret imaging data. Overall, by advancing precision immunoPET, this translational research aims to overcome challenges in immunotherapy and transform patient care.

Agenda and Speakers

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