ABSTRACT
Support is requested for a Keystone Symposia conference entitled T Cell Memory, organized by Drs. David B.
Masopust, Ananda W. Goldrath and Marion Pepper. The conference will be held in Banff, Alberta Canada
from March 1-5, 2020.
This conference will bring together immunologists with expertise in basic lymphocyte biology, vaccinology, and
cancer immunotherapy to discuss the most recent advances in immunological memory. This conference will be
paired with B Cell Renaissance: Epigenetics, Regulation and Immunotherapy. There will be one joint session
which will focus on B cell memory, and then the remaining sessions will be tilted towards T cell memory and
helper T cell responses. The conference program is designed to communicate the paradigm shifting
discoveries on the molecular programming and epigenetic maintenance of lymphocyte differentiation states,
introduce cutting edge tools to a broad audience, and promote cross-fertilization between diverse scientists to
accelerate application of new concepts in immune memory for vaccines that prevent infectious disease or
enhance the durability and function of adoptive cell therapies for treating cancer. This conference is very timely
due to the recent identification of resident memory lymphocytes that is changing how researchers strategize
employing memory for prevention of infectious disease. These latest findings should be shared with the
vaccine community. Interest in adoptive cell therapies has exploded, but success will depend on manipulating
the durability and differentiation state of transferred cancer-fighting lymphocytes. The field of immunological
memory is poised to address these challenges and contribute to clinical advances in leveraging this exciting
therapeutic approach. Moreover, perhaps for the first time, this conference will directly attempt to highlight
problems and provide a solution to the nomenclature problems that have impeded discourse and advances
related to memory T cell ontogeny.