ABSTRACT
Support is requested for a Keystone Symposia conference entitled Cancer Immunotherapy: Decoding the
Cancer Immunity Interactome, organized by Drs. Charles Drake, Ira Mellman and Andrea Schietinger. The
conference will be held in British Columbia, Canada from March 14-18, 2021.
Although there has been rapid advancement in the understanding of cancer immunity, application of this
evolving body of knowledge is impeded by divisions between disciplines and the challenges inherent in
remaining abreast of a rapidly developing field. Widening knowledge gaps span the interface between clinical
and basic data, as well as between scientists who are focused on disparate immune components of the tumor
microenvironment and between systems biology, bioinformatics data and their practical application. In bringing
together translational physicians, basic immunologists and cutting-edge systems biologists, this conference will
foster interdisciplinary cooperation such that cutting-edge discoveries made in the bioinformatics field will help
drive translation and lab-based investigation. Additionally, it will provide a showcase for novel imaging and
profiling technologies, fostering their widespread adoption by the cancer immunity field as a whole. Finally, it
will highlight recent advances in our understanding of epigenetic control of T cell function. A goal of the
conference is to bring together these different groups of scientists and to accelerate the application of new
technologies and systems biology approaches to their own research efforts. A well-organized cancer immunity
conference focused on bringing together translational and basic investigation, along with cutting edge systems
biology and technology approaches represents a novel construct previously not fulfilled by other, isolated silo-
like meetings. The disciplines gathered for this conference would not normally co-attend meetings. This
program is aimed at addressing these widening knowledge gaps which are being promulgated by a rapidly
evolving field.