Prof. Shizuo Akira of Osaka University delivers a keynote speech
during the “Regulation of Innate Immunity” symposium at IVI
headquarters on September 18, 2009.

The IVI and the WPI Immunology Frontier Research Center (IFReC) at Osaka University, Japan co-hosted a joint symposium on innate immunity at IVI headquarters in Seoul during September 18-19.

Dubbed ‘Regulation of Innate Immunity,’ the symposium brought together around 80 immunologists from Korea and Japan. Participants included Prof. Shizuo Akira of Osaka University, a world authority on immunology who delivered the keynote speech, Dr. Satoshi Uematsu, also from Osaka University, and Dr. Kweon Mi-Na from the IVI.

Participants discussed the latest knowledge and future directions in the field of innate immunity, which is considered to be a major focus of the immune system for the development of novel approaches to the control of infectious diseases.

Participants at the “Regulation of Innate Immunity” symposium

The symposium offered a forum to review the fundamentals of innate immunity, and provided investigators the opportunity to learn the latest research trends in the field.

The two-day event was sponsored by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and the Korea Foundation for International Cooperation of Science and Technology (KICOS).