1st Pasteur-Asia Immunology Course (23 October- 5 November 2008)
for Research Postgraduate Students (MPhil and PhD)

The 1st Pasteur-Asia Immunology Course will focus on innate immunity and its signaling mechanisms, aiming to provide an in-depth coverage of this area.

The course will begin by providing a comprehensive overview of modern immunology, followed by bibliographical coverage of the innate immunity response in viral infection, such as by HIV, SARS, Influenza, Avian Influenza, as well as in parasitic and bacterial infections. Expert speakers will deliver topical seminars on specialized areas including:

• Introduction to the repertoire of effector cells, such as mast cells, natural killer cells, dendritic cells and macrophages;
• Talks on the pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and the repertoire of recognition molecules or receptors, such as pattern recognition molecules (PRMs) or pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain (NOD), NOD-like receptor (NLR);
• Overview of Toll like receptor (TLR) activation and signaling pathways, microRNA and cytokine induction, as well as of transcriptional regulation of inflammatory cells;
• The use of natural products to help the immune system to fight infection will also be touched on to conclude the course.

In addition, hand-on practical sessions will be incorporated into the course to illustrate some most current techniques in immunological research.

Students are invited to download course and travel grant application forms.

Scholarships for travel will be awarded up to 5 outstanding non-Hong Kong applicants; non-Hong Kong residents who need scholarship for travel are advised to complete the scholarship application and return all completed forms to HKU-pasteur@hku.hk on or before 15th September 2008. Accommodations and food allowance will be provided for non-Hong Kong residents.

Deadline for application:
15th September 2008 for Non-Hong Kong residents
30th September 2008 for students from HKU and other Hong Kong universities

Organisers:
BRUZZONE, Roberto, HKU-Pasteur Research Centre
CAVAILLON, Jean-Marc, Institut Pasteur
LAU, Allan, University of Hong Kong

Confirmed Speakers:
CASTAGNOLI Paola, Singapore Immunology Network
CAVAILLON Jean-Marc, Institut Pasteur Paris
CHEN Zhi-wei, University of Hong Kong
CHIN Keh Chuang, Singapore Immunology Network
FUJITA Takashi, Kyoto University
MIYAKE Kensuke, Tokyo University
LAM Kong Peng, Singapore Immunology Network
LAU Yu-lung, University of Hong Kong
LU Li-wei, University of Hong Kong
PEIRIS Malik, HKU-Pasteur Research Centre/ University of Hong Kong
PHALIPON Armelle, Institut Pasteur Paris
SCOTT-ALGARA Daniel, Institut Pasteur Paris
VIVIER Eric, Université de la Méditerranée

Tutors:
CHEUNG Benny, University of Hong Kong
JAUME Martial, HKU-Pasteur Research Centre
LEE David, University of Hong Kong
LI James, University of Hong Kong