European Journal of Immunology
Volume 38, Issue 9 pp. 2367-2368
News and EFIS
Free Access

News and EFIS

Carsten Watzl, 

Carsten Watzl

Institute for Immunology, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany

URL: www.nk-zelle.de

Search for more papers by this author
First published: 12 September 2008
https://doi.org/10.1002/eji.200838775

Introducing the new study group “Natural Killer Cell Biology” of the German Society for Immunology

Since the first description of NK cells in 1975, several European laboratories have been at the forefront of NK cell research but, only in recent years, has a community of NK cell researchers established itself in Germany. Many of these researchers are young investigators who have made NK cells a major focus of their studies. Together with the growing general interest in NK cells within the immunological community, especially from the clinical perspective, this has led to the formation of a critical mass of NK cell research within Germany. One indication for this growing interest in NK cells was the international NK cell symposium (Hengstberger Symposium on NK cells), which took place in December 2006 in Heidelberg, Germany 1. At this meeting the participants raised the idea of organizing and promoting NK cell research within Germany. One way to achieve this goal was the creation of a study group with a focus on NK cell biology within the German Society for Immunology. At the second international NK cell symposium (21–23 May 2008, Bad Herrenalb, Germany), this study group was finally brought to life. The symposium was kindly supported by the Volkswagenstiftung, and a grant from EJI-EFIS made it possible to support the attendance of students and young postdocs by means of travel stipends.
image

The main goal of the study group “Natural Killer Cell Biology” is to establish a network for the coordination of the NK cell research in Germany. The aim is to promote this research on a national level and to enhance its international visibility. To achieve this aim we have established several tools.
  • (i)

    A website (www.nk-zelle.de) devoted to the study group and starting point for all information, including a members' only resources section. The website is maintained in German and English.

  • (ii)

    Communication between members of the study group is facilitated by a special mailing list promoting the exchange of reagents, protocols and expert advice.

  • (iii)

    The study group will maintain a wiki-based webpage with general and specialized information on NK cells in both English and German.

  • (iv)

    The organization of annual symposia on NK cell biology will be one of the major means for promoting and supporting NK cell research in Germany. Our aim is to keep these symposia small with less than 100 participants and only a limited number of invited speakers; the language of the symposium is English. This format was very well received at the first two symposia of this kind and helped to create an intense atmosphere, which facilitated discussions and the exchange of ideas. Given the growing interest in NK cells and the great success of the past symposia, one of the future challenges will be to find effective and unbiased ways to restrict participation to less than 100 scientists without compromising the attendance of young researchers. The next symposium is already planned for November/December 2009 and more details will appear on the webpage of the study group soon. Every researcher within the German speaking countries, whose work focuses on NK cells, is invited to become a member of this new study group. For details please go to www.nk-zelle.de or contact myself, the organizer of the study group.

    The full text of this article hosted at iucr.org is unavailable due to technical difficulties.