The Ion Channels and Transporters in Immunity Research Program at NYU Langone hosts seminars and symposia to bring program faculty, students, and postdoctoral fellows together to discuss their research and explore its potential to advance our understanding of immune-related diseases.

Seminars

We host a variety of seminars to give investigators an opportunity to share their ongoing work.

Please note that many of our seminars scheduled to occur in 2022 have been cancelled or postponed due to concerns about COVID-19. We will update this page as we reschedule events.

Works in Progress Seminars

In this internal seminar series, scientists from labs located at NYU Langone present and discuss preliminary data in the area of ion channels and transporters in immunity.

The Works in Progress seminars take place every other month on Wednesdays from 11:00AM to 12:00PM.

If your lab would like to participate, please email Stefan Feske, MD, program director, at stefan.feske@nyulangone.org.

Ion Channels in Immunity Seminars

This seminar series features leading scientists from institutions in the United States and abroad who are experts on ion channels in immunity.

The seminars take place every other month on Wednesdays from 11:00AM to 12:00PM.

Academic Year 2021–22

March 16, 2022
Speaker: Daren L. Knoell, PhD, Professor and Chair, Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science, University of Nebraska Medical Center
Title: Zinc Transporters in Myeloid Innate Immune Cell Function

April 13, 2022
Speaker: Christian Grimm, PhD, Professor, Department of Pharmacology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany
Title: Endolysosomal TRP Channels and TPCs in Immune Cell Function and Disease

May 18, 2022
Speaker: Bimal Desai, PhD, Associate Professor of Pharmacology, University of Virginia
Title: Mitochondrial Ca2+ Signaling in Cell Intrinsic Immune Responses

Symposia and Conferences

The Ion Channels and Immunity Symposia provide a unique opportunity for scientists and trainees to discuss their research on the regulation, function, and physiological roles of ion channels and transporters in innate and adaptive immunity.

Past Symposia

Learn more about the topics and speakers of our past symposia.

2021 Symposium: Ion Channels and Transporters in Immunity, Inflammation, and Antitumor Immunity

The 2021 symposium was held in conjunction with the 74th Annual Meeting of the Society of General Physiologists, which took place from September 22 to 26, 2021, at the Marine Biology Labs in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

The meeting organizers were Stefan Feske, MD, and Bimal N. Desai, PhD.

Session topics:

• Session 1: Ion Channels and Transporters in Lymphocytes
• Session 2: Ion Channels and Transporters in Innate Immunity 1
• Session 3: Novel Structures of Ion Channels and Transporters in Immune Cells
• Session 4: Ion Channels and Transporters in Lymphocytes and Antitumor Immunity
• Session 5: Ion Channels and Transporters in Innate Immunity 2
• Session 6: Cell Biological Aspects of Ion Channels and Transporters in Immune Cells
• Session 7: Pathophysiological Roles of Ion Channels and Transporters in Inflammation
• Session 8: Modulation of Immune Cell Function by Ion Channels and Transporters
• Session 9: Ion Channels as Drug Targets in Immune Diseases

Learn more about the 2021 symposium.

2020 Networking Event: Shedding Light on the Dark “Ion Channelome”

October 15, 2020, 12:00PM–2:00PM

Online symposium hosted by the Biophysical Society
Chaired by William A. Coetzee, DSc, and Stefan Feske, MD

The symposium’s four seminar-style presentations discussed research on new ion channels that span a variety of tissues, cellular compartments, and gating mechanisms. Watch a video of the symposium.

Symposium Speakers

• Diego De Stefani, PhD, University of Padova, Italy: Mitochondrial ATP-sensitive potassium channels
• Reza Sharif Naeini, PhD, McGill University, Canada: Contribution of the TACAN channel to mechanical pain
• Zhaozhu Qiu, PhD, Johns Hopkins University: Discovery of PAC: a new proton-activated chloride channel
• Chris Ritchie, Stanford University: Cellular transport mechanisms of the anti-cancer immunotransmitter 2'3'- cGAMP

2020 Symposium: Ion Channels and Transporters in Immunity

September 11, 2020, 11:00AM–3:00PM

Online symposium hosted by the Society of General Physiologists
Chaired by Stefan Feske, MD, and Bimal N. Desai, PhD

This online symposium featured seven speakers presenting their latest work in the areas of ion channels and transporters in immunity. Learn more about the symposium schedule.

Symposium Speakers

• Sophie Hambleton, DPhil, Newcastle University: ZIP7—An unexpected player in B cell development
• Susanna Zierler, PhD, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich: TRPM7 channel-kinase function—from cellular signaling to immune system homeostasis
• Yubin Zhou, PhD, Texas A&M University: Optogenetic regulation of CRAC channel function and signaling in immune cells
• Axel Concepcion, PhD, NYU Langone: Novel ion channel regulators of T-cell function
• Michael Cahalan, PhD, University of California, Irvine: Th17 cell calcium signaling in the spinal cord during murine autoimmune neuroinflammation
• Susan R. Schwab, PhD, NYU Langone: S1P transporter SPNS2 regulates T-cell migration
• David Raulet, PhD, University of California, Berkeley: Cellular import of immunostimulatory cyclic dinucleotides by folic acid transporters

2018 Ion Channels and Immunity Symposium at NYU Langone

The first international Ion Channels and Immunity Symposium hosted at NYU Langone took place on December 3, 2018.

Leading scientists from academia and industry discussed their latest research. Pre- and postdoctoral trainees from the United States and Europe presented posters on a variety of topics including the regulation and function of ion channels and transporters in cells of the innate and adaptive immune system.

Session Topics and Speakers

Ion channels in immune cell development and function
Speakers: Michael D. Cahalan, PhD; Bimal N. Desai, PhD; Janet Chou, MD; Daniela Buccella, PhD

Ion channels in immunity and inflammation
Speakers: Michael Lenardo, MD; Stephen Jameson, PhD; Stefan Feske, MD; Susan R. Schwab, PhD

Anticancer immunity
Speakers: J. Kevin Foskett, PhD; Laura Conforti, PhD; Minsoo Kim, PhD

Drug targets for immunotherapy
Speakers: Christine Beeton, PhD; Edward Y. Skolnik, MD; Kenneth A. Stauderman, PhD; Anant Parekh, PhD