New York Symposium on Immune Cell Engineering and Reprogramming

Event Overview

The New York Symposium on Immune Cell Engineering and Reprogramming will bring together scientists across immunology, synthetic biology, bioengineering, and artificial intelligence (AI) to explore emerging approaches for understanding and programming immune systems.

Recent advances in single-cell and spatial technologies, genome engineering, and AI-driven modeling are transforming how we study immune systems, enabling measurements and perturbations at unprecedented scale and resolution. Together, these capabilities are driving a shift from descriptive immunology toward a more predictive and engineering-oriented framework, where immune cell states, functions, and interactions can be systematically decoded and, increasingly, controlled. Realizing this vision will require close integration across experimental, computational, and engineering disciplines, as well as new collaborative models for data generation, analysis, and sharing.

This symposium, hosted by Biohub, aims to bring together leading and emerging researchers to share recent advances, discuss key challenges, and help define the next phase of the field. The program will feature plenary thematic presentations, selected abstract talks, and poster sessions, creating opportunities for broad participation and cross-disciplinary exchange.

The scientific program will comprise five core themes:

• Systems immunology approaches to understanding immune cell states, dynamics, and plasticity across tissues and disease contexts
• Designing and implementing synthetic circuits and programmable immune functions
• AI and computational modeling to develop predictive models of immune behavior from large-scale, multimodal datasets
• Scalable perturbation and high-dimensional measurement technologies to interrogate and manipulate immune systems
• Translational opportunities bridging discovery and application through next-generation immunotherapies and programmable immune platforms

By convening researchers across these areas, the symposium seeks to catalyze deep scientific exchange, foster new collaborations across disciplines, and establish a forum in immune cell engineering and reprogramming, accelerating progress toward the development of programmable immune systems.

The symposium will also be livestreamed. Advance registration is required for both in-person and virtual attendance.

Event Organizers

Lead Organizers

Andrea Califano

Biohub

Garabet Yeretssian

Biohub

Lead Planning Team

Vivian Chung

Biohub

Lital Manor

Biohub

Arub Alam

Biohub

Arne Bakker

Biohub

Confirmed Speakers*

Karolinska Institute

Petter Brodin

Biohub

Andrea Califano

Biohub

Aly Khan

New York University

Amanda Lund

Biohub

Roham Parsa

University of Washington / SeaHub

Marion Pepper

MIT / Broad Institute

Alex Schalek

Biohub

Tom Sercu

Columbia University

Megan Sykes

University of Cambridge

Sarah Teichmann

Biohub

Sjoukje van der Stegen

Whitehead / MIT

Jonathan Weissman

* More speakers will be added soon…

Schedule

ALL TIMES IN EASTERN TIME

Call for Submissions & Key Dates

We invite all in-person attendees to submit an abstract for consideration for a short talk or poster presentation. Early-career researchers are especially encouraged!

Abstracts must be 150 words or fewer and should clearly summarize the purpose, methods, key findings, and significance of the work. Submissions are welcome from individuals affiliated with academic institutions (trainees, staff, and faculty) or industry research organizations. All abstracts must be submitted by Friday, June 5th; submissions received after this deadline will not be considered.

Accepted abstracts will be selected for poster presentation, and authors will be notified in mid-June. Additional details regarding submission format and presentation guidelines will be provided upon acceptance. All submitted abstracts are confidential. They will be reviewed internally and will not be made public or published in any proceedings. Abstract submissions and poster requests can be completed through the registration form. We encourage early registration to secure participation.

Location