Stromal Immunology in Health and Disease (K3)
February 2-5, 2026
| Fairmont Banff Springs, Banff, AB, Canada
Anne Fletcher, Sanjiv A. Luther, Viviana Cremasco and Michael B. Brenner
Scholarship Deadline: Oct. 23, 2025 | Abstract Deadline: Jan. 13, 2026 | Early Registration Deadline: Dec. 4, 2025
| 4:00–8:00 PM |
Registration |
Van Horne Foyer |
| 6:00–8:00 PM |
Welcome Mixer |
Van Horne Foyer |
Tuesday, February 3, 2026
| 7:00–8:00 AM |
Breakfast |
President's Hall |
| 8:00–8:10 AM |
Welcome Remarks (Joint) |
Van Horne A/B |
| 8:10–9:00 AM |
Keynote Address (Joint) |
Van Horne A/B |
| |
Thomas A Wynn, Pfizer
Anti-Fibrotic Therapy: Thinking outside the TGF-beta box |
|
| 9:00–11:30 AM |
From Fibroblasts to Fibrosis, and Back Again (Joint) |
Van Horne A/B |
| |
Boris Hinz, St. Michael's Hospital and University of Toronto
To Push or Pull? How the Mechanical Environment Affects Stromal Activation |
|
| |
Sheila A. Stewart, Washington University School of Medicine
Stromal Reprogramming Sensitizes Metastatic Breast Cancer to Immunotherapy |
|
| |
Michael B. Brenner, Harvard Medical School
Regulators of Fibroblast Inflammation, Tissue Degradation and Fibrosis |
|
| |
Gisli Jenkins †, Imperial College London
Short Talk: DEMISTIFIing Multi-Organ Fibrosis |
|
| |
Angela Riedel, University of Würzburg
Short Talk: A TLR4-Dependent Fibroblast-Monocyte Axis in Tumor-Draining Lymph Nodes Contributes to Metastasis in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer |
|
| 9:30–9:50 AM |
Coffee Break |
Van Horne Foyer |
| 9:50–9:55 AM |
Award Recipient Acknowledgement |
Van Horne A/B |
| 11:30–1:00 PM |
Poster Setup |
Van Horne C |
| 11:30–2:30 PM |
On Own for Lunch |
|
| 1:00–10:00 PM |
Poster Viewing |
Van Horne C |
| 2:30–4:30 PM |
Symposia Spotlight 1: Late Breaking News |
Van Horne B |
| |
Jovana Cupovic, Uniklinik Freiburg/ Max Planck Institute for Immunology and Epigenetics
Mitochondrial Network Remodeling Governs Lymph Node Fibroblastic Stromal Cell Function to Enable Protective Immunity |
|
| |
Vineet Joag, SCRI, University of Washington
Primate Resident Memory T Cells Activate Humoral and Stromal Immunity |
|
| |
Alisa A Mueller †, Stanford University, Palo Alto VA Medical Center
CRISPR-Cas9 Screen Uncovers Key Global Regulators of Fibroblast Inflammation |
|
| |
Veronika Lukacs-Kornek, University of Bonn
Obesity-Induced Stromal Remodeling and Premature Fibroblast Aging in the Lung |
|
| |
Maria Tsoumakidou, BSRC Al. Fleming
Identity Loss and Trans-Differentiation of Interstitial Macrophages To Fibroblasts In Lung Tumors |
|
| |
Ramona Emig, University of Miami
CD4+ T cell-Derived Interferon-γ Instructs Extracellular Matrix Stiffening By Cardiac Fibroblasts Through LOXL3 |
|
| |
Qidi Yang, Department of Gastroenterology, Ruijin Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine
Telocytes Orchestrate ECM Remodeling and Immune Cell Trafficking through LRP1-Dependent Regulation in IBD |
|
| 4:30–5:00 PM |
Coffee Available |
Van Horne Foyer |
| 5:00–7:00 PM |
Stromal Development, Identity and Heterogeneity |
Van Horne B |
| |
Sanjiv A. Luther, University of Lausanne
Mechanisms of Fibroblast Specialization and Lymphoid Organ Compartmentalization |
|
| |
Sophie E Acton, University College London
Podoplanin-dependent regulation of fibroblast phenotype and immune crosstalk |
|
| |
Anne Fletcher, Monash University
Molecular Drivers of Fibroblast Differentiation and T Cell Suppression |
|
| |
Christopher G Mueller †, CNRS-University of Strasbourg
Short Talk: Regulating B cell-associated Mesenchymal Cell Differentiation by a Phospholipid Metabolite |
|
| |
Mark Coles, University of Oxford
Short Talk: The Embryonic Origins of Site-Specific Arthritis: Role of Stromal Cell Stoichiometry |
|
| 7:00–8:00 PM |
Social Hour with Dinner |
President's Hall |
| 7:30–10:00 PM |
Poster Session 1 |
Van Horne C |
Wednesday, February 4, 2026
| 7:00–8:00 AM |
Breakfast |
President's Hall |
| 8:00–11:00 AM |
Stromal Responses to Inflammation: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly |
Van Horne B |
| |
Ari B Molofsky, University of California San Francisco
Stromal – Immune Tissue Niches in Health and Disease |
|
| |
Natalia Pikor, ETH Zurich / Kantonsspital St.Gallen
Fibroblast - Immune Cell Crosstalk in the Inflamed CNS |
|
| |
Mariapia A Degli-Esposti, Monash University
Viral Targeting of Lymphoid Fibroblasts Yields Immunological Outcomes |
|
| |
Tatiana V Petrova, University of Lausanne
Mechanosensitive mTORC1 Signaling Maintains Lymphatic Valves |
|
| |
Lina Daniel, The University of Sydney
Short Talk: Stromal–Immune Remodeling Establishes a Lymph Node Niche that Promotes Mycobacterium tuberculosis Persistence |
|
| |
Mir Howlader †, Hospital for Special Surgery
Short Talk: Lymphatic Dysfunction in Lupus Contributes to Cutaneous Photosensitivity and Lymph Node B Cell Responses |
|
| 9:00–9:20 AM |
Coffee Break |
Van Horne Foyer |
| 11:00–1:00 PM |
Poster Setup |
Van Horne C |
| 11:00–1:30 PM |
On Own for Lunch |
|
| 1:00–10:00 PM |
Poster Viewing |
Van Horne C |
| 1:30–3:15 PM |
Symposia Spotlight 2: New Paradigms in Stromal Biology and Crosstalk |
Van Horne B |
| |
Naïma Böllenrücher, University of Lausanne
Notch2 Orchestrates Secondary Lymphoid Organ Organization By Directing Fibroblast Cell Fate |
|
| |
Ira Fleming, University of Colorado, Anschutz
mRNA, Protein, and Protein-Anchored-mRNA Vaccines Are Uniquely Distributed and Retained Across Lymph Node Stromal Cell Populations |
|
| |
Elham Karimizadeh, St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto
Contact with Endothelial Cells Drives Myofibroblast Activation of Pericytes |
|
| |
Erika E McCartney, University of Toronto
Pi16+ Fibroblasts Orchestrate Inflammation via Tgfbr2 Signalling |
|
| |
Sam Kemble, University of Birmingham
Targeted Fibroblast Depletion Recalibrates the Inflammatory Microenvironment and Restores Tissue Homeostasis |
|
| |
Jeremiah Bernier-Latmani †, University of Lausanne
Eosinophils Promote a Second Wave of Postnatal Smooth Muscle Differentiation in Intestinal Villi |
|
| |
Alec Walker, Boston Children's Hospital
Early Life Stromal Niches Orchestrate B Lymphopoiesis at the Brain’s Borders |
|
| 3:30–4:30 PM |
Career Roundtable (Joint) |
Van Horne B |
| 4:30–5:00 PM |
Coffee Available |
Van Horne Foyer |
| 5:00–7:00 PM |
The Pathogenic Tumor Microenvironment |
Van Horne B |
| |
Ruth Scherz-Shouval, Weizmann Institute of Science
Hierarchy of Tumor Cell-Cell Signaling Interactions Dominated by Fibroblasts |
|
| |
Michael J Briskin, Phenomic.AI
scRNA Analysis at Scale Identifies CTHRC1 as a Novel Tumor-Stroma Target |
|
| |
Fatima Mechta-Grigoriou, Institut Curie
Stromal Spatial Transcriptomics and Therapy Resistance in Metastatic Breast Cancer |
|
| |
Elijah Kirschstein, The Ohio State University
Short Talk: Myofibroblast Programming Blocks Differentiation of TLS-Organizing Fibroblastic Reticular Cells in Pancreatic Cancer |
|
| |
Harry Horsnell, University of Melbourne
Short Talk: Local Invasion of Melanoma Metastasis into Lymph Nodes Drives Spatially Restricted Immunosuppressive Niches Underpinned by Distinct Fibroblastic Populations |
|
| 7:00–8:00 PM |
Social Hour with Dinner |
President's Hall |
| 7:30–10:00 PM |
Poster Session 2 |
Van Horne C |
Thursday, February 5, 2026
| 7:00–8:00 AM |
Breakfast |
President's Hall |
| 8:00–11:00 AM |
Molecular Mechanisms of Stromal Programming and Reprogramming |
Van Horne B |
| |
Beth A. Tamburini, University of Colorado Denver Anchutz Medical Campus
Lymph Node Stromal Cell Mechanisms of Immune Regulation |
|
| |
Marc Bajénoff, Centre d'Immunologie Marseille-Luminy
Macrophage-Fibroblast Interaction Modules |
|
| |
Michael Sixt, Institute of Science and Technology Austria
Fibroblast-Leukocyte Morphodynamics |
|
| |
George A Kollias, Biomedical Sciences Research Center 'Alexander Fleming'
'Fibroblasts Transitioning from Homeostasis to Inflammation to Fibrosis |
|
| |
Apple C Vollmers, Genentech
Short Talk: Reciprocal Regulation Between Fibroblasts and Macrophages Maintains Skin Homeostasis and Integrity |
|
| |
Alice Denton †, Imperial College London
Short Talk: TLR4-adjuvanted Vaccination Accelerates Germinal Centre Formation by Remodelling the Fibroblast Network |
|
| 9:00–9:20 AM |
Coffee Break |
Van Horne Foyer |
| 11:00–2:30 PM |
On Own for Lunch |
|
| 2:30–4:30 PM |
Symposia Spotlight 3: Stromal Commonalities Across Diseases |
Van Horne B |
| |
Ritusree Biswas †, University of California San Francisco
An Inhibitory Fibroblast Constrains The Adventitial Niche To Suppress Allergic Inflammation in The Lung |
|
| |
Melanie Smith †, Hospital for Special Surgery
Rheumatoid Arthritis Synovial Fibroblasts Modulate T Cell Activation |
|
| |
Tiphaine Camarasa, University of Basel
B Cell - Stromal Cell Interactions During Tuberculosis |
|
| |
Ricardo A Irizarry-Caro, Genentech
A Latency-Associated Protein Motif Decouples the Integrin-Dependent and Independent Activities of Latent TGF-β3 |
|
| |
Anil Bhushan, University of California, San Francisco
Blocking Osteoprotegerin Reprograms Cancer Associated Fibroblast to Promotes Immune Infiltration into the Tumor Microenvironment |
|
| |
Simge Yucel, EPFL
Elucidating the Roles of Stromal FMRP Expression in the Programming of CAFs to Support Immune Evasion |
|
| |
Grace L Wong, Houston Methodist Research Institute
Lymphatic Endothelial Cells and Fibroblastic Reticular Cell Subtypes in the Recruitment and Colonization of Cancer Cells to Lymph Node |
|
| |
Melodie Doute †, St Jude Children's Research Hospital
Targeting EBF1-ITGβ8 Axis in Bone Marrow Stromal Cells During Myelofibrosis |
|
| 4:30–5:00 PM |
Coffee Available |
Van Horne Foyer |
| 5:00–6:45 PM |
Therapeutic Modulation of Stromal Cell Function (Joint) |
Van Horne A/B |
| |
Viviana Cremasco, Novartis Biomedical Research
TGFb Neutralization and Tumor Stroma Modulation: From Bench to Bed |
|
| |
Yuval Rinkevich, Helmholtz Zentrum München, GmbH
Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Repair |
|
| |
Burkhard Ludewig, Kantonsspital St. Gallen
Immunomodulation of Myocardial Fibrosis |
|
| 6:45–7:00 PM |
Meeting Wrap-Up: Outcomes and Future Directions (Organizers) (Joint) |
Van Horne A/B |
| 7:00–8:00 PM |
Social Hour with Dinner |
President's Hall |
| 8:00–11:00 PM |
Entertainment |
|
