Gene Expression & Signaling in the Immune System 2026

Gene Expression & Signaling in the Immune System

March 3 - 7, 2026

Abstract Deadline: January 8, 2026

Organizers:

Jon Kagan, Boston Children's Hospital / Harvard Medical School
Richard Locksley, HHMI / University of California San Francisco
Daniel Mucida, The Rockefeller University
Ellen Rothenberg, California Institute of Technology

We are pleased to announce the thirteenth Cold Spring Harbor meeting on Gene Expression & Signaling in the Immune System, which will begin on Tuesday evening, March 3, and end at noon on Saturday, March 7, 2026.

We are looking forward to a broad-based meeting, and abstracts are welcomed on all scientific topics related to immune system signaling, gene regulation, and effector activities. Non-exclusive topics of interest include the molecular regulation of immune responses in specific cell types and tissues, as they mediate immune cell development, disease pathology, and resolution.

Topics:

Regulation of Gene Expression
Differentiation
Signaling at the Membrane
Signaling Intracellularly
Intercellular Communications
Host: Microbe Interactions
Immune Responses
Tissue-Immune Communications (Immunophysiology)

Confirmed Speakers:

Frederick Alt, HHMI/Children's Hospital
Gregory Barton, University of California, Berkeley
Christophe Benoist, Harvard Medical School
Bryan Bryson, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Dana Esterhazy, University of Chicago
Donna Farber, Columbia University Medical Center
Kate Fitzgerald, UMass Medical School
Michael Gale, Jr., University of Minnesota Medical School
Alexander Hoffmann, University of California, Los Angeles
Veit Hornung, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich Germany
Michael Howitt, Stanford University
Andrew Koh, University of Chicago
Oliver Lantz, Institut Curie, France
Ai ling Lim, Princeton University
Dan Littman, NYU School of Medicine
Diane Mathis, Harvard Medical School
Ruslan Medzhitov, HHMI/Yale University School of Medicine
Anna Molofsky, University of California, San Francisco
Ari Molofsky, University of California, San Francisco
Kenneth Murphy, HHMI/Washington University at St. Louis
Megan Orzalli, UMass Chan Medical School
John O'Shea, NIH/NIAMS
Erika Pearce, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Lena Pernas, University of California, Los Angeles
Caetano Reis e Sousa, The Francis Crick Institute, UK
Brian Rudd, Cornell University
Alexander Rudensky, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Robert Watson, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Dario Zamboni, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Brazil

The format of the meeting will include eight oral sessions and two poster sessions. Each oral session will include invited speakers and speakers selected from submitted abstracts. For this reason, abstracts from accomplished junior and senior investigators are warmly invited. The abstracts should focus on new and unpublished data. The organizers will select abstracts for oral or poster presentations. The status (talk/poster) of abstracts will be posted on our website (below) as soon as decisions have been made. We have applied for funds from government and industry to partially support graduate students and postdocs.

This conference may be supported in part by funds provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health

Social Media: The designated hashtag for this meeting is #cshlimmune. Note that you must obtain permission from an individual presenter before live-tweeting or discussing his/her talk, poster, or research results on social media. Click the Policies tab above to see our full Confidentiality & Reporting Policy.

Pricing:

In-Person Fees
Academic/Media Private Room/Private Bath Package: $1945 (Subject to Availability)
Academic/Media Private Room/Shared Bath Package: $1820
Academic Shared Room Package: $1660
Academic/Media No-Housing Package: $1240
Student Package*: $1545
Student No-Housing Package: $1125
Corporate Private Room/Private Bath Package: $2485
Corporate No-Housing Package: $1780

*Student Housing is default double occupancy. Please enquire about availability and fees to upgrade to private room.

NOTE: We cannot guarantee housing will be on campus

Room packages close 2 weeks before the meeting start date

Rules for Virtual Participation: Virtual participation will include access to the oral sessions via Zoom, access to the digital poster sessions access to the Slack discussion channel, and the Leading Strand video archive.

Presenters: Individuals submitting abstracts and facing financial barriers should first request financial aid (see above). Permission to present your talk or poster virtually will be given only in exceptional circumstances and on a case-by-case basis. If you think you are eligible for an exemption from the requirement to present in person, please provide a justification in writing via email to Val Pakaluk

Non-presenting participants: We plan to broaden access to the conference by allowing certain categories of non-presenting participants to attend virtually at reduced fees. Categories include:
1. Individuals from low & middle-income countries;
2. Individuals from non-LMIC countries in Asia, Australasia, Africa or South America;
3. Individuals from US & Canadian minority-serving institutions;
4. Individuals with a demonstrable financial barrier;
5. Individuals with family obligations or other special circumstances.
For categories 4 & 5 above, please provide a justification via email to Val Pakaluk

Virtual Fees:

Academic Virtual Package: $370

Grad Student Virtual Package: $230

Corporate Virtual Package: $550

Late Fee (Registrations submitted after 5:00 p.m. ET on February 26, 2026)

Late Academic Virtual Package: $470
Late Student Virtual Package: $330
Late Corporate Virtual Package: $650