Inaugural Meeting of The International Immunotherapy Society for Fungal Diseases (IISFD)

Preliminary Program

Tuesday 23 June 2026 

Arrival, Registration, Session I, Welcome Reception

Time

Block

Topic

Speaker(s)

Format

12:30-14:00

 

Arrival and check-in

 

Open

14:00-16:00

 

Conference registration

 

Open

16:00-16:30

Session I

Welcome, IISFD mission, and meeting objectives

Arturo Casadevall

15 + 15

16:30-17:00

Session I

Opening keynote: Why immunotherapy now? The efficacy ceiling of antifungal therapy and the unmet need for adjunctive immune trials

Dimitrios Kontoyiannis

20 + 10

17:00-17:30

Session I

Architecting the Immune Response in Invasive Fungal Disease: Building a New Era of Clinical Immunotherapy

Frank van de Veerdonk

20 + 10

17:30-18:00

Session I

Regulatory and trial-framework considerations for immune interventions in infection

TBC (John Powers)

20 + 10

18:00-19:00

Session I

WORKSHOP: Trial-design primer and plenary discussion: what should first-generation fungal immunotherapy studies look like?

Chair + panel discussion

Panel / workshop

19:00-22:30

 

Welcome Reception and Dinner
Junior faculty and trainee networking roundtables

All faculty

Social / networking

 

Wednesday 24 June 2026 

Sessions II-IV, Poster Viewing, Conference Dinner

Time

Block

Topic

Speaker(s)

Format

07:30-08:45

 

 Breakfast

 

 

09:00-09:30

Session II

Therapeutic toolbox for fungal immunotherapy: cytokines, monoclonal antibodies, checkpoint concepts, and emerging cellular approaches

Darius Armstrong

20 + 10

09:30-10:00

Session II

Engineered immune interventions and cellular platforms: what can be borrowed from cancer immunotherapy?

Katy Rezvani

20 + 10

10:00-10:30

Session II

Precision immune modulation and synthetic immunology: future directions for host-directed therapy

Manish Butte

20 + 10

10:30-11:30

 

Coffee break and poster viewing

 

 

11:30-12:00

Session III

Candidiasis, inborn errors of immunity, and immunotherapy opportunities

Fanny Lanternier

20 + 10

12:00-12:30

Session III

Cryptococcosis and candidiasis: trial pitfalls

Tihana Bicanic

20 + 10

12:30-13:00

Session III

Cryptococcosis across the translational spectrum: from host damage to pragmatic therapeutic strategy

John Perfect

20 + 10

13:00-14:30

 

Lunch and informal discussions

 

 

14:30-15:00

Session IV

Teaching host biology in infectious diseases: building the next generation of clinician-scientists

Jay Vyas

20 + 10

15:00-15:30

Session IV

Immune balance, host injury, and sepsis-informed frameworks for fungal disease

Thierry Calandra

20 + 10

15:30-16:00

Session IV

From stewardship to innovation: integrating antifungal development, trial design, and clinical implementation

Melissa Johnson

20 + 10

16:00-16:30

 

Coffee / transition

 

 

16:30-17:00

Session IV

Innovative functional immune assays for patient stratification and immunological trial readouts

Georgios Chamilos

20 + 10

17:00-17:30

Session IV

Immune regulation, tolerance, and restoration of antifungal defense

Luigina Romani

20 + 10

17:30-18:00

Session IV

Translating core human immunology into antifungal immunotherapy

Mihalis Lionakis

20 + 10

18:00-18:30

Session IV 
Abstract Block 2

Selected abstract short talks 4-6: translational immunology, assays, and trial-ready biomarkers

3 selected abstract presenters

3 x 10

18:30-19:15

Session IV

WORKSHOP: what should we test now, and what should we stop doing, in fungal immunotherapy?

Chair + panel discussion

Debate

19:30-late

 

Conference dinner

 

 

 

Thursday 25 June 2026

Sessions V-VII, Closing Remarks, Farewell Dinner

Time

Block

Topic

Speaker(s)

Format

07:30-08:45

 

Breakfast

 

 

09:00-09:30

Session V

Aspergillosis in the ICU and beyond: immune dysregulation, phenotypes, and trial opportunities

Joost Wauters

20 + 10

09:30-10:00

Session V

Host biology in aspergillosis: mechanisms, endotypes, biomarkers, and actionable targets

Agostinho Carvalho

20 + 10

10:00-10:30

Session I
Abstract Block 1

Selected abstract short talks 1-3: immune phenotypes, biomarkers, and early translational signals

3 selected abstract presenters

3 x 10

10:30-11:30

 

 Coffee break and poster viewing

 

 

11:30-12:00

Session VI

Mucormycosis: immunomodulatory strategies and translational priorities

Ashraf Ibrahim

20 + 10

12:00-12:30

Session VI

Rewiring Innate Immunity: Inflammasomes in Host Protection and Pathology

Thirumala Kanneganti

20 + 10

12:30-13:00

Session VI

Trained immunity, tissue responses, and immunometabolism in severe infection

Maziar Divangahi

20 + 10

13:00-14:30

 

Lunch and informal discussions 

 

 

14:30-15:00

Session VII

Adaptive and platform trial designs: lessons from REMAP-CAP and critical care networks

Lennie Derde

20 + 10

15:00-15:30

Session VII

Fungal biology as a therapeutic entry point: cell wall, morphogenesis, and host-facing targets

Carol Munro

20 + 10

15:30-16:00

Session VII
Abstract Block 3

WORKSHOP: How to make it practical: regarding patients, fungal specimens, and logistics of cellular and non-cellular therapies?

Chair + panel discussion

 

16:00-17:30

Session VII

IISFD roadmap roundtable: working groups, assay harmonization, trial networks, education, and shared resources

Roundtable

including policy makers EU/NIH

17:30-17:45

Closing remarks

Meeting summary, next steps, and launch priorities

Arturo Casadevall
Frank van de Veerdonk
Dimitrios Kontoyiannis

Closing

19:30-late

 

Farewell dinner Special Aegean farewell event

 

 

 

Friday 26 June 2026 

Breakfast, Departure, Optional Working-Group Huddles

Time

Block

Topic

Speaker(s)

Format

07:30-10:30

 

 Breakfast

 

 

11:00

 

 Departure and check-out