Clinical Immunology Society: The Early Years 1984 - 1989

B. 1986 - Provisional Organization of the Clinical Immunology Society (CIS) and the Initial Annual Conference on Clinical Immunology (ACCI)

Three general tasks were undertaken. One was to establish a core Working Group to develop the CIS and its operations; the second was a provisional definition of CIS goals; and the third was the planning and conducting of the initial ACCI.

1. Core Working Group to Develop CIS

In moving from planning to an action stage, a core of five persons became the principle organizers of the CIS and its first project – the ACCI. (The ad hoc Steering Committee is listed in Table I.) Others, such as Hugh McDevitt and Tom Waldmann and Robert Goldstein, were frequently consulted.

To be sure that the plans enunciated by the Steering Committee were carried out, an Executive Officer position was established. Susan Kanowith-Klein was appointed to assist with fundraising from commercial and other organizations; with NIAID communications and with the AAI and other interested parties; and maintaining contacts needed for arranging the ACCI. Also, a company headed by Mr. Jack Wyatt was hired to handle the meeting arrangements; he had previously assisted Noel Rose in preparing and conducting scientific meetings.

Consulting on plans continued. Colleagues with a willingness and capacity to contribute were sought out at national and specialty meetings. A broad representation would include those active in major clinical and research fields as well as geographic and institutional diversity. All the persons in Table I were contacted again in 1986.

Pharmaceutical companies with interest in immune diagnostics and therapy were approached by Susan Kanowith-Klein, and many contributed support for the CIS and for the ACCI.

Incorporation of the CIS was important to facilitate the handling of funds for the ACCI and administrative activities, while the bonding of employees was addressed separately. Incorporation was undertaken with the assistance of Arnold Gold of the law firm Pachter, Gold and Schaffer, 5757 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90036.

Susan Kanowith-Klein had previously obtained information on the incorporation and tax-exemption processes in California, Delaware, and Maryland. She arranged for the papers to be drawn up, and fortunately, this law firm did so pro bono to assist medical research. However, Drs. Fahey and Kanowith-Klein did take the partners to lunch at Jimmy’s Restaurant in Beverly Hills. A favorite of the legal set, this upscale bistro, alas, no longer exists.

2. CIS Goals

The proposed goals of the CIS were reviewed at the May 6, 1986, meeting held during the ASCI Conference in Washington, D.C. Both scientific and educational uses were suggested, including:

1. To facilitate the interchange of ideas and information among physicians and other investigators who are concerned with immunological diseases;
2. To promote research on the causes and mechanisms of diseases relating to the immune system and, as a result, to unify concepts of disease pathogenesis;
3. To encourage investigators and clinicians, whether in academic institutions or industry, to share knowledge of immunologically active drugs and other interventions;
4. To foster excellence in research and medical practice;
5. To promote the application of recent advances in biomedical science for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases related to immunity (the immune system).

3. Initial Conference on Clinical Immunology - Preparation and Conduct

Prior recommendations favored having an initial scientific meeting of about two days with a format to include plenary sessions, simultaneous mini-symposia, posters and poster discussion groups, and meet-the-professor exchanges. This plan was adopted. (The scientific program is attached - Table III.)

The ambitiously designated First Annual Conference on Clinical Immunology (ACCI) was held October 10-12, 1986, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Baltimore. It began at 7:00 p.m. on a Friday evening and concluded by noon on Sunday. Five plenary sessions included the first account by Robert Peter Gale of U.S. assistance in Bone Marrow Transplantation for victims of the Nuclear Catastrophe at Chernobyl in the U.S.S.R. Other plenary sessions addressed "Soluble Factors Regulating the Immune Response," "Immunogenetics," "Molecular Pathogenesis of Human Leukemia," and "AIDS Viruses and Immunopathogenesis of AIDS." There were more than 50 abstracts and two groups of four concurrent workshops with each containing six-to-eight contributions.

The proposal for development of the CIS was outlined by John Fahey on the opening evening of the ACCI so that there would be good opportunities during the following day-and-a-half for discussions and suggestions. More than 300 immunologists attended and urged that such a society should continue to develop. Support was provided by eight companies, three foundations, the AAI, and NIAID.

Evaluations collected at the end of the ACCI meeting indicated that there had been good scientific coverage in the day-and-a-half, which also allowed for contacts and discussions. Areas suggested for further development were Immunology of Infectious Diseases, Diseases involving the Gastrointestinal Tract, Pulmonology, and Dermatology.

In conversation, a pediatric immunologist noted that he hoped the CIS Conference would be an established event for those studying primary immune deficiency diseases, since these immunologists had no place with organ-based specialists or allergists.

Arrangements were made at Johns Hopkins for CME credits for qualified attendees.

There were no honoraria, but speaker expenses were reimbursed. Jack Wyatt had done a good job of preparing for the ACCI.

The premise was established that a separate (from the AAI) Clinical Immunology conference could be significant and attract medical scientists and educators. It also verified that the nascent CIS did have the capacity to organize and conduct a significant scientific meeting.

4. Subsequent Annual Conferences on Clinical Immunology

The CIS planners in 1986 not only had to prepare for that ACCI, but also had to encourage 1986 attendees to plan to attend the second ACCI already scheduled for November 30-31 and December 1, 1987, at the Sheraton Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Subsequent ACCIs:

Second - Washington, D.C., October 30 - November 1, 1987
President: John L. Fahey

Third - San Francisco, CA, November 4-6, 1988
President: Thomas Waldmann

Fourth - Arlington, VA (Washington, D.C.) November 3-5, 1989
President: Hugh McDevitt

Attendance at these conferences ranged between 350 and 450. The programs were structurally similar to the preceding ones, and about 100 abstracts were submitted to each conference. Topics for poster and workshop presentations in 1987 are outlined in Table IV. Many had been included in the 1986 program.

Therapeutic emphasis was on Immunopharmacology, clinical trials, and laboratory evaluation in clinical trials. Also included were lymphokines, immune-suppressive agents, biologicals such as monoclonal antibodies, organ transplantation, bone marrow transplantation, disease diagnosis, epidemiology, and immunogenetics

A few clinical practitioners were attracted to the ACCI meetings. The suggestion of having State-of-the-Art Reviews for them to be held on a Saturday morning in conjunction with future ACCI was discussed. Such programs were conducted in several later years but did not attract large numbers of practitioners.