Meetings
2004 Summer School in Primary Immune Deficiency Disorders
September 29-October 3, 2004
Savannah, Georgia, USA
The Clinical Immunology Society (CIS) held its third Summer School in Primary Immune Deficiency Disorders at the beautiful historical Mulberry Inn in Savannah, Georgia, September 28th - October 3, 2004. CIS received applications from North, Central and South America also Europe and the Middle East. A number of excellent applications were submitted making the selection process difficult. Thirty-one fellows were selected to attend the four-day meeting; fourteen (14) from the United States, one (1) from Canada, Sixteen (16) from Central and South America. The international make up of the participants provided a unique learning experience. In preparation for the course, the faculty, also international in scope; six (6) from the United States, one (1) Israel, one (1) Germany, and one (1) Santiago, Chile, provided each student with guidance on their case presentation and slides. The intensive five-day course covered topics including: SCID/CIS and transplant, WAS/XLT, DiGeorge, unknown defects, Hyper IgM, Hyper IgE, Mycobacterial Infections, XLA, AT and antibody defects. Student case presentations were followed by faculty lectures in each topic. The question and answer sessions that resulted from the presentations were invaluable. The participants did not leave the course empty handed. In addition to knowledge gained from the presentations, participants received a syllabus made up of teaching slides, articles of relevance, lab references and case studies. Attendees were encouraged to share this information with others in their labs. The casual and social atmosphere of the course allowed participants to establish connections with their peers as well as leaders in the field. CIS looks forward to future scientific contributions and collaborations from this group.