Veterinary Immunology Committee of the International Union of Immunological Societies (VIC-IUIS)

The VIC-IUIS is one of the subcommittees of the International Union of Immunological Societies.

Objectives
The objectives of the VIC are to promote the study and application of the immunology of animals of economic and sentimental value to humans. For this purpose it will have power:
(a) to collaborate with other IUIS committees
(b) to set up subcommittees
(c) to develop a flow of information on veterinary immunology by communicating with national immunology societies through appointed VIC-correspondents and through the Internet via the vetimm email listserv
(d) to organize international workshops and scientific meetings
(e) to publish recommendations in the field of veterinary immunology
(f) to develop any activity deemed helpful to the forwarding of its declared objectives

VIC IUIS Chair
Prof. Gary Entrican (Phone: ++44-131-445-5111; email: Gary.Entrican@moredun.ac.uk)

Veterinary Immunology Symposium
Every three years, VIC supports a local committee to organize the International Veterinary Immunology Symposium (IVIS). This congress is held immediately before or after the International Congress of Immunology. The 11th IVIS will take place in Australia in 2016. The Gold Coast has been chosen by an early planning group as the
venue for the 11th IVIS, which will occur as a satellite meeting of the 2016 ICI, to be
held in Melbourne from 21st -26th August 2016. For the 11th IVIS, VIC have taken a new approach, slightly condensing the IVIS and pairing it with  the biennial meeting of the Avian
Immunology Research Group (AIRG) over 6 days in total. The two
meetings will be held back-to-back from 14th -16th August (AIRG) and 16th – 19th August (IVIS). The aim is to share knowledge on the scientific programmes of AIRG and IVIS and provide the opportunity for delegates to attend both meetings (and ICI in Melbourne) in a cost-effective manner. Two hotels on the Gold Coast located a short distance apart have been selected as sites for the meetings.
 
International Workshops and Committees
Furthermore, the VIC supports a number of international workshops that have as their goal to improve the availability of species-specific reagents, to set standards and to provide a nomenclature of immunological molecules from species of veterinary interest.  

Comparative MHC Nomenclature Committee.
Chair:  Dr Keith Ballingall, Edinburgh (keith.ballingall@moredun.ac.uk)
website http://www.ebi.ac.uk/ipd/mhc/

VIC Toolkit Committee.
Chair: Dr Jayne Hope , Edinburgh (jayne.hope@roslin.ed.ac.uk)
            
Veterinary Immunology email listserv
The VetImm email listserv is a vehicle for communication among veterinary immunologists worldwide. It has regular activity and around 800 members worldwide. There is no 'species prejudice’ on VetImm, communications have ranged from livestock and avian species, companion animals, to wildlife and exotic species, zoo animals and fish. There are regular announcements about upcoming meetings and new training opportunities and job/graduate student options.

The Vetimm email listserv was established, and has been maintained, by Dr. Cynthia L. Baldwin (cbaldwin@vasci.umass.edu) at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA USA.

To subscribe , go to the following web page:http://list.umass.edu/mailman/listinfo/vetimm
If you wish to post a message to vetimm to be distributed to all subscribers, send an email tovetimm@vasci.umass.eduand then your message.

The VIC-IUIS welcomes new initiatives that will advance the field of veterinary immunology. Contact the VIC IUIS Chair, Prof. Gary Entrican (Phone: ++44-131-445-5111; email: Gary.Entrican@moredun.ac.uk) with your ideas and suggestions.