Dear Colleagues and Friends,

The next edition of the Sociedade Portuguesa de Imunologia (SPI) Annual Meeting is to take place at the Fundação Champalimaud, which is beautifully situated on the river banks of the river Tagus in the bustling city of Lisboa. As the organizers of the upcoming edition, it is a great pleasure to invite you all to this remarkable event that has a great history. The Society has already passed its 50th anniversary a few years ago, but the Annual meeting will now see its 50th occurrence in the upcoming event on April 9 – 11, 2025. This is a clear confirmation of the longstanding success of SPI, but of course also calls for a special occasion to celebrate the 50th edition of the meeting. We hope that with your participation we can make the next Annual Meeting a truly memorable experience!

This year’s theme is “Breaking Boundaries in Immunology”. The very nature of science is to disrupt the status quo and to break out of old patterns, to eventually bring major changes in people’s lives. We firmly believe that to achieve such scientific challenges in the field of immunology requires interdisciplinary exchange and reaching out to other areas of research beyond the frontiers of immunology. Therefore, we have aimed to set up an amazing program covering a wide range of immunology and immunology related topics that include sessions on Tumor Immunology, Autoimmunity, Immune Deficiencies, Neuro-Immune Interactions, Ageing, Immune Metabolism, Infection and Immunity and Immune Cell Differentiation. These sessions will have a total of 14 national and international invited speakers in addition to 10 selected talks from junior researchers. We are also grateful for the contribution of Grupo Português de Imunodeficiências Primárias (GPIP), Grupo Português de Imuno-Oncologia (GPIO), and Grupo Português de Auto-Imunidade (GPAI), as collaborators in the organization of this event, and the support received from our sponsors.

We are setting out for an inspiring conference bringing together renowned speakers, senior and junior researchers, postdocs, students and clinicians to discuss breakthroughs and future challenges in the field of immunology and beyond.

We are looking forward to welcoming you at the Annual Meeting in Lisbon in the Spring of 2025!