The Byers Eye Institute at Stanford
Second International Symposium on Immunity, Immunology & Ocular Inflammation
I I O I · 2 0 2 6
The IIOI Symposium convenes leading immunologists, ophthalmologists, and translational scientists to advance the understanding of the pathophysiology of immunologic diseases - with a distinctive emphasis on ocular inflammation and uveitis.
Across two days, invited faculty present cutting-edge science and engage in moderated panel discussions designed to translate immunologic discovery into insight for ocular and systemic inflammatory disease. The intimate, cross-disciplinary format is what makes IIOI distinctive.
The inaugural IIOI Symposium was held in September 2024, bringing together 24 speakers across seven thematic sessions. The Second Symposium continues and expands that mission, deepening the dialogue between basic immunology and clinical ophthalmology.
Additional faculty will be announced.
Simonyi Conference Center
Computing and Data Science (CoDa) Building, 4th Floor
389 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA 94305
Finding the venueThe CoDa Building sits on Jane Stanford Way along the west side of The Oval, between the Gilbert Biological Sciences building and the Sapp Center for Science Teaching & Learning (near the North-South Axis walkway). Enter and take the elevator to the 4th floor.
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A preliminary program of seven sessions across two days, with roundtables and a closing panel. Talks are 20 minutes (15-minute presentation + 5-minute Q&A) unless noted. Program is preliminary and subject to change.
| 8:10 | Cytomegalovirus as an “Influencer” of the Immune System (incl. CMV in CAR-T) | Holden T. Maecker |
| 8:30 | TBD | Mark M. Davis |
| 8:50 | Ocular Lymphatics, Transplantation Immunity, and Glaucoma | Lu Chen |
| 9:10 | Unraveling the Breakdown of Immune Tolerance in Autoimmune Thyroid Disease | Rizwan Ahmed |
| 9:30 | A Resident Ocular Surface Commensal, Barrier Immunity, and IL-17 from γδ T Cells | Rachel R. Caspi |
| 9:50 | The Gut-Eye Axis in Ocular Immunity | Dong Feng Chen |
| 10:10 | Human Gut Microbes as Triggers and Regulators of Autoimmunity to Retina | Rachel R. Caspi |
| 10:30 | Genetic Basis of Periorbita Microbiomes | Graham Wallace |
| 11:10 | The Role of Systemic Adaptive Immunity in Shaping the Retinal Immune Microenvironment | Dong Feng Chen |
| 11:30 | In Vivo Human Ocular Immune Cell Profiling Using Machine Learning | Daniel R. Saban |
| 11:50 | The IL-27/CFH Axis Suppresses Uveitis by Reprogramming Retinal Microglial Metabolism and the Complosome | Charles E. Egwuagu |
| 12:10 | Microglia Augmentation Therapy to Treat Outer Retinal Degeneration | Daniel R. Saban |
| 12:30 | Open discussion & Q&A: Sessions I-III | Session I-III speakers |
| 13:50 | The Relationship Between EBV Infection and Ocular Disease: Optic Neuritis (MOGAD and NMO), Uveitis, and Retinitis | Lawrence Steinman |
| 14:10 | Pathology of Retinal Vasculitis and Retinal Vasculopathy | Chi-Chao Chan |
| 14:30 | Memory T-Cells in Birdshot Retinochoroidopathy | C. Michael Samson |
| 14:50 | TBD | Ahmet Gül |
| 15:10 | TBD | Johannes Nowatzky |
| 15:30 | Inflammation and Fibrosis in Mucous Membrane Pemphigoid | Graham Wallace |
| 16:10 | Open discussion & Q&A: Session IV & Day 1 themes | Session IV speakers |
| 8:05 | Regulatory T-Cell Therapy in Autoimmune and Inflammatory Diseases | Maria Grazia Roncarolo |
| 8:25 | Regulatory T-Cell Therapy in Ocular Inflammation - The PEACOCX Study | Jia-Horung Hung |
| 8:40 | TBD | Matthew Porteus |
| 9:00 | Advancing Uveitis Therapy Using IL-27-Secreting Human Organoids and IL-27/CFH-Producing iPSC-Derived Microglia | Charles E. Egwuagu |
| 9:20 | Selected Therapy in Development for Uveitis: What May Be Coming to the Clinics? | Quan Dong Nguyen |
| 9:55 | New Peptidomics Capabilities for Rare Peptide Quantification | Ryan Leib |
| 10:15 | New Technologies for Single-Cell & Proteomics Assays (HIMC) | Holden T. Maecker |
| 10:35 | The Role of Ocular Imaging as Biomarkers in Ocular Inflammation | Yasir J. Sepah |
| 10:55 | Improvements in High-Throughput Instrumentation for Studies at Scale | Ryan Leib |
| 11:15 | Perspectives on Immunology and Ocular Inflammation from the National Eye Institute | Michael F. Chiang |
| 11:55 | NEI Grants Update: NIH-Wide Changes & NEI Opportunities | Sangeeta Bhargava |
| 12:15 | Open discussion: key take-home messages & next steps | Day 2 speakers |
The inaugural 2024 symposium, shown here for reference only - not part of the 2026 program.
| 8:15 | B-Cell Development and Autoimmunity | Eric Meffre |
| 8:30 | Evidence for Two Independent T-Cell Checkpoints Controlling Autoimmunity | Mark Davis |
| 8:45 | The Role of Cytomegalovirus in Shaping the Human Immune System | Holden Maecker |
| 9:00 | Beyond IgE: Mast Cells’ Contribution to Non-Allergic Ocular Inflammation and Angiogenesis | Sunil Chauhan |
| 9:15 | Impact of ERAP1-MHC Class I Epistasis on Human Immune-Mediated Disease | Johannes Nowatzky |
| 9:30 | Panel - The Next Molecule to Conquer in Immune Regulation | Led by Holden Maecker |
| 10:00 | Multimodal Imaging of Optic Nerve Inflammation, Vasculopathy, and Degeneration | Joyce Liao |
| 10:15 | 3D Visualization of Retinal Ganglion Cell Ultrastructure Relevant to Optic Disc Drusen Pathology | Wah Chiu |
| 10:30 | Modern Mass Spectrometry ‘omics: Advances in Proteomics and Metabolomics | Ryan Leib |
| 10:45 | Novel Serum and Tear Proteomic Biomarkers: Infectious vs. Non-infectious Uveitis | Rupesh Agrawal |
| 11:00 | Adaptive Optics Retinal Imaging for In Vivo Pathology and Physiology | Alfredo Dubra |
| 11:15 | Panel - The Next Promising Imaging Technology for Inflammation | Led by Wah Chiu |
| 12:30 | Molecular Diagnosis of Orbital Inflammatory Diseases | James Rosenbaum |
| 12:45 | Measuring Immune Competence in Health and Disease | Holden Maecker |
| 13:00 | Inherited Retinal Disease-Associated Ocular Inflammation | Jia-Horung Hung |
| 13:15 | Immune Response in Tubercular Uveitis: Diagnosis and Management | Vishali Gupta |
| 13:30 | Uveitis Progression: Structural vs. Functional Deterioration | Yasir Sepah |
| 13:45 | Immunopathology of Uveitis | Chi-Chao Chan Eng |
| 14:00 | Panel - Is Combination Therapy Appropriate for Ocular Inflammatory Diseases? | Led by Quan Dong Nguyen |
| 14:20 | Corneal Lymphangiogenesis and Transplantation Immunity | Lu Chen |
| 14:35 | Calcification and Its Relationship to End-Stage Macular Degeneration | Imre Lengyel |
| 14:50 | Microbiome and HLA-B27 Associated Diseases | James Rosenbaum |
| 15:05 | The Impact of Diet on Inflammation via the Gut Microbiome | Justin Sonnenburg |
| 15:20 | Panel - The Microbiome as a Tool in Treating Inflammatory Diseases | Led by Justin Sonnenburg |
| 15:50 | The Eye as a Window to the Brain: Oculomics for Brain Disorders | Imre Lengyel |
| 16:05 | Inflammation and the Eye-Brain Network | Joyce Liao |
| 16:20 | Subcellular Features in Fibroblasts Derived from Alzheimer Patients | Wah Chiu |
| 16:35 | STAT-specific Camelid Nanobody: Immunotherapy for CNS Autoimmune Diseases | Charles E. Egwuagu |
| 16:50 | Can We Reverse Eye Aging? | Vinit Mahajan |
| 17:05 | Panel - Using Eye Findings to Learn About Brain Diseases | Led by Joyce Liao |
| 17:25 | Day 1 Wrap-Up and Adjournment |
| 8:00 | Neutrophils in Ocular Surface Disease | Daniel Saban |
| 8:15 | MSC Regulation of Ocular Surface Inflammation and Tissue Regeneration | Sunil Chauhan |
| 8:30 | Macrophages in the Cornea, Outflow Tract, and Outer Retina | Daniel Saban |
| 8:45 | Aqueous Humor Proteomics: Targetable Immune Checkpoints in Uveal Melanoma | Prithvi Mruthyunjaya |
| 9:00 | Impact of Checkpoint Inhibitors on Autoreactive B-Cell Development | Eric Meffre |
| 9:15 | Disease-Associated TCR in Human Uveitides: Behçet’s and Others | Johannes Nowatzky |
| 9:30 | Panel - How to Best Assess and Measure Immune Response | Led by Johannes Nowatzky |
| 10:00 | Regulatory B cells (Bregs) and Exosomes: Immunotherapies for Uveitis and GVHD Eye Disease | Charles E. Egwuagu |
| 10:15 | Salutogenesis: A Novel Approach to Eye Inflammatory Disease Prevention | Vishali Gupta |
| 10:30 | Re-engineering Immune Privilege to Treat Eye Inflammation | Vinit Mahajan |
| 10:45 | T-lymphocyte Profiling in IGRA-Positive vs. IGRA-Negative Uveitis | Rupesh Agrawal |
| 11:00 | Therapy in Development for Uveitis: Selected Biologics and Cellular Modifications | Quan Dong Nguyen |
| 11:15 | Therapies Targeting Integrins and Their Applicability to Uveitis | Lawrence Steinman |
| 11:30 | Human Organoids to Model Autoimmune Diseases and Regulatory T Cell Function | Mark Davis |
| 11:45 | Panel - Where to Focus for the Best Therapeutic Effects | Led by Mark Davis & Vishali Gupta |
| 12:15 | Session-by-session synthesis (Sessions 1-7) | Meffre · Liao · Sepah · Rosenbaum · Goldberg · Davis · Steinman |
| 12:50 | Closing Remarks and Goal Setting for the Next Step | Quan Dong Nguyen & Johannes Nowatzky |