The 9th CITIM-2027 PROGRAM

Riga, Latvia May 24 - 27, 2027

Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa, Daugava, Riga

May 24, 2027

Registration

CONFERENCE OPENING CEREMONY

Conference opening

Moshe Elkabets, Chair, CITIM Organizing Committee

Welcoming & greetings

Dace Pjanova, Chair, Local Organizing Committee

Representative of the Riga municipality

Representative of Riga Stradinš University

Special Introductions

Michael R. Shurin (CITIM Co-Founder)

Viktor Umansky (CITIM Co-Founder)

Yona Keisari (Tel Aviv University)

Welcome remarks and information

Andy Hurwitz (Vice Chair, CITIM Organizing Committee)

KEYNOTE LECTURE

T.B.D.

PLENARY SESSION 1

Immunity and the malignant process

Luca Vannucci (Prague, Czech Rep)

Smoldering inflammation in the development of the tumor microenvironment

Natalia Aptsiauri (Granada, Spain)

HLA, tumor antigen presentation, and cancer immune escape

Karina Silina (Zurich, Switzerland)

Lymphoid structures in the tumor environment

Mohammadreza Azimi (Riga, Latvia)

Digital pathology of the HCC microenvironment

Isaak Witz Memorial Lectures

Distinguished Chair: Eitan Yefenof (Jerusalem, Israel)

Yona Keisari (Tel Aviv, Israel)

Alpha particle-mediated cancer radiotherapy: translational and clinical studies

Adit Ben-Baruch (Tel Aviv, Israel)

Regulation and function of the immune inhibitory pathways in breast cancer

Michal Baniyash (Jerusalem, Israel)

MDSC in the regulation of chronic inflammation pathways

Welcome reception, Hotel Lobby

May 25, 2027

Distinguished Chair: Suzanne Ostrand-Rosenberg

(Salt Lake City, UT, USA)

Keynote Presentation

Udo Gaipl ((Erlangen, Germany)

Immune Biological Challenges of Radio-Immunotherapies and Translational Approaches

PLENARY SESSION 2

Regulatory pathways in the tumor immunoenvironment: Cellular and molecular mechanisms

Andrei Thomas-Tikhonenko (Philadelphia, PA, USA)

Alternatively spliced surface epitopes: lost and found

Anna Zajakina (Riga, Latvia)

Reprogramming of the tumor microenvironment

Jadwiga Jablonska (Essen, Germany)

Neutrophils as immunomodulators and immunotherapy targets

Ronen Alon (Rehovot, Israel)

Adhesive cues orchestrating CD8 differentiation and function in the tumor immunity cycle

Coffee break

PLENARY SESSION 3

Neuroregulatory pathways in the tumor environment

Michael R. Shurin (Pittsburgh, PA, USA)

Immunoregulatory neuroglial cells in cancer

Nuray Erin (Antalya, Turkey)

Regulation of metastasis formation in the tumor neuroenvironment

T.B.D

T.B.D – Selected talk

Lunch break

PLENARY SESSION 4

Regulatory pathways in the tumor immunoenvironment: Immunosuppressive mechanisms

Session chair - Suzanne Ostrand-Rosenberg, Ph.D. (Utta, USA)

Sven Brandau (Essen, Germany)

Neutrophil-associated immunosuppression and tumor progression

Per thor Straten (Herlev, Denmark)

The exercise of mobilizing the immune system in cancer patients

Zvi G. Fridlender (Jerusalem, Israel)

Immune Check point Inhibitors (ICI) modify cytotoxic capabilities of cancer-related neutrophils and their mechanisms

Mads Andersen (Herlev, Denmark)

Immune Modulatory Vaccines: Reprogramming the Immunosuppressive Tumor Microenvironment

POSTER SESSION

Riga overview sightseeing tour for CITIM-2027 participants

May 26, 2027

Distinguished Chair: Graham Pawelec

(Tübingen, Germany)

Keynote Presentation

Jonathan Weiss (Frederick, MD, USA)

High-Throughput Discovery of Irg1/Acod1 Allosteric Inhibitors Defines a Targetable Itaconate–Leukotriene Axis in Peritoneal Cancer

PLENARY SESSION 5

Regulatory pathways in the tumor immunoenvironment: Improved immunotherapy

Una Riekstina (Riga, Latvia)

Targeting the acute myeloid leukemia immunosuppressive microenvironment

Qing Yi (Houston, USA)

Metabolic Reprograming to Enhance T Cell-Based Immunotherapy in Cancer

T.B.D

Coffee break

PLENARY SESSION 6

Cancer immunotherapy: New concepts

Moshe Elkabets (Beer-Sheva, Israel)

Androgen regulate inflammation and enhances head and neck cancer development in males

Dace Pjanova (Riga, Latvia)

Mapping the cancer–immunity cycle from biomarkers to personalized immunotherapy

Olha Karaman (Chicago, IL, USA)

HERV-E TCR-Modified T Cells for the Treatment of Renal Cell Carcinoma: Expanding Therapeutic Opportunities

Yaron Carmi (Tel Aviv, Israel)

Sustained in Site TNFa is required to elicit cytotoxicity on tumor-reacive T cells

Lunch break

PLENARY SESSION 7

Cancer immunotherapy: New targets and models

Kristīne Vaivode (Riga, Latvia)

IFN-γ signatures for selecting cancer immunotherapy

Angel Porgador (Beer Sheva, Israel)

Decoding Immune Checkpoints: Novel Targets and the Glycan Dimension

Simona Doniņa (Riga, Latvia)

Novel approaches for cancer immunotherapy: Clinical perspectives

Andreas Lunquist (Stockholm, Sweden)

Epigenetic Remodeling of the Sarcoma Immune Microenvironment: Mechanisms of T-cell Exclusion and Therapeutic Opportunities

Coffee break

SPECIAL PLENARY SESSION 8

HCC immunotherapy: Novel approaches

T.B.D

May 27, 2027

Chair: Viktor Umansky

(Heidelberg, Germany)

Keynote Presentation

Serge Y. Fuchs (Philadelphia, PA, USA)

Overcoming MARylation-driven Immunosuppressive Tumor Microenvironment

PLENARY SESSION 9 Best Abstract Presentations TBD

TBD

Best Abstract Award Presentation

Chair: Vita Pasukoniene (Vilnius, Lithuania)

TBD

Coffee break

PLENARY SESSION 10

Cancer immunotherapy: Novel perspectives

Viktor Umansky (Heidelberg, Germany)

Immunosuppression in tumor microenvironment mediated by myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC)

Jekaterina Ērenpreisa (Riga, Latvia)

Decoding mechanisms of cancer resistance to immunotherapy

T.B.D

T.B.D – Selected talk

Lunch break

PLENARY SESSION 11

Cancer immunotherapy: New approaches in immunomonitoring and therapy

Andy Hurwitz (MA, USA)

T.B.D.

Aija Linē (Riga, Latvia)

Exercise as an Adjunct to Cancer Treatment

T.B.D – Selected talk

CONFERENCE CLOSING: CONCLUDING REMARKS

Natalia Aptsiauri – Summary and the future of CITIM

Banquet

Free time