The overall goal of the MASIR conferences is to define the antigen-specific assays that can provide clinical correlates of:

The last 10 years have seen an explosion of novel assays developed for the detection, quantification, and characterization of antigen-specific immune responses. This has been principally driven by the development of technologies such as MHC tetramers, intracellular cytokine staining and ELISpot following stimulation. It is now generally accepted that the enumeration and characterization of antigen-specific T cells and B cells will provide key correlates in the determination of disease morbidity, potency of therapeutic intervention, and vaccine efficacy.

To date, the MASIR conferences are the only specialized meetings organized to exchange the latest information about these topics.  Previously, such information and data is discussed at individual sessions (or presentations) at various general meetings such as Keystone HIV/Vaccine, AAI, ISAC, and so forth. These meetings, however, are too large and too diffuse to bring together the full spectrum of researchers who are developing and applying antigen-specific technologies.

Out of this need was borne the MASIR conferences. The primary goal of these conferences is to bring together a broad array of basic and clinical researchers whose laboratories rely on and develop techniques for detection of antigen-specific lymphocytes in the setting of immunotherapy and vaccination for viral infections, cancer, and autoimmunity. 

The first MASIR conference was held in January of 2005 in Courmayeur, Italy. It was a resounding success; potential registrants had to be turned away because it became over-subscribed. The attendees were roundly enthusiastic about the topic, the presentations, and the format. A summary of this conference and the topic was published in Trends in Immunology, in September 2005. The second MASIR conference was held in June of 2006 in Santorini, Greece.  We were able to accommodate more attendees at this meeting and had nearly 250.  Attendance at every session was over 90%, showing the commitment of the audience to the meeting. A summary of this meeting was published in Cytometry B in early 2007. The third MASIR conference was held in January 2008 in La Plagne, France. Again, the meeting registration was closed at the capacity of nearly 200 attendees. For this meeting, a special issue of Cytometry B was devoted to papers from invited speakers and a summary of the meeting (and vendors had the opportunity to advertise in the issue).