We are very excited to invite you to the upcoming combined ALLSA/SAIS 2023 meeting. The conference will take place from 28th September till 1st October 2023, at the Century City Conference venue. A long overdue combined meeting for the allergy and immunological societies, with the disciplines of allergy and clinical immunology combined in many countries; and almost all understanding of the immunopathology and treatments of allergic diseases underpinned by basic immunology. It is also an auspicious year for immunology meetings in South Africa, with Cape Town the host country for the International Union of Immunological Societies (IUIS) 2023 meeting, the pre-imminent global meeting in immunology occurring every three years, with dates of 27th November to 2nd December 2023 at the CTICC. The theme for the IUIS meeting being: “Turning Discoveries into Treatments”. Our theme for this combined congress is related, albeit perhaps a step closer to the patient given that most of us attending will be clinicians.

As encapsulated by the congress theme, we hope to really see the unification of clinical and laboratory expertise and understanding. Presenters will be encouraged to use case-based discussions as the starting point for explanations of basic science allergy and immunology concepts; while laboratory and basic science experts will present topics to aid a deeper understanding of the science that underpins practice. We will have three joint plenary sessions with cross-cutting topics presented including around vaccine science, targeted therapies, and immunopathogenesis of infectious and allergic disease of importance to South Africa. Given the popularity of difficult case presentations, together with the ongoing need to maintain allergy care across the country at the highest standards to save lives, we will have several best practice sessions. In parallel, SAIS will have more in-depth basic science sessions on cutting-edge topics in infectious disease, cancer, and autoimmune immunology.

We hope that with all the restrictions of COVID-19 a thing of the past, and Cape Town less affected by load shedding compared to elsewhere, registrations will be high for what promises to be a fantastic meeting. Please also remember to submit your abstracts as we will be offering a number of travel fellowships for accepted abstract presenters.

See you soon in Cape Town for ALLSA/SAIS 2023.

Jonny Peter and Theresa Rossouw

Co-Chairs 2023 ALLSA/SAIS congress

Find more information here:

https://allsa2023.co.za/