About ENCI

MISSION

The European Network for Cancer Immunotherapy ENCI is a collaborative information and networking platform of the Association for Cancer Immunotherapy (CIMT), the European Academy of Tumor Immunology (EATI), the Italian Network for Tumor Biotherapy (NIBIT) and the Spanish Group for Cancer Immuno-Biotherapy(GÉTICA).

ENCI harmonizes the activities of the European cancer immunotherapy community and fosters collaboration across organizations and countries. By providing and disseminating information, organizing scientific meetings and educating political decision makers, ENCI aims to advance the research and implementation of cancer immunotherapy in Europe.

Governance

ENCI is a research network of equal partners. ENCI is governed by the ENCI council which plans and decides the network’s joint activities. The council is composed of representatives from each partner organization and meets under a rotating chairmanship.

Christoph Huber

Chair

Mario Colombo

Council Member

Guido Kroemer

Council Member

Matteo Bellone

Council Member

Catherine Sautès-Fridman

Council Member

Vincenzo Russo

Council Member

Özlem Türeci

Council Member

AnA Arance

Council Member

Luis de la Cruz

Council Member

NETWORK

The European Network for Cancer Immunotherapy (ENCI) is a collaborative information and networking platform of the Association for Cancer Immunotherapy, the European Academy of Tumor Immunology and the Italian Network for Tumor Biotherapy. About the ENCI organizations:

Association for Cancer Immunotherapy CIMT

The Association for Cancer Immunotherapy is Europe’s largest members-based information and education platform that facilitates the knowledge exchange between academic and industry scientists, physicians and regulatory authorities who research and develop cancer immunotherapies. Founded in 2002, CIMT organizes annual meetings, working groups, advanced education seminars, symposia and publishes white papers, guidelines and textbooks on cancer immunotherapy.

European Academy of Tumor Immunology (EATI)

EATI promotes all areas of tumor immunology, considered as a continuum between fundamental, translational and clinical research, as well as the practical implementation of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in routine clinical practice. Founded in 2010, EATI counts on 199 “Academicians” and more than 1300 members to organize scientific conferences, workshops and seminars, and to publish a dedicated journal (OncoImmunology).

Italian Network for Tumor Biotherapy (NIBIT)

The Italian network for cancer biotherapy was established in 2004, to create a cooperative network collecting and coordinating the activities of several Italian groups involved in cancer immunotherapy. The objectives of NIBIT are: a) to promote and develop scientific, professional and operational interactions between professionals (academy, industry, regulatory agencies) involved in cancer biotherapy; b) to develop and conduct clinical biotherapy studies and c) to inform cancer patients about clinical trials in the network.

Spanish Group for Cancer immuno-biotherapy (GÉTICA)

GÉTICA is a Spanish non-profit association, working/established in 2014, by and for clinicians and basic or translational researchers interested in tumor immunology and immunotherapies for cancer treatment. GÉTICA’s aims are to promote research and development of novel immunotherapies, to promote education among researchers and clinicians in this field, as well as to endorse public engagement by spreading of cancer immunology and immunotherapy advances/progress. One of GÉTICA’s priorities is to facilitate and integrate other scientific societies and cooperative groups to support a multidisciplinary and collaborative scientific environment and view to boost knowledge in cancer immunology and development of novel immunotherapies.

Christoph Huber

Chair 

Christoph Huber is professor emeritus and former Head of the department of Hematology and Oncology at the Johannes Gutenberg University Medical School in Mainz, Germany. Past and present personal research interests are tumor immunology (molecular characterization of tumor-associated antigens, therapeutic T-cell receptor transfer, tumor immune escape mechanisms) and transplantation biology (mechanisms of graft-versus-host disease and their therapeutic manipulation, characterization of minor histocompatibility antigens, T cell repertoire shaping by activation-induced-cell-death). Professor Huber has held many national and international appointments in various research organizations and regulatory agencies. He is a founder and board member of the Association for Cancer Immunotherapy CIMT e.V. ,a board member of the Cluster Ci3-Individualized ImmuneIntervention, Rhine-Main Metropolitan Area, and Senior advisor to international pharmaceutical companies and big science institutions.

GUIDO Kroemer

Council Member

Guido Kroemer is Professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Paris Descartes, Director of the research team “Metabolism, Cancer and Immunity” of the French Medical Research Council (INSERM), Director of the Metabolomics and Cell Biology platforms of the Gustave Roussy Comprehensive Cancer Center, Deputy Director of the Cordeliers Research Center, and Hospital Practitioner at the Hôpital Européen George Pompidou in Paris. Dr. Kroemer has made important contributions to medical research through his groundbreaking work in the fields of cell biology and cancer research. He is best known for the discovery that the permeabilization of mitochondrial membranes constitutes a decisive step in programmed cell death.

Catherine Sautès-Fridman

Council Member

Catherine Sautès-Fridman is head of the “Cancer, Immunology and immunopathology” Department at INSERM. She is also a member of the “Cancer, Immune control and escape” group, and past president of the European Federation of Immunological Societies. Her scientific achievements have been in the fields of immunogenetics and tumor immune escape mechanisms.
She currently serves as specialty chief co-editor of “cancer Immunity and Immunotherapy” section of Frontiers in Immunology and Frontiers in Oncology, and as chief editor of “Immunité et Cancer” a new medical education and information quaterly publication for all the actors of Immuno-Oncology.

Özlem Türeci

Council Member

Özlem Türeci is an M.D. with over 25 years of experience in cancer research and immuno-oncology, specifically in the identification of immunotherapeutic drug targets and the development of antibodies, as well as vaccine-based therapies. Dr. Türeci co-founded GanymedPharmaceuticals as Chief Scientific Officer and was its Chief Executive Officer from 2008-2017, developing a new generation of first-in-class antibodies in solid cancers. Dr. Türeci is now a management board member of BioNTech. She is also a chair and co-initiator of Ci3, the German Cluster Initiative of Individualized ImmunIntervention(Ci3) e.V., based in Mainz, Germany. She has authored over 110 peer-reviewed publications and is an inventor on more than 80 patents and patent applications.

Mario Colombo

Council Member

Mario P. Colombo, PhD, is Director of the Department of Research and Director of Molecular Immunology at Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan, Italy. Dr. Colombo has been active in the field of cancer immunology with a focus on dendritic cells and on Listeria and Salmonella-based vaccines. He first induced, in vivo, M2-M1 conversion within the tumor microenvironment and has shown that OX40 agonist induces inhibition of Treg function in mice by inhibiting IL-10 production and favoring their conversion to Th17, while OX40, per se, regulates Treg fitness. He is also studying matricellular protein SPARC and its role in tissue homeostasis and immune function and is active in the field of MDSC, Neutrophils and Mast Cells. Dr. Colombo is the author of more than 300 papers and a Senior Editor of Cancer Research. He is the current president of NIBIT (Italian Network of Biotherapies).

Matteo Bellone

Council Member

For the last 25 years Matteo Bellone has been working in the fields of cancer immunology and immunotherapy, in which is internationally well recognized as expert in mouse models of prostate cancer, melanoma, and myeloma.
He is Head of the Cellular Immunology Unit, and Deputy Director of the Network in Translational Research to Improve Prostate Cancer Treatment (NET-IMPACT) at IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, where he also practices as medical consultant in the field of Clinical Immunology. He is adjunct professor of Immunology at the Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele. He is Associate Editor at Frontiers in Immunology and Frontiers in Oncology, and member of several boards serving scientific journals and charities. He is Secretary and Treasurer of the Network Italiano per la BioTerapia dei Tumori (NIBIT) association, and member of the Società Italiana di Immunologia, Immunologia Clinica ed Allergologia (SIICA), and the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).

VINCENZO RUSSO

Council Member

Ana arance

Council Member

Ana Arance, MD PhD, is Consultant and Head of the Melanoma Unit of the Medical Oncology Service of the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona. She is an accredited researcher in the “Translational genomics and targeted therapeutics in solid tumors” team at the August PI i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBAPS), where leads melanoma research with public and private funding projects. She is Principal Investigator in multiple Clinical Trials in skin cancer and in early phase studies with new molecules Since 2020 she is President of the Spanish Group for Cancer Immuno-Biotherapy (GETICA). She is an active member of the Spanish Melanoma Group (GEM), as well as of several professional organizations, including the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM), the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

Luis de la Cruz

Council Member

Luis de la Cruz is the Chief of the Clinical Oncology Department at Virgen Macarena University Hospital, and Associate Professor at Medicine Faculty, University of Seville. His main clinical activity is focused on breast cancer, melanoma and lymphoma, with special interest in translational research devoted to immunology and immunotherapy of cancer. PI of hundreds of clinical trials during his career, he has collaborated and published practice-changing papers in the top tier journals of Oncology and Immunology. He is a member of the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO), Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM), and the national research collaborative groups GEICAM (Spanish Breast Cancer Research Group), GOTEL (Spanish Lymphoma Oncology Group) and GETICA (Spanish Group for Cancer Immuno-Biotherapy, cofounder).

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