CIM celebrates ten successful years

This year, 2013, the Center for Infectious Medicine celebrates its 10th anniversary. In connection to this CIM welcomes you to a day with open house and interesting seminars 31 May.

CIM has grown at a steady pace during the last few years. This is evident not in the least in the conference room.

Why should one attend CIM's 10th anniversary?

- The anniversary gives visitors the opportunity to see CIM as the center has developed and what it looks like today. It provides an opportunity to mingle among other leading researchers, to make contacts and create opportunities for new interactions and projects, says Hans-Gustaf Ljunggren, who until March this year, was director of CIM.

He has been involved from the start of CIM in 2003, when the center received its first grant from the Foundation for Strategic Research, SSF.

- Another important event for CIM was 2009 when we managed to get a theme grant, for six years, and where we were ranked number one of all 41 candidates, says Hans-Gustaf.

What do you think characterizes CIM?

- Many small groups led by strong leaders who are working in related but non-overlapping disciplines. A climate characterized by a high degree of cooperation, interaction and joint projects. Joint development of strong technology and methodology platforms, says Hans-Gustaf.

To the 10th anniversary of CIM, you have invited two foreign lecturers: Hergen Spits from Amsterdam and Garry Nolan of Stanford. Why these two?

- Much of the research at CIM has been based on the human immune system and its responses to infections, tumors, foreign transplants and other things that it is reacting against. Research has also been methodology and technology oriented, where we always have strived to be in the forefront. Hergen Spits has discovered a whole new family of lymphocytes, which play a central role in the initiation of immune responses in humans. Garry Nolan has developed a brand new technology - mass cytometry - to analyze immune cells, which can be said to be the next generation of flow cytometry. They both represent the research area of CIM.

Like Hans-Gustaf Ljunggren, the new Unit Head of CIM Anna Norrby-Teglund, hopes that the anniversary day will be well attended. Anna´s research is about life-threatening acute bacterial infections and she has also been at CIM since the start of the center.

How do you view your new role as Unit Head of CIM?

- It's an exciting challenge and a big responsibility. CIM is a successful unit with many talented researchers and students. I have a great support in the two Deputy Heads Malin Flodström-Tullberg and Johan Sandberg and our administrator Carina Löf, who has incredible control over personnel and budget issues. We plan to work together in a management team in close collaboration with the group leaders at CIM, says Anna.

What visions do you have for CIM?

- As a theme center at KI / SLL, we have a well-defined vision of the future; namely that CIM should be one of the leading translational research centers within immunity and infectious diseases in Europe, says Anna Norrby-Teglund.