Dear Colleagues,
for many years, the close medical and scientific collaboration between Switzerland and Germany has provided an important foundation for exchange, innovation, and progress in research.
Against this background, we are delighted to announce the Basel–Freiburg Cell and Gene Therapy Symposium 2027.
This new joint symposium brings together the long-standing scientific traditions of Freiburg and Basel in the fields of immunotherapy, cell therapy, and gene therapy. Our aim is to enhance international visibility and further strengthen scientific exchange between academic research, clinical practice and industry.
The symposium will be held annually, alternating between Freiburg and Basel, and jointly hosted by the University of Freiburg and the Medical Center – University of Freiburg, together with the University of Basel and University Hospital Basel.
The one-and-a-half-day event will showcase the latest developments and applications in innovative therapies and provide a high-level platform for interdisciplinary exchange.
A particular highlight will be the keynote lectures delivered by internationally renowned scientists. In addition, we look forward to welcoming a distinguished group of further experts from around the world.
Preliminary Program
Thursday, 25th February 202709.30-10.00 am | Registration & Coffee
10.00–10.10 am | Welcome and Opening by the Symposium organizing committee
Session 1 «Immune Cell Therapy - preclinical» chaired by Lukas Jeker
10.10–10.40 am | Hinrich Abken (Erlangen, Germany)
«Developmental Journey of CAR T cells»
10.40–11.10 am | Adi Barzel (Tel Aviv, Israel)
«TCR based engineering»
11.10–11.40 am | Inge Jedema (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
«TILs T cell therapy»
11.40–11.50 am | Short talks (selected from abstracts) (…)
«…»
11.50–12.00 pm | Short talks (selected from abstracts)
«…»
12.00–13.00 pm | Stand-up Lunch
13.00–15.00 pm | Poster Session (with Poster Presenters)
Session 2 «Immune Cell Therapy - translational» chaired by Tobias Feuchtinger
13.00–13.10 pm | Introduction
13.10–13.40 pm | Marco Ruella (Philadelphia, USA)
«Metabolic fitness and enforcement of CAR T cell responses in vivo»
13.40–14.10 pm | Dimitrios Mougiakakos (Magdeburg, Germany)
«T Cell–Mediated B Cell Depletion in Autoimmunity – The Road to Remission»
14.10–14.20 pm | Short talks (selected from abstracts)
«…»
14.20–14.30 pm | Short talks (selected from abstracts)
«…»
14.30–15.00 Coffee Break and Poster Viewing
Bruno Speck Awards 2027 chaired by Jakob Passweg (Basel, Switzerland)
15.00–15.10 pm | Introduction
15.10–15.20 pm | Winner category «Basic Research»
15.20–15.30 pm | Winner category «Clinically-oriented Research»
Session 3 «Immune Cell Therapy - clinical» chaired by Evelyn Ullrich
15.35–15.45 pm | Introduction
15.45–16.15 pm | Katy Rezvani (Houston, USA)
«From Bench to Bedside: The Promise of Engineered NK Cell Therapy»
16.15–16.45 pm | Sarah Ghorashian (London, UK)
«Clinical result with novel CAR T cell contructs beyond conventional 2nd gen. CAR T cells»
16.45–16.55 pm | 1-2 Short talks (selected from abstracts)
16.55–17.00 pm | Closing remark of the day
8.30–8.40 am | Opening and introduction by the Symposium organizing committee
Session 4 «Regulation of ATMPs and availability for patients» chaired by Toni Cathomen
08.40–09.30 am | Keynote Lecture: Luigi Naldini (Milan, Italy)
«From lentiviral vector-based gene therapy to genome editing and back»
09.30–10.00 am | Annarita Miccio (Paris, France)
«Gene Therapy for Beta-Hemoglobinopathies: Current Achievements and Emerging Perspectives»
10.00–10.30 am | Janbernd Kirschner ( Freiburg, Germany)
«Gene Therapy for Neuromuscular Diseases – Progress, Challenges and Unmet Needs»
10.30–11.00 am | Introduction - Klaus Cichutek Round table discussion
11.00–11.30 am | Coffee Break and Poster Viewing
Session 5: «Evolving technologies» chaired by Theresa Käuferle
11.30–11.40 am | Introduction
11.40–12.10 pm | Dimitrios Laurin Wagner (Berlin, Germany; Houston, USA)
«Next generation genome editing to produce allogeneic CAR T cells»
12.10–12.40 pm | Judith Feucht (Tübingen, Germany)
«Endogenous reprogramming of CAR T cells to fight solid tumors»
12:40–12.50 pm | Short talks (selected from abstracts)
«…»
12:50–13.00 pm | Short talks (selected from abstracts)
«…»
13.00–13.15 pm | Closing remark of the Symposium by the organizing committee
13.15–14.15 pm | Apéro (riche)
Continuing education credits have been applied for with the Landesärztekammer Baden-Württemberg.
Registration
| Registration Fees | |
|---|---|
| Regular participants | € 100 per person, including refreshments during breaks |
| Industry | € 400 per person (fee not included in the sponsorship package) |
| Conference Dinner | € 75 per person - Restaurant Dattler Freiburg (25.02.2027) |
The number of participants is limited. Registration is only possible via the button below, the cancellation policy applies from the time of registration. However, your place is only secured once the invoice has been issued and full payment has been received.
Abstract Submission
Abstract submission is now open.
Only scientific abstracts will be accepted. Presentations of pharmaceutical or biotech products are not permitted.
Submission Deadline: November 29th 2026 | 12.00 am
Instructions for submitted abstracts: abstracts should be max. 250 words long and they should not contain references, tables, or figures. The following content is expected to be covered: 1. Introduction, 2. Materials and Methods, 3. Results, 4. Discussion and Conclusion. You can download the template for the abstract HERE.
Please read the privacy policy of the University Medical Center Freiburg
Sponsors
Coming soon…
Invited Speakers (alphabetical order)
Hinrich Abken
M.D. | University Professor | Department of Gene Immunotherapy, Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy, Regensburg | Germany
Adi Barzel
Ph.D. | Associate Professor | School of Neurobiology, Biochemistry and Biophysics, Tel Aviv University & Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center | Israel
Klaus Cichutek
M.D. | Professor | Biochemist | Adjunct Professor of Biochemistry at Goethe University Frankfurt | Germany
Judith Feucht
M.D. | W2 Professor for Cellular Immunotherapies in Cancer | University Children's Hospital Tübingen | University of Tübingen | Germany
Sara Ghorashian
M.D. | Chair, Advanced Cellular Therapy Sub-Committee, British Society of Blood and Marrow Transplantation and Cellular Therapy | Honorary Clinical Associate Professor, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health | London, UK
Inge Jedema
Ph.D. | Head of Translational Cellular Therapy | Netherlands Cancer Institute / Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital | Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Annarita Miccio
PhD | Lab Director | Laboratory of Chromatin and Gene Regulation During Development | Paris Cité University / Imagine Institute, INSERM UMR 1163, Paris, France
Dimitrios Mougiakakos
M.D. | University Professor | Clinical Director, University Hospital for Hematology, Oncology, Cellular and Radiation Therapy | Head of the Oncology Center, Magdeburg | Germany
Luigi Naldini
M.D., Ph.D. | Director, SR-Tiget, San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy | Professor of Tissue Biology and Gene and Cell Therapy, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University Medical School | Milan, Italy
Katy Rezvani
M.D., Ph.D. | Department of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, Division of Cancer Medicine | Houston, Texas, USA
Marco Ruella
M.D. | Associate Professor of Medicine | Scientific Director, Lymphoma Program, Abramson Cancer Center | Principal Investigator, Center for Cellular Immunotherapies, University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, USA
Dimitrios Wagner
M.D., Ph.D. | Group Leader | Baylor College of Medicine, Houston | Berlin Institute of Health at Charité | Translational Research Division, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin | Germany
Conference Venue
Universität Freiburg | Kollegiengebäude I, Platz der Universität 3 | 79098 Freiburg
OpenStreetMap
Contact Information
Scientific Committee
(alphabetical order)
Prof. Dr. Toni Cathomen | Scientific Director and Spokesperson of the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy Freiburg
Prof. Dr. Tobias Feuchtinger | Medical Director of the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy Freiburg
Prof. Dr. Andreas Holbro | Senior Physician, Department of Hematology, University Hospital Basel
Prof. Dr. Lukas Jeker | Head of Basic Research in Transplan-tation Immunology & Nephrology, University Hospital Basel
Dr. Theresa Käuferle | Managing Director of the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy Freiburg
Prof. Dr. Evelyn Ullrich | Chair of Personalized Immune Cell Therapy Institute of Transfusion Medicine and Gene Therapy Freiburg
Organization
Medical Center - University of Freiburg | Department of Communications
veranstaltung@uniklinik-freiburg.de
+ 49 761 270 - 19210
