International Cytokine & Interferon Society
The International Cytokine & Interferon Society is a non-profit organization composed of researchers of cytokines, interferons and chemokine cell biology, molecular biology, biochemistry, and the use of biological response modifiers clinically. As the premier organization in the field of cytokine and chemokine biology, this group has more than 950 member scientists and holds annual conferences around the world.
Cytokine Society Leadership
The International Cytokine & Interferon Society has an elected Council that oversees operations. Curt Horvath is President, and Karen Mossman is President-Elect. Sarah Gaffen is immediate Past-President.History
The ICIS was created from two founder groups: The International Cytokine Society and the International Society for Interferon and Cytokine Research. The two organizations merged to become the International Cytokine and Interferon Society in 2013.Annual Meetings
International Cytokine & Interferon Society holds annual conferences around the world, usually in October or November. The 2024 conference was held jointly with the Korean Association of Immunology at the COEX Convention & Exhibition Center Seoul, Korea. The conference featured keynote speakers Professors Judi Allen and Nobel Laureate Drew Weissman. The 2025 ICIS meeting was held Nov 2-5 in Seattle Washington and featured Nobel Laureates David Baker and Charlie Rice, and Lasker Award Winner Zhijian (James) Chen.:
2026 October 18-21, 2026, Glasgow Scotland
2027 Tentatively September 14-17, 2027 Sydney Australia
2028 November 1-4, 2028, Boston MA, USA
2029 Dates TBA, Salamanca Spain
Cytokine Society Awards
Each year the society selects recipients of multiple awards at various career stages.Mid-Senior career awards: ICIS/Pfizer Award for Excellence in Cytokine and Interferon Research, the ICIS/BioLegend William E. Paul Award, the ICIS Mentorship Award, the ICIS Honorary Lifetime Membership Award, and the ICIS/Howard A. Young Distinguished Service Award.
Young Investigator awards: ICIS/ Regeneron Pharmaceuticals New investigator awards, ICIS/Christina Fleischmann Award, ICIS/ Pfizer Amanda Proudfoot Tribute Award for Advances in Chemokine Biology, and the Joan and Sidney Pestka Graduate and Post-Graduate awards.
Travel Awards: Many travel awards are given to top-ranked abstracts for attendance at the annual meeting. The ICIS Joan Oefner travel award was created in 2024, and a new Orion Award was established in 2025.