CAMS-Oxford Institute Network Conference gives a chance to celebrate the accomplishments of COI to-date

The CAMS-Oxford Institute Network (COIN) has been steadily growing over recent years but, due to the pandemic, opportunities to interact with colleagues across both nations have been restricted. The June COIN Conference in Chengdu (Sichuan Province, China) afforded over 200 network members the opportunity to network, collaborate and be inspired by each other, with 100 network members travelling from Oxford and 100 from across China.

The conference was opened by COI Co-Director, Professor Xuetao Cao (pictured left), who discussed his pleasure at seeing so many people together and his hopes that the conference will inspire collaboration across both sides. This was followed by Professor Richard Cornall, head of the Nuffield Department of Medicine (NDM), who pledged his ongoing support from NDM for COI in the future. Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CAMS) President, Professor Chen Wang, discussed his wish that the conference is successful in strengthening the bonds between CAMS and COI to contribute to global health and well-being.

Next, COI Director of Strategy & Finance, Mr Darren Nash, gave some excellent advice on how to break the ice and encourage interaction between colleagues. Finally, COI Co-Director, Professor Tao Dong (pictured right), gave a report on the accomplishments of COI to-date, as well as the plans for the future expansion and success of COI.

 Conference attendees were then treated to four plenary talks by distinguished scientists on both sides: Sir Andrew McMichael, Professor Xuetao Cao, Professor Gavin Screaton & Professor Zihe Rao.

The rest of the conference agenda afforded each COI research group the opportunity to share their research, with the timetable split across four key themes: Cancer Immunology, Emerging Virus infection & Vaccines, Non-classical T Cells & Inflammation, Proteomics & Chinese Medicine.

More junior group members were also given the opportunity to present a flash talk and poster at the event. Flash talks were limited to three minutes but provided an excellent advert for their research, encouraging further discussion during the conference breaks. A panel of judges from both China and the UK marked the flash talks and posters and the winners were given either a £50 Amazon voucher or 500RMB Jingdong voucher.

Flash talk winners:

Poster winners:

The conference closed with the prize ceremony for flash talks and posters led by COI Clinical Director, Professor Chris Conlon. This was followed by the closing remarks by CAMS Vice President, Professor Jianwei Wang, who concluded that the meeting had been a great success with all network members looking forward to the next meeting.

The conference was jointly organised by COI, CAMS and Beijing Lianke Debang Culture Communication Co. Ltd.

The next COIN conference will be held in Oxford in Summer 2024.