Serafino Zappacosta and the Ceppellini School: A Pioneer Model For Nurturing Education in Immunology

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Background

In 1991 Serafino Zappacosta, Professor of Immunology at the Federico II University of Naples, founded the “Scuola Superiore di Immunologia Ruggero Ceppellini” (defined herein as the Ceppellini School, CS). The school was founded with the aim of fostering education in Immunology at the international level and to attract young scientists to the discipline. The foundation of CS was a major breakthrough in accelerating Immunology education and it rapidly became a powerful attractive pole for the immunological community. It was also highly influential for the subsequent evolution of other international schools of immunology.

From its roots in the South of Italy, over the years CS has hosted top leaders in its board and faculty, and has attracted hundreds of young and enthusiastic participants from Western countries, the Middle East, Africa and India. A key objective of the CS was to recognize superlative work even before it was appreciated by others in the field. For example, Dr. Ralph Steinman gave a CS lecture on Dendritic Cells in 1999 and in 2011 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. More then a decade after Prof. Zappacosta’s sudden departure in 2006, the international prestige of CS is still strongly recognized worldwide. Indeed, many faculty members and students of the CS have the tendency to return to share their latest research in the ever growing field of Immunology. In 2007 Dr. Silvia Fontana-Zappacosta became the President of the CS, and in 2016 she was awarded honorary membership by the Italian Society of Immunology, Clinical Immunology and Allergology (SIICA) in recognition of her generous commitment in promoting education in Immunology, and of her success in pursuing the continuous progress of the CS.

This Research Topic aims to discuss how the Ceppellini School has been, and continues to be, a model of high quality education in Immunology after 27 years. Members of the faculty, as well as students of past CS courses, are invited to submit articles that discuss (i) state-of-the-art in a specific topic at the time when they were engaged as students or speakers/directors of a CS Course; (ii) how the relevant field has developed, emphasizing the insights gained during the CS Course, and (iii) how the CS Course anticipated critical issues that subsequently became hot topics in the field. We welcome the submission of articles that cover, but are not limited to, the following sub-topics:

1. Anti-tumor immunity.
2. Immunological memory and vaccines.
3. Immunity to intracellular bacteria.
4. Transplant immunology.
5. Adaptive Immunity.
6. Innate Immunity.

We acknowledge the initiation and support of this Research Topic by the International Union of Immunological Societies (IUIS). We hereby state publicly that the IUIS has had no editorial input in articles included in this Research Topic, thus ensuring that all aspects of this Research Topic are evaluated objectively, unbiased by any specific policy or opinion of the IUIS.

Keywords: Society affiliation RT

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