The first year of young group of the Spanish immunology society: Progress, challenges, and next steps

Grupo Joven de la SEI (GJSEI) or Young Group of the Spanish Society for Immunology was founded in 2021 as a platform to support the young members of the Spanish Society for Immunology (SEI), encouraging the participation of the junior members in the academic activities promoted by SEI. The launch of the group arose from the collaboration of the SEI and the young European Federation of Immunological Societies (yEFIS) [1]. The term “young immunologists” involves an extensive range of academic and professional stages, from university students to medical residents and doctorates, all having in common immunology as a cornerstone in their educational and professional pathway. During this training period, healthcare workers and researchers face diverse challenges that could be common to other peers in an equal professional stage (e.g., grants applications and searching for job opportunities, training courses, and conferences). Thus, GJSEI aims to help young immunologists with issues that could appear during their professional training, creating a network that allows them to communicate with the group members and the SEI. To this date, the GJSEI has 104 members, who are distributed in different stages of the professional and academic pathway (Fig. 1), with Ph.D. candidates and hospital immunological residents being the two most numerous groups. Since its launch, the GJSEI has been involved in various activities (Fig. 2) summarized in this article. Once their doctoral or medical training program is completed, many young scientists in our group are already wondering about their next career step. In this regard, and knowing there was an increasing interest in learning more about the transition from academia to industry, we organized an online workshop. With this activity, we offered our registered members the opportunity to receive more information about this subject and ask the expert. We invited Dr. Laura Gaqrcía, a scientist working in One Chain Immunotherapeutics (OCI), Dr. García has Ph.D. degree in basic immunology (University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf and the Immunobiology department at Yale University) and later started a position in OCI, a Spanish spin-off company that provides cellular immunotherapies for leukemia treatment. Dr. García professional trajectory and her profile as a young immunologist made her an ideal candidate to tell us more about how to transition from academia to industry. During this online workshop, she described her experience, emphasizing critical points in the transition process, paying particular attention to proactivity, and the necessity to apply for multiple positions and thus gain practice in interviews. In addition, Dr. García explained the differences between the industry jobs in Spain and abroad. Moreover, she pointed out the importance of gaining experience as soon as possible since other companies would positively evaluate such experience. Once the presentation was finished, the GJSEI members could interact and raise questions about the industry. The workshop proved to be successful in achieving several connected members, approximately 20, which was significant given that our group was not very numerous at that time. The discussion was vibrant, and members with diverse profiles participated, asking interesting and challenging questions that added value to the overall discussion. In light of the positive outcome of the previous workshop, we have recently organized another session to address the inquiries and concerns raised by the GJSEI members had on how to access the company after finishing a doctorate or residency in immunology. To answer these questions, we brought together three immunologists that are working in different pharmaceutical companies. The first speaker, Laura Conejero, PhD, Medical Affairs/Scientific Advisor at Inmunotek, explained her professional career and experience. Dr. Conejero described that, first, she performed her PhD on an immunotherapy model against olive pollen proteins in the allergy department at the Gregorio Marañón University Hospital (Madrid). She subsequently completed a postdoctoral fellowship in The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), studying models of lung infection. Back in Madrid, she started another postdoctoral experience working on asthma models and respiratory infections at the National Center for Cardiovascular Research (CNIC). Since 2017, she has been working in the medical department of Inmunotek, in addition to participating in the preclinical and clinical development of vaccines. Thus, she explained her experience and current work in the industry, highlighting that she develops very diverse tasks within the company. Moreover, she currently co-directs a doctoral thesis and is a professor in the Master of Infectious Diseases at LSHTM. The second speaker was Daniel Torralba, PhD, Research and Development Senior Scientist at PharmaMar. Dr. Torralba explained his professional career, beginning with his doctorate focused on immunological synapse at the National Center for Cardiovascular Research (Madrid). He is a doctor in Molecular Biosciences with extensive experience in Immunology and Molecular Biomedicine. He currently works at PharmaMar designing and executing new assays to identify new targets with inflammatory and antitumor activity. Interestingly, he explained how the new compounds search is carried out at Pharmamar. Among other functions, he also discusses and presents results to members of the department and external collaborators at universities and research centers, and he supervises and trains the staff of the technical laboratory. He finally made a comparison of the advantages/disadvantages between academia and industry work. The third speaker was Jesús Osuna, PhD, Medical Science Liason (MSL) at MSD. Jesús Osuna explained that he performed his PhD in immuno-oncology at the National Center for Biotechnology (Madrid). In addition, he carried out a Master's Degree of Communication at Carlos III University (Madrid). He began his professional career in the pharmaceutical industry at MSD medical department, within the oncology area. He currently works as MSL in the vaccine department, being involved in the medical and educational activities, as well as updating new data of vaccines in development at MSD. Dr. Osuna highlighted how important persistence, specificity, and functionality are in both the academic and industry fields to solve problems. After that, he explained the different tasks that MSLs perform in his company, such as planning and managing work and projects, being updated with the latest news and clinical trials in the field, or communicating effectively with key opinion leaders. This workshop was quite successful among young immunologists, having 124 participants. After the three speakers explained their trajectories, we held a discussion between the speakers and the components of the GJSEI where they participated and resolved many of the issues they had at this time in their early careers. Many of them asked what skills are important in the company or if additional training is necessary to access different companies and positions. The three speakers agreed that during the doctorate, doctoral students develop very valid and sufficient skills and aptitudes to work in different pharmaceutical companies. The discussion helped many young immunologists ask their questions and we were surprised by the high participation of the GJSEI. For this reason, we are encouraged to continue promoting and carrying out these activities in the GJSEI, since they are useful and necessary to know the different professional opportunities in the immunology field. The GJSEI has been instrumental in proposing and obtaining a change in the scholarship policy of the SEI. This change was driven by the group's commitment to promoting equity and fairness in the selection process and their efforts to advocate for the needs of young professionals in the field of immunology. Thus, the new policy provides a more reliable system of scholarship selection based on the actual situation of hospital interns and Ph.D. students. By promoting this policy change, the group has helped to create a more supportive and inclusive environment for young immunologists in Spain. In addition to the work on scholarship policies, the GJSE also created a map of available job positions in the field of immunology on society's website. This map serves as a valuable resource for young professionals looking to advance their careers and find opportunities in the field. With this map, the GJSEI is helping young immunologists with to seek job opportunities and fosters a stronger sense of community among its members. These efforts also demonstrate the power of collaboration and advocacy in driving positive change within the immunology community. The Day of Immunology (DOI) is celebrated each year on April 29, instituted by the International Union of Immunological Societies to divulge and promote the importance of immunology. Initiated by the European Federation of Immunological Societies (EFIS), this day has been commemorated since 2005. Last year, we joined this celebration highlighting the daily scientific labour of the GJSEI members through a campaign on our different social media: LinkedIn (Grupo Joven de la SEI), Twitter (@GrupoJovenSEI), and Instagram (@grupojovensei). We presented a brief description of the members’ scientific works and illustrated their progress. Currently, the focus of young immunologists in GJSEI is on topics such as the role of immunological stress in the development of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia and its prevention, new immunotherapies against T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia with promising results, innovative antitumor cell therapies in preclinical models, the automation of CAR-T immunotherapy production with AI, the molecular mechanisms of aging and thymus involution, novel vaccines for COVID-19 and other infectious diseases or autoimmune diseases, and organ rejection. The DOI 2022 was a great success, and we could make the efforts of young immunologists visible to various Spanish research institutions and hospitals. In addition, through this event, GJSEI members got the opportunity to share their work with different communities on social media, which can be helpful in finding new collaborators or extending their network. The 43rd SEI Congress was held in September 2022 in Leon (Spain), and was the first in-person congress after the COVID-19 pandemic. This congress collected a variety of novel research in the immunology field from different hospitals and Spanish scientific groups, with a particular focus on translational research and immunotherapy. Moreover, national and international speakers experts were invited to ensure the scientific quality of the congress. For this event, the GJSEI held the first in-person meeting with its members. The aim was to elucidate and debate our expectations and discuss future activities. Moreover, the GJSEI released its WhatsApp group to connect young immunologists; thus, they could share conferences, scholarships, and job offers. During the 43rd SEI Congress, the GJSEI organized for the first time an award ceremony for the best oral communication, poster, and clinical research. These awards were possible thanks to the collaboration between the GJSEI and Miltenyi Biotec, which kindly sponsored the prize. The award was only available to members of the GJSEI intending to highlight the work of young members starting their professional careers and encourage them to give the best of themselves and participate in future congresses. Thanks to the support of the SEI during the congress, the number of members increased after the event. Moreover, the feedback compiled after our meeting will help us establish the group's objectives for the following year. We hope to maintain our collaboration with Miltenyi Biotec for future events with similar activities focused on young immunologists. Last November, the yEFIS organized a networking event that gathered an important number of early career scientists and clinicians from all over Europe working in basic and clinical aspects of immunology. This event occurred at the Max Delbrück Centre for Molecular Medicine (MDC) in Berlin [2]. It comprised a 2-day program full of activities directed to a cohort of young scientists and clinicians. The event gathered approximately 200 participants, most attending in person. Nevertheless, the symposium organizers built up a space in which multiple areas of immunology collided, allowing the interaction between different groups and lines of research and creating a space for sharing ideas, information, and future collaborations. In addition, multiple well-known scientists shared their experiences, goals, and difficulties they had to face in order to become successful, empathizing with our stories and issues discussed. Representatives of the committee of GJSEI met representatives of other young European societies, sharing ideas for future projects and collaborations. We have used this opportunity to promote the SEI activities and welcome the participation of any of the participants to our meetings, symposiums, and congresses. Finally, the participation of the GJSEI was highlighted by the presence of our immunology funny-based phrases printed on stickers, for example, “Darling, you are F(ab)ulous,” making references to the Fab region of the immunoglobulins, and “Keep Calm and train your immunity” orientated to promote vaccination in the general population. This symposium was one of a kind, organized by and for early-career researchers and clinicians from all over Europe, promoting science, knowledge exchange, and networking through multiple activities such as oral communications, poster discussions, workshops, and keynote lectures. The GJSEI recognized these activities’ positive impact, relevance, and importance, encouraging future celebrations and supporting the yEFIS. The GJSEI has made significant strides in increasing its presence on social media platforms. With 254 followers on Twitter, 112 on Instagram, and 102 on LinkedIn (Fig. 3), the group has successfully reached out to a wider audience and built a robust online community. Through the members active engagement on social media, the GJSEI has been able to raise awareness about their research, share their expertise, and connect with other like-minded individuals. Additionally, they have leveraged their social media presence to promote events, such as conferences and workshops, and attract new members to their group. Our LinkedIn page has proven valuable in increasing our online presence and expanding our professional network. During the DOI event, we saw a significant increase in our number of followers on LinkedIn, with a 200% increase in just one day. This was primarily due to our team's efforts to actively promote the event on the platform, share insightful content related to immunology, and engage with our target audience. Similarly, during the days surrounding the National Immunology Congress (SEI León 2022), we experienced a remarkable 600% increase in our number of followers on LinkedIn. We leveraged the excitement and buzz surrounding the event to our advantage, sharing updates and insights related to the congress, and engaging with other attendees on the platform. For this year, 2023, we have already thought of new activities and goals for young immunologists. Our purpose is to continue working together, aiming to establish a platform where young members of GJSEI can interact, thus encouraging participation in activities related to immunology. We have started the year supporting cross-training of our members by hosting specific workshop such as the one named “Immunologists in the Company,” at the end of March with the aim to provide an answer to some of the concerns that young immunologists may have related to the work of an immunologist at the industry level. Also, GJSEI is currently organizing an activity “Explain your topic in 5 minutes” during the 44th SEI Congress to be held in Bilbao from May 11 to 13, 2023. The objective of this activity is that other GJSEI members learn about other laboratories and hospitals’ research topics, thus fostering interest for other areas of immunological research. GJSEI members will be able to explain their research work, using simple language that may be understood by an audience with experience in immunology but not in the presenter's specific subject. Miltenyi Biotec sponsors this activity, and there will be four prizes for the basic-applied and clinical areas. Moreover, one of our proposals is also to a column into GJSEI in SEI's magazines aiming to make the activities and work of young immunologists more visible. Additionally, SEI has organized a new forum called “Immunology Club” to discuss a recent publication of significant impact in the field. GJSEI will join this activity by inviting junior speakers and will also invite the members of the youth group to participate in this activity. One of the proposals for 2023 is to further enhance the networking and participation of GJSEI members through initiatives in which young immunologists can share their opinions and interests, both through social networks and virtual events. Finally, one of the essential issues that GJSEI wants to promote is a collaboration with other national and international immunology societies. One of our main objectives is to disseminate GJSEI's mission, vision, and goals as we believe that this will increase networking and exchange of ideas with other young researchers, thus creating a much broader and more diverse platform. We thank the Spanish Society for Immunology for their support to the young community of scientists and clinicians of Spain. Similarly, we thank Miltenyi Biotec for their financial support for the development of our activities during the past year.