Dear Colleagues,
While the global coronavirus pandemic has held our
attention since March, this edition of the President’s Message will focus on
the greater mission that brings us all together.
June
is Cancer Immunotherapy Awareness Month™, and so, first and most important,
I would like to thank our members for the countless ways you contribute to
advancing and delivery of cancer immunotherapy. Originally founded in 1984 as
the Society for Biological Therapy by 40 charter members, SITC has proudly grown
to more than 3,000 members representing 48 countries around the globe. Such
growth could not have been possible if it were not for the sound, strategic
leadership of my predecessors, who maintained their strong belief in this field
despite substantial skepticism in other parts of the scientific community and
the limited success of earlier therapies. Therefore, with the opportunity
presented by Cancer Immunotherapy Month™, I would like to acknowledge
all of SITC’s Past Presidents for their guidance, expertise and their
continued contributions to our society.
This month, SITC will call attention to the many ways our
society, through the contributions and dedication of its members, are positively
affecting the field of cancer immunotherapy. On our website and social media
channels, including Twitter,
LinkedIn and Facebook, SITC
will feature a different program, resource or SITC initiative each day of the
month. Further, we will celebrate and honor the scientists, clinicians and many
others in the field by wearing white on Friday, June 12. You
can download SITC’s 2020 “Why I Wear White” flyer, take a selfie with a
decorated flyer, and post it to social media. And don’t forget to tag SITC!
SITC staff and meeting organizers continue preparing for our society’s upcoming 35th
Anniversary Annual Meeting (Nov. 10–15 in National Harbor, Md.). We look
forward to seeing all of you there and I encourage you to register for what
will be another outstanding meeting. We are monitoring world events closely and
continue to place the safety of our members as our top priority. Please also note
that enduring materials from the 34th Annual Meeting &
Pre-Conference Programs (SITC 2019) are now available by open access to the general
public. To access these and numerous other quality resources published from past
SITC meetings, please
visit the SITC Resource Library.
Finally, I want to bring to your attention again the
remarkable progress and success of the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer (JITC),
our society’s official open access journal. JITC
received its first impact factor just two years ago, ranking it as one of the
top cancer immunotherapy journals, and is currently receiving a record number
of submissions. JITC will now also
offer continuing medical education (CME) credits for its reviewers. Continue
reading this month’s edition of the Immune Monitor to learn more about this
valuable new feature from JITC.
I wish you all a happy and safe beginning to summer.
Sincerely,
Mario Sznol, MD
SITC President
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