LA JOLLA, CA—Scientists across San Diego are honoring a pioneering immune system researcher by establishing the “Cheroutre Frontier Lecture” at the annual La Jolla Immunology Conference.
This keynote lecture recognizes the contributions of Professor Hilde Cheroutre, Ph.D., of La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI).
Cheroutre has devoted her career to investigating how immune cells at “mucosal interfaces,” such as the airways and gut, defend the body against pathogens and cancers. Her work has also revealed how defects in the self-education of T cells can drive autoimmune diseases and other debilitating inflammatory conditions. Cheroutre also established important international collaborations and has served on the faculty of the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medicine, Japan.
Through the years, Cheroutre has strengthened San Diego’s research community by training young scientists and organizing scientific meetings. As a long-time organizer of the La Jolla Immunology Conference, Cheroutre introduced the annual “Frontier Lecture,” with the goal of highlighting research that explores how the immune system interacts with other systems within living organisms.
“Biological systems all function together to make a living organism possible,” says Cheroutre. “The world of immunology is not a world on its own. It fills just a few gaps in a much bigger puzzle.”
The La Jolla Immunology Conference is the premier scientific meeting for immunologists and medical researchers in San Diego, and the event draws attendees from across the United States and around the world. The conference has been held annually in La Jolla for more than 40 years. The 2025 conference took place at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, October 7-9, 2025.
The inaugural Cheroutre Frontier Lecture, held Oct. 7, 2025, featured Howard Chang, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Global Research, and Chief Scientific Officer at Amgen. Chang is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. His lecture focused on “Personal regulome navigation of immunity.”
