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We write with heavy hearts to share that Dan Kastner passed away peacefully on 26 July 2026 in California, surrounded by his family. For so many of us in this field, Dan wasn't just its founding figure; he was a friend, a mentor, and often the person who first made us feel that our work truly mattered. News like this makes the world of autoinflammatory disease feel suddenly smaller.

It's easy to list Dan's achievements: the discovery of the MEFV gene, TRAPS, the concept of autoinflammatory disease itself, VEXAS, CRIA, and the many patients whose decades-long diagnostic conundrums he finally solved. But those who knew him will remember him less for the accolades and more for his kindness and genuine interest in people—patients, trainees, and junior colleagues with a half-formed idea. He had that rare gift of making everyone in the room feel that their question was the most interesting one he'd heard all day. Whether at the NIH bedside, where it all began, or on a stage accepting the Crafoord Prize, he carried the same curiosity, enthusiasm, and humility.

Many of us have our own memories of Dan: a conversation at a conference, an email he took the time to answer, or a piece of advice that shaped a career. ISSAID exists today because of the community he built and the generosity with which he nurtured it. Our thoughts are with his family, to whom we extend our deepest sympathy and our heartfelt thanks for sharing him with us for so many years. He will be profoundly missed.

Erkan Demirkaya

President of the ISSAID

On behalf of the International Society of Systemic Autoinflammatory Diseases

Dear Colleagues,
We are delighted to invite you to the 3rd Symposium on Autoinflammation and Immune Dysregulation, titled “Celebrating Autoinflammation: On the Shoulders of a Giant,” honoring Dr. Daniel L. Kastner for his groundbreaking contributions to the field of autoinflammatory diseases.

Dates: April 16–17, 2026
Location: National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland, USA

Key Information

• Registration: Free of charge — please register from the link below
• Abstract submission: Opens December 1, 2025
• Support: If you wish to contribute to the Symposium on Autoinflammation & Immune Dysregulation, please consider making donation from the link below

We look forward to welcoming you to Bethesda in April 2026 for this special event celebrating scientific excellence and collaboration in autoinflammation research.

Erkan Demirkaya and Raphaela Goldbach-Mansky
On behalf of the Organizing Committee

More information

Register Here

Welcome message

We are delighted to invite you to the

3rd NIH Symposium: “Celebrating Autoinflammation: On the Shoulders of a Giant” honoring Dr. Dan Kastner for groundbreaking work in Autoinflammation

April 16-17, 2026, at the NIH in Bethesda, Maryland USA

This 3rd NIH Symposium on autoinflammatory and immunedysregulatory diseases marks a unique occasion to honor Dr. Dan Kastner, the founding father of autoinflammation, for his invaluable contributions in establishing and advancing the field. Dr. Kastner’s pioneering work not only defined the very concept of autoinflammatory diseases but also transformed the way we approach their diagnosis, mechanistic understanding, and treatment.

In a field where research is care, this meeting continues the tradition of bringing together scientists, clinicians, and patients to bridge discovery with therapeutic progress. The program will review novel research developments through the lens of how they advance patient care, highlighting new opportunities to uncover disease mechanisms, expanding autoinflammation beyond single-gene paradigms, and discussing innovative approaches to disease modeling and biomarker development to track disease activity and treatment response.

The meeting will take place at the Natcher Center in Bethesda, Maryland, on the NIH campus, close to where many of the foundational discoveries in the field were made. The venue provides a unique setting that reflects both the scientific heritage of autoinflammation and its ongoing evolution into an expanding frontier of discovery and patient care.

Our aim is to reflect on past milestones, celebrate transformative contributions, and look forward to the next generation of breakthroughs that will continue to improve the lives of patients with autoinflammatory diseases.

We warmly invite friends and colleagues of Dr. Dan Kastner, young aspiring researchers seeking to build their careers in autoinflammation, as well as family organizations and patients who will take part in a parallel meeting, to join us for this special event.

*This symposium is co-sponsored by NIH and ISSAID.

On Behalf of the Organizing Committee

Raphaela Goldbach-Mansky, MD, MHS

Erkan Demirkaya, MD., MSc., FRCPC

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SCIENTIFIC PROGRAM

3rd Symposium on Autoinflammation and Immune Dysregulation

Building on the Shoulders of a Giant — Advancing Discovery to Care

The symposium will:

• Honor the pioneering work of Dr. Daniel Kastner, the father of autoinflammatory diseases, and build on this foundation
• Explore novel pathways and mechanisms driving autoinflammation
• Translate emerging scientific insights into patient care
• Engage global stakeholders to accelerate clinical trials and therapeutic development

The full program is coming soon — stay tuned!

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COMMITTIEES

Scientific Committee	Organizing Committee
Ivona Aksentijevitch	Scott Canna
David Beck	Fatma Dedeoglu
Scott Canna	Karen Durrant
Erkan Demirkaya	Olcay Y. Jones
Raphaela Goldbach-Mansky	Seza Ozen
Seth Masters	David Piskin
	Micol Romano

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LOCATION (Meeting Venue)

Building 45; William H. Natcher Building; Natcher Conference Center 

Information: Building 45 Natcher Building
Information: Coming to NIH

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ABSTRACT SUBMISSION

Abstract submission link will be active between December 01, 2025 and February 15, 2026.

Submission Process 

Attendees who would like to present a poster at the Symposium are invited to submit an abstract for consideration.  

Abstracts will be reviewed for appropriateness but not content. Scheduling and organisation of poster sessions is at the discretion of the Scientific Programme Committee.

Submit abstracts via the online portal. Please carefully read the instructions before preparing your abstract. 

Abstracts can not be saved in “Draft status” and no option to be re-edited and modified before the submission deadline. 

Please read the abstract for scientific, spelling, and grammatical accuracy. We are not able to translate abstracts into English. The organizing committee is not responsible for errors in abstract submission. No corrections will be accepted after the abstract submission deadline.

Commitment 

Submission of an abstract constitutes a formal commitment by the presenting author to attend the Congress and present the abstract as a poster in the session and at the time assigned by the Scientific Programme Committee.   

Expenses associated with the preparation, submission and presentation of an abstract are the responsibility of the presenting authors. 

Regulations 

For standardisation, the total length of the abstract must not exceed 3000 printable characters including spaces (approx. 400 words) and 90-line counts.
Characters counts include: the title and body of the abstract.

The body of the abstract will be structured as follows with the following subtitles: 

- Introduction 
- Objectives 
- Methods 
- Results 
- Conclusion 

Image (or graph) and tables may not be included in the abstract.

When you register for the symposium, you will receive a unique abstract code by email. This code is required for abstract submission. Please keep your code safe — it is unique to each submitter and should not be shared with others.

If you have any additional questions for the abstracts, please contact:

Dr. Micol Romano, micol.romano@lhsc.on.ca

Dr. David Piskin, david.piskin@lhsc.on.ca

Register Here

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DONATE for the Symposium