PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE
The Immunological Society of Serbia (ISoS) originates from the Yugoslav Immunological Society (YIS) founded in 1968 in Belgrade and registered as an individual legal body on September 30 1974. As part of YIS, ISoS carried out all the important tasks that the association had set for itself: dissemination of the findings of several groups comprising the core of immunology in Serbia and strengthening cooperation between them; improvement in the teaching of immunology at several universities in Serbia (Belgrade, Novi Sad, Nis); maintaining close cooperation with similar societies inside and between other countries; and finally to serve as a medium through which collaboration between universities and various scientific institutes could be established. By taking steps in relation to the last, ISoS proudly points out that in May 1969, YIS was one of the ten founding members of the International Union of Immunological Societies (IUIS) (http://www.iuisonline.org/iuis/index.php/about-iuis/history.html) and also contributed to the establishment of the European Federation of Immunological Societies (EFIS) (1975).
The central figure from Serbia in this story was Dr. Branislav D. Jankovic. He was among the founders of ISoS and YIS and had a distinguished role in these two associations from the beginning until his retirement. Moreover, he had prominent positions in a number of IUIS (1971–1983) and EFIS bodies (1975–1980). Organization of the first IUIS symposium in Rovinj (Croatia 1971) was the start of a series of specialized international meetings in different areas of immunology that were successfully organized by YIS through the next two decades. This was crowned by organization of the Eighth European Immunology Meeting, which was held in Zagreb from August 30 to September 5 1987.
After the breakup of the country (1991), YIS was located in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) and its work was maintained through ISoS activities. In spite of economic and political upheavals and the civil war, a great achievement at that time was founding the Balkan Association of Immunological Societies, which took place at the 1st Balkan Congress of Immunology BAIS, Belgrade 1995, under the initiative of Dr. Aleksandar Dujic, Dr. Kosta Cuperlovic and Dr. Srdjan Brkic. Since 2006, Serbia has been an independent country and the name of the Society was returned to ISoS. Members of ISoS maintain scientific excellence and organize regular scientific meetings (6–8/year) and national symposia every 3–4 years. Every year international Day of Immunology is celebrated by DIS members through scientific events and immunology promotions. Appreciating this, EFIS entrusted the organization of two EFIS/EJI meetings in Belgrade to Dr. Miodrag L. Lukic and ISoS (2004, 2008). The current number of ISoS members is 130 and is continually expanding with the accession of young scientists. Most of them are involved in basic immunology but some also collaborate in clinical immunology.