History
As a revenge for the firm and uncompromising stands of the heads of the
Immunological Society to the Warsaw Pact occupation, the government refused
to approve the founding of an independent Czechoslovak Immunological
Society. The committee thus decided to establish an independent
immunological section under the umbrella of the Czechoslovak Biological
Society in 1973. Its membership at that time was almost 500 specialists from
different fields of biology and medicine, and Prof. Šterzl was elected the
first president. The international recognition of this section was
officially confirmed at the 2nd International Congress of Immunology, held
in Brighton, UK, in 1974, in which the Czechoslovak representative took part
as an observer.
In 1986 the political climate also in Czechoslovakia became
less oppressive and the establishment of the Czechoslovak Immunological
Society (CSIS) was finally officially approved. The Society immediately
became a member of the IUIS and EFIS. The first president of the official
CSIS was Prof. J. Štefanovič.
In 1993 the former Czechoslovakia split into separate Czech Republic and
Slovakia and the attendant legislative problems evoked the necessity to
divide the Society into the Czech (Czech Immunological Society; CIS) and
Slovak (Slovak Immunological Society, SIS) parts.
The first president of CIS was Prof. Jaroslav Šterzl, to be
followed in 1994-1997 by Prof. Ivo Hána, in 1997-2000 by Prof. Helena
Tlaskalová, in 2000-2006 by Prof. Aleš Macela and since 2006 by Prof. Blanka
Říhová.
From the very beginning the scientific secretary of the Society has been Dr.
Martin Bilej, who is also the editor-in-chief of the Immunological Bulletin.
In 1992-1998 Prof. Šterzl served as the IUIS council member and was replaced
in 1998-2001 by Prof. Tlaskalová.
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