About the Comparative Immunoglobulin Workshop (CIgW)
The CIgW Workshop Committee is an all-volunteer group of investigators actively involved in studies on immunoglobulins (Igs), Fc-receptors, T cell receptors (TCR) and their genes in species other than laboratory rats, mice or primates. A major focus is establishment of a standardized nomenclature for Igs, TCRs and Fc-receptors in species of veterinary importance such as farm animals, fish, foul and companion animals as well as species of interest to comparative and evolutionary immunology. The workshop committee is affiliated with the Veterinary Immunological Committee (VIC), the International Union of Immunological Societies (IUIS) and the Society of Developmental and Comparative Immunology. These organizations are among the "Contributors" that support maintenance of the workshop. Click on "Committee" for a listing of current members. Clicking on "Committee" also provides information on the meeting times and agendas and the minutes of recent CIgW Committee meetings. The committee conducts actual workshops in conjunction with international scientific meetings, such as the International Veterinary Immunology Symposium (IVIS) and the Society for Developmental and Comparative Immunology. In addition, the CIgW can offer virtual workshops on topics of interest to the Committee.
The purpose of the CIgW Website is to inform investigators about existing nomenclature, to provide links to databases like GenBank, various genome projects, other workshops and to help identify sources of reagents and important scientific publications. We encourage information exchange by requesting that investigators submit new information to any member of the Workshop Committee. Such information will be reviewed and edited by the committee and made available on the Website if considered relevant.
Clicking on the photo of the animal of interest or the phylogenetically closest representative, will reveal information on nomenclature and important references. In the future, the names of major investigators, reagents and Reference Standards may also be provided. Clicking on a particular GenBank accession number in a nomenclature table displays a file containing the sequence and source information.
Clicking on "News" can access fresh information considered by the Workshop Committee to be of special interest such as key publications, summaries of various workshop proceedings, and minutes of meetings of the CIgW Committee.
Clicking on "Scientific Meetings" provides a list of up-coming meetings considered to be relevant to the focus of the committee. Clicking on "Societies" provides links to major immunological societies that support the work of the CIgW. Clicking on "Links" provides connections to various databases, genome projects, workshops and perhaps eventually, reagent sources. However, the mention of a reagent or product does not constitute an endorsement of the product, only an acknowledgement of its existence.