This proposal requests funds to enable U.S. scientists, particularly young investigators, postdoctoral fellows, and predoctoral students to attend the Sixth International Positive-Strand RNA Virus Symposium in Paris, France, May 28 to June 2, 2001. The symposium co-organizers are Vincent Deubel, Institut Pasteur, and Margo Brinton, Georgia State University. The local organizing committee includes Drs. Michel Brahic, Anne-Lise Haenni, and Hubert Laude. The members of the Scientific Advisory Committee, Drs. Paul Ahlquist, Andy Borman, Jean Dubuisson, Diane Griffin, Franz X. Heinz, Ken Richards, Willy Spaan and Frank A. Ennis will work with the organizers to select the speakers for the scientific program. A subcommittee composed of Drs. Brinton, Griffin and Ahlquist will select the young US scientists who will be awarded travel funds. Topics covered in the eight plenary sessions (30 min. talks) and one short-talk session will include: virus entry, viral assembly, genome expression and replication, virus-host interactions, host cell response to viral infection, strategies for control of viral infections and viral evolution and genomics. Positive-strand RNA viruses comprise seven families of animal viruses, eighteen families of plant viruses, one family of insect viruses and one family of bacteriophages. Diseases caused by positive strand RNA viruses are of medical, agricultural and economic significance. Human encephalitis, poliomyelitis, heart disease, hepatitis, the common cold, gastroenteritis, haemorrhagic fever, eye infections, and birth defects are caused by positive-strand RNA viruses. Previous International Positive-Strand RNA Virus Symposiums were held in 1986, 1989, 1992, 1995 and 1998. Because of the broad-based international attendance of this symposium, the conference site alternates between the USA and Europe. All five of the previous meetings were extremely successful in achieving the goal of promoting discourse among scientists, disseminating new research information, and initiating new collaborations between animal, plant and insect virus researchers. Funds to support these meetings are obtained from registration fees, grants and industry donations.
