This application requests support for a Keystone Symposia meeting entitled Cell Biology of Virus Entry, Replication and Pathogenesis, organized by Michael Farzan, Benhur Lee and Judith M. White, which will be held in British Columbia, Canada from March 26 - 31, 2012. This meeting will highlight recent advances in virus infection pathways, and in the cellular responses to viral infection. The meeting features multiple stages of the viral lifecycle analyzed using a broad array of techniques and levels of analysis. A novel feature of this meeting is that it will b held concurrently with the Keystone Symposia meeting on Frontiers in HIV Pathogenesis, Therapy and Eradication and will, therefore, focus on maximizing exchange between the HIV community and the broader community of virologists. An explicit goal is to bring together and promote potential synergies among researchers who might not otherwise interact in more specialized meetings. A classic, almost paradigmatic, example of the power of this cross-talk is the contribution of studies of influenza A virus hemagglutinin to our understanding of the HIV-1 entry process, and the subsequent contribution of both systems to our understanding of type I fusion, type II fusion, and to the entry processes non-enveloped viruses. Accordingly, two common sessions will focus on the retroviral entry process and its inhibition, followed by talks featuring a broader survey of viral entry, replication, structural and systems approaches to virology, host immune evasion, and therapeutics.
Despite impressive advances in our understanding of viruses and viral pathogenesis - how viruses cause diseases in their hosts - viruses remain an ongoing public health concern, and they have the potential to cause even more serious and disruptive pandemics. The Keystone Symposia meeting on Cell Biology of Virus Entry, Replication and Pathogenesis - in combination with a concurrent meeting on Frontiers in HIV Pathogenesis, Therapy and Eradication - will provide a cross-disciplinary platform for critically examining recent research i virology, as well as promoting interactions between the HIV community and the broader community of virologists.
