This project supports the 47th Annual Meeting of the Society for Leukocyte Biology, jointly with the International Endotoxin and Innate Immunity Society (IEIIS), to be held at the Salt Lake City Sheraton, Salt Lake City, Utah during October 23-26, 2014. This joint meeting of SLB and IEIIS will build upon the highly successful joint SLB/IEIIS meeting held in 2010. The central theme of the 2014 joint meeting will be the development of innate immunity. The program has been carefully designed to maximize scientific interactions between the two societies to foster collaborations. We have worked diligently to create a program that balances plenary sessions, mini-symposia and poster sessions with clearly defined networking sessions. To facilitate dialog and interaction, and keep attendees at the meeting venue, food and beverages will be provided at several of the breaks. Specific sessions have been planned to discuss the translational aspects of research projects, including a session """"""""Targeting Immunity to Treat Disease"""""""" among others. Professional development workshops are incorporated into the program which include a grant writing workshop, a session on networking skills, and a Women and Diversity workshop. To best facilitate scientific exchange and training of junior scientists in this important area, this propoal requests NIH support for the 2014 SLB annual scientific conference entitled """"""""Development of Innate Immunity"""""""" to allow greater access for participants via travel awards and shared costs.
Specific Aim 1. To provide a collegial forum exploring new concepts on how innate immunity develops. Specific sessions will address (1) Appropriate use of animal models to understand human disease, (2) Bioengineering and microfluidics, (3) Myeloid cell precursors, (4) immune phylogeny, (5) immune ontogeny and (6) vaccine development. These topics bear critical relevance to our understanding of severe diseases including infectious diseases, cancer, and cardiovascular disease as well as sterile inflammation resulting from autoimmune diseases. The program will feature invited presentations from established leaders and rising stars in the field, as well as oral and/or poster presentations by junior investigators/ trainees selected from among the abstracts submitted by laboratories worldwide. The meeting will target approximately 350-450 participants from academic, governmental, clinical and industrial laboratories.
Specific Aim 2. To provide an opportunity for young investigators and student trainees to interact closely with established scientists, through close interaction in both poster and oral sessions. A dedicated career development workshop as well as a training session on grant writing and publication will be held to foster the training and development of aspiring students and junior investigators. Travel awards will be administered to selected participants based on scientific merit. The smaller number of participants and ample time for the poster sessions at this meeting creates a collegial learning environment for junior investigators to engage in rigorous discussion with the leading scientists in the area of innate immunity development.
Specific Aim 3. To promote diversity in the field of leukocyte biology and innate immunity by fostering the participation of women, minority, and disabled scientists. A specific forum focusing on obstacles facing women and minority scientists will be held and networking and professional career development workshops will be organized to address obstacles and opportunities for career development.
This project supports the 47th Annual meeting of the Society for Leukocyte Biology in 2014, to be jointly held with the International Endotoxin and Innate Immunity Society. The main meeting theme is innate immunity development. This joint meeting will provide a collegial communication environment for cutting-edge advances in this important area, and will foster career development for students, post-docs, junior investigators, as well as women and minority scientists in the field of leukocyte biology and innate immunity.
