The PanAmerican Pigment Cell Conference (PASPCR Conference) is the only meeting in the United States devoted to the area of pigment cell biology. The PASPCR conference brings together scientists interested in the development, growth differentiation, function, and malignant transformation of pigment cells. The 2004 PASPCR Conference represents the 12th PanAmerican Meeting and will be held in Newport Beach, California. Like other PASPCR Conferences, this meeting will include 100 -125 participants, including senior and junior investigators, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students and representatives from industry. The goal for the 2004 PASPCR conference is to bring to this meeting Invited Speakers selected for their novel and outstanding contributions in topics to be covered at the 2004 Conference. The conference will include six sessions, each having two to three Invited Lecturers selected for their leadership in the different topics of the Conference, followed by oral presentations selected from the submitted abstracts. The session titles are: 1) The Genetics of Pigment Cell Diseases; 2) Mechanisms of Melanocyte Proliferations and Differentiation; 3) The Biology of Melanin and Melanosomes and Its Potential for Disease; 4) Newer Animal Models for Pigmentary Abnormalities and Melanoma; 5) Non-Malignant Abnormalities of Pigment Cells; and 6) Advances in Understanding the Biology of Melanoma and Its Consequences. Additionally, three non-member senior scientists will give-State-of-the-Science talks in important areas affecting biology or medicine in general. The inclusion of Invited and State-of-the-Science Speakers has been successfully used in the past three PASPCR meetings and in other national meetings to foster discussions by participants and world-renown researchers. In addition, one poster session will be included and the posters will remain up for the duration of the conference. This will also help ensure the inclusion of women and minorities as primary participants.
The specific aims of this proposal are to obtain partial funding for travel support for Invited and State-of-the-Science Speakers and to provide travel support for a limited number of graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty for the 2004 Pigment Cell Conference.
