This conference grant application requests funds to help support the 2018 International Conference on EBV & KSHV and the 2018 International Conference on DNA Tumor Viruses. The latter conference is focused on the molecular biology of papillomaviruses, polyomaviruses and adenoviruses. The two conferences will be held at the same venue (University of Wisconsin-Madison) and will partially overlap with joint sessions and common plenary speakers. This joint conference is unique and innovative in that it will be the first time all three of these conferences concerned with oncogenic DNA viruses (i.e., the International Workshop on Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus (KSHV) and Related Agents, the International Symposium on Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) and Associated Diseases, and the DNA Tumor Viruses Meeting) will be held at a single site, the Memorial Union on the University of Wisconsin (UW) campus in Madison, WI. The funds will be used to reduce the conference registration costs for outstanding US pre- and post-doctoral trainees, recently independent investigators, historically under-represented minorities, and scientists from poor countries who study oncogenic DNA viruses. The goals of these meetings are consistent with the mission statements of the NIH, NCI, NIAID, and NIDCR, namely, to advance and promote the pace of research on infections associated with human cancer and other diseases, including in the setting of HIV-AIDS. These conferences will be hosted by the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. The joint EBV & KSHV Meeting will be held July 28th - August 1st, 2018 while the overlapping DNA Tumor Viruses Meeting will be held July 31st ? August 4th, 2018. All remaining costs for these conferences will be raised from registration fees paid by the conferees and contributions from host institutions, foundations, and pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. The main focus of the EBV & KSHV meeting is on the biology of oncogenic herpesviruses and associated human diseases, with specific emphasis on viral pathogenesis, viral latency and reactivation, viral gene expression and replication, host responses to infection, epidemiology, vaccine development, and therapeutic intervention. In addition to EBV and KSHV, studies related to herpesvirus saimiri (HVS), murine herpesvirus-68 (MHV-68), rhesus rhadinovirus (RRV), and rhesus lymphocryptovirus (rhLCV) will be presented. The main focus of the DNA Tumor Viruses Meeting is on similar topic areas, but as they relate to the biology and diseases associated with human, primate, and other mammalian papilloma, polyoma, and adenoviruses. The session topics held on August 1st will be ones where there exists overlap of pathways used by these various classes of oncogenic viruses (e.g., viral genome expression and replication, co-infections, virus-host interactions) to optimize the potential for synergistic interactions among the conferees and the potential for new collaborations.
Most adults worldwide are infected by EBV, KSHV, and human papilloma viruses (HPVs). These viruses play complex co-factor roles in a variety of malignancies, including Kaposi's sarcoma, pleural effusion lymphoma, and multicentric Castleman's disease for KSHV, Burkitt's lymphoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and gastric carcinoma for EBV, and cervical, other anogenital, and head & neck cancers for HPVs. Many of these cancers are more frequent in patients with HIV-AIDS and other forms of immunosuppression, including treatments for organ transplant, malaria, and autoimmune disease. Many of these virus-associated malignancies are endemic to specific geographical regions and likely involve complex genetic predispositions and/or high-risk environmental co-factors. New and better therapies are needed for treating and preventing these virus- associated malignancies.
