PPTOX III is an international conference to be held May 14-16, 2012 in Paris, France. It will focus on the role of environmental exposures and nutrients during development on subsequent diseases/dysfunctions later in life. The goals of the conference are (1) to examine the animal and human data supporting this hypothesis (developmental basis of disease) in order to review the current state of the literature and to identify mechanisms for the effects;(2) to identify research gaps and challenges;(3) to integrate the basic and applied science;and (4) to impact science policy. As this is the only conference of its kind focused entirely on developmental programming integrating two fields (environmental chemical exposures and programming and altered nutrition and programming), it's unique structure offers leading researchers, students and postdoctoral fellows, to mention a few, a distinctive opportunity to attend and participate in the conference. Therefore, it is likely to hav a huge impact on the field itself and the development of a more integrated approach to disease prevention. The forthcoming conference will build on its earlier scope highlighting new, current issues such as the developmental basis of diabetes/obesity, immune dysfunction, cancer, and reproductive diseases/dysfunctions which are pertinent to the U.S. and globally. PPTOX III will also cover epigenetics, gene expression, metabolomics, and new methodological achievements as well as identifying new research gaps and challenges and integrating basic and applied science. To foster young researchers, oral presentation and poster sessions have been created and designed to highlight the research of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. As such, the number of young participants relies upon the level of funding the conference receives. Travel Awards assist in offsetting the financial burden that might otherwise prevent students and postdoctoral fellows from attending and participating in conferences. The application also requests funds to partially defray travel costs for invited speakers. Speakers are provided lodging for two nights and travel expenses to and from the conference. It is necessary to assist with travel expenses for speakers, who provide cross-fertilization of ideas necessary for sustaining this world class conference. The distinct research topics and translational opportunities represented at the conference will be of interest not only to the National Institute f Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), but National Cancer Institute (NCI), the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the National Institute on Aging (NIA), the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and the National Institute on Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) as well.
The proposed conference seeks to present front-line and up-to-date data on developmental programming and disease outcomes, to stimulate discussions and collaborations among and between experimental and epidemiological researchers and clinicians in regard to the influence of toxicants and nutrients on developmental programming, to provide a forum for students and postdoctorals to learn from and interact personally with experts in the fields, to define research gaps and needs, and finally to develop a consensus statement of where the field is and its impact on human health that will impact policy in the European Union, the USA and across the globe.
