Support is requested for a Keystone Symposia meeting entitled New Frontiers in the Discovery and Treatment of Thrombosis, organized by Jane E. Freedman, Bruce Furie and Dietmar Seiffert. The meeting will be held in Keystone, Colorado from January 26 - 30, 2014. During the last several decades, there has been unprecedented growth in the fundamental understanding of coagulation and platelet function. The logical evolution of these discoveries has been the development of a wide array of therapies targeting platelet receptors and pathways within coagulation to treat thrombotic diseases. Although clearly successful, the evolution of these agents is at a crossroad due to various limitations, such as hemorrhage and pleiotropic effects. The goal of the Keystone Symposia meeting on New Frontiers in the Discovery and Treatment of Thrombosis is to explore new discoveries in thrombosis and consider their potential for translation relative to existing/developing therapies. This goal is consistent with the central mission of the NHLBI to understand the causes of disease and enable the translation of basic discoveries into clinical practice. This symposium will focus on: 1) Understanding how fundamental mechanisms regulating vascular disease risk factors and genetics modulate coagulation;2) Understanding how these processes influence platelet-dependent thrombosis and vessel wall interactions;and 3) Determining how the evolution of treatments for thrombosis has led to a new appreciation of the complex interactions between coagulation and thrombosis, and how this may guide the use of new and existing therapies. This meeting will bridge clinical and basic investigators to discuss a rapidly evolving field.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD), specifically, acute coronary syndromes, stroke, and venous thrombosis continues to be the major cause of morbidity and mortality in North America and a growing problem in most other parts of the world. CVD currently claims more lives each year than cancer, respiratory disease and accidents combined. The Keystone Symposia meeting on New Frontiers in the Discovery and Treatment of Thrombosis will gather clinical and basic investigators in order to discuss novel discoveries in the area vascular occlusion, the treatment of thrombosis, and the minimization of risk. We anticipate that these interactions will establish ideas and approaches to thrombosis and bleeding that are recognized and followed by both fields.
