This application requests partial funding for the 2013 Pittsburgh Lung Conference entitled """"""""Acute and chronic lung infections: Novel pathogens, diagnostics, and therapeutics."""""""" The conference will be held on October 17-18, 2013, at the University Club in Pittsburgh, PA. Expected attendance is 300-400 and will include basic scientists, physician-scientists, clinicians, and other health professionals. Speakers and attendees will be junior and senior investigators as well as trainees specializing in a wide range of scientific disciplines (medicine, pulmonary, infectious diseases, immunology, pharmacology, public health). This Conference represents the 12th annual Pittsburgh Lung meeting with a unique blend of cutting-edge science and clinical topics that have a broad appeal to individuals with research or clinical interests in lung and infectious diseases biology, diagnostics, and therapeutics. The overall objective is to provide for an inclusive, collaborative forum of clinical translational, and basic investigators in the field of infectious lung diseases. The specific topic to be covered in this conference include: (1) Pneumonia: Treatment and diagnosis;(2) Microbiome and the lung;(3) Vaccine and drug development;(4) Infections in the immunosuppressed host;(5) The role of infections in chronic lung diseases;(6) Emerging and resistant infections. We believe that this meeting is unique, timely, and highly important because it will bring together recognized experts within the lung, immunology, infectious diseases, and microbiology communities in a venue designed to both disseminate new information and to promote the interaction of established and junior investigators. This meeting will provide a framework for novel approaches and directions for future lung infections research.
This application requests partial funding for the 2013 Pittsburgh Lung Conference entitled Acute and chronic lung infections: Novel pathogens, diagnostics, and therapeutics. Pulmonary infections are a leading cause of mortality worldwide. They are also a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the immunosuppressed population which has grown with the increasing numbers of patients undergoing organ transplantation, receiving novel immunosuppressive therapies, or living with chronic HIV infection. In addition, the role that infections play in typically non-infectious lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma demonstrate that the impact of lung pathogens extends beyond acute pneumonia. Despite the global importance of lung infections, the development of new antibiotics, vaccines, and novel therapeutics has been slow. Emerging technologies are rapidly expanding diagnostic approaches and establishing new areas of research such as the role of the lung microbiome in pulmonary diseases. The 2013 Pittsburgh Lung Conference will highlight clinical care that affects treatment strategies and improves patient outcomes as well as research advances that will drive the development of new therapeutic and diagnostic approaches to lung infections. The conference brings together top scientists to advance this vital field while offerin an inclusive meeting that prioritizes involvement of junior scientists.
