Funds are requested to partially cover the cost of planning, organizing, publicizing, and hosting the 29th Annual Symposium on Nonhuman Primate (NHP) Models for AIDS to be held October 25-28, 2011, 2011 at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center in Seattle, WA. This meeting has been a premier forum for presentation and exchange for the most recent scientific advances in AIDS research utilizing the nonhuman primate model. It is expected that more than 200 scientists from the United States and other countries will attend. The symposium will consist of 4 half-day scientific sessions and a poster session. The sessions will cover topics in virology, vaccines/immunology, pathogenesis/therapeutics, and primate genetics and genomics. Each session will include invited speakers who will give a 30 minute presentation. Select sessions will include a round table discussion. Invited speakers will moderate the sessions and guide discussions. A Keynote Speaker and a Banquet Speaker will address the broader issues of scientific interest and public health concerns. The scientific program will be organized by the Scientific Program Committee, consisting of 8 local and 8 non-local members, all leaders in fields of expertise, representing a broad geographic and institutional distribution. Criteria for selection of oral presentations will include relevance of the topic, originality, and quality of information in the abstract. Those giving oral presentations will be invited to submit a manuscript to be published in the Journal of Medical Primatology. A poster session will include presentations that cannot be accommodated in one of the platform sessions. The conference will also include an opening day reception, a reception with the poster sessions, and a reception and banquet on the last evening. To take advantage of the expertise assembled and to further the educational mission of this symposium, a tutorial session, aimed primarily at high school science teachers and graduate students, will be held. This session will consist of overviews on HIV/AIDS and related NHP research presented by invited speakers, followed by discussions.
(provided by applicant): HIV and its resulting disease, AIDS, is a critical threat to public health in the United States and internationally. This symposium contributes to the knowledge base that will ultimately result in a vaccine to prevent transmission of HIV and treatments for those currently living with AIDS.
