This application requests funds for the partial payment of travel and conference-related expenses of US scientists (invited speakers and young investigators) to attend the Ninth Congress of the International Society for Biomedical Research in Alcoholism (ISBRA). This meeting will be held in Copenhagen, Denmark, June 26-July 2, 1998. The ISBRA Congresses are now the only world-wide scientific meetings for all areas of alcohol research. In addition to biomedical aspects, they also cover biobehavioral and clinical research. The ISBRA Congresses are held biennially and since the founding of ISBRA, meetings have been held in Germany, USA, Finland, Japan, Canada, UK, Australia, and in the USA in 1996. The overall goal of the proposed ISBRA Congress is to present the latest work in all areas of alcohol research, ranging from studies of molecular mechanisms to clinical and epidemiological studies. This work is presented by researchers from around the world. The scientific program will support that goal. The second goal of the meeting is that a concerted effort is going to be made to attract clinicians to this meeting. Some symposia have been specifically designed with a clinical focus and a large mailing will be made to clinicians. A third goal of the Congress is the rapid publication of the Congress proceedings in order to increase its usefulness to basic researchers and to clinicians. Proceedings of the most recent ISBRA Congress were published six months after that meeting. It is fully the intention of the organizers to meet or surpass the turnaround time from presentation to publication of the previous ISBRA Congress. An inherent goal of such an international meeting is that it will provide an opportunity for participants to exchange scientific information both formally and informally and to establish future collaborative efforts world-wide. More than 50% of the ISBRA membership is US-based, and a sizeable majority of alcohol research is conducted in the US. Accordingly, attendance by US scientists is absolutely essential for the success of the meeting. This application requests funding for 80% of the international travel expenses and per diem of 30 invited speakers from the US, and 80% of travel expenses for 15 young/new investigators from the US.
