Funds are requested from NIH for partial support of the 36th Annual Meeting of the Society for Leukocyte Biology, to be held at the Doubletree Hotel in Philadelphia, PA, October 2-5, 2003. The meeting is entitled """"""""Unraveling Inflammation,"""""""" and is focused on the complex cell-cell interactions and mechanisms involved in host defense and inflammation, including the resolution of inflammation. The meeting will: (t) explore cell types involved in inflammation, (2) explore the diseases and disease models relevant to the study of inflammation, and (3) highlight recent advances in treating acute inflammation and the diseases associated with chronic inflammation. We will combine interactions of researchers from different subspecialties to create a multidisciplinary approach to effector cell host defense and inflammation, and the resolution of inflammation. The meeting features Dr. Charles Serhan as the Scientific Program Chair and Dr. Linda McPhail as Co-Chair. The confirmed speaker list includes Dr. Bengt Samuelsson and Sir John Vane, 1982 Nobel Laureates, as keynote speakers, and Drs. M. Amin Arnaout, Timothy Hla, and Garrett Fitzgerald, as plenary lecturers. We request partial support for participation at the meeting by students and junior scientists (postdoctoral and clinical fellows, junior faculty). Because of the location and program for the meeting, we anticipate attendance of approximately 300-400 people, with at least 75 students/postdoctoral fellows applying to attend. Approximately 50% of the symposia speakers will be selected from submitted abstracts. Abstracts from student and postdoctoral fellow applicants will be given special consideration for oral participation. The society also sponsors an awards competition of outstanding presentations given by postdoctoral and graduate students (Presidential Awards). In addition, the society chooses a recipient of the G. Jeanette Thorbecke award, which is intended for a deserving young female investigator working in the area of cellular and molecular mechanisms of host defense, inflammation, and leukocyte biology. We request partial support for registration and travel expenses for the winner of this competition. Overall, we hope to provide a forum for interaction of diverse groups involved in host defense and inflammation and to identify the current unmet clinical challenges and tasks ahead.
