This proposal requests support for a Keystone Symposia meeting entitled Immunity in the Respiratory Tract: Challenges of the Lung Environment, organized by David L. Woodland, Liise-anne Pirofski and Allen G. Harmsen, which will be held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada from February 26 - March 3, 2011. Recently, there has been an explosion in information about the regulation of inflammation, immunity, and immunopathology in the lung. Despite these advances, we still have only a rudimentary understanding of how these responses relate to the lung environment or how and why they translate into beneficial or detrimental effects, health or disease. This meeting will bring together allergists, immunologists, microbiologists and vaccinologists to discuss pulmonary inflammation and immunity in the context of lung biology, and to build on this understanding to promote development of improved vaccines and therapeutic interventions for inflammatory conditions and infectious diseases that affect the lungs. Expert talks in plenary sessions will present the latest research in the field. We anticipate that the meeting will considerably advance our understanding of respiratory immunity. Moreover, opportunities for interdisciplinary interactions will be significantly enhanced by the concurrent meeting on Mucosal Biology: A Fine Balance between Tolerance and Immunity, which will share a keynote address and two plenary sessions with this meeting. Project Narrative: Pneumonia is a leading killer of children worldwide under the age of five years, as well as an important cause of morbidity and mortality in adults in the developed and developing world. In light of this, the importance of the Keystone Symposia meeting on Immunity in the Respiratory Tract: Challenges of the Lung Environment cannot be overestimated: leading scientists from diverse backgrounds and settings will engage in critical discussions about the disease and challenges to understanding immunity in the lung and controlling lung inflammation.
Pneumonia is a leading killer of children worldwide under the age of five years, as well as an important cause of morbidity and mortality in adults in the developed and developing world. In light of this, the importance of the Keystone Symposia meeting on Immunity in the Respiratory Tract: Challenges of the Lung Environment cannot be overestimated: leading scientists from diverse backgrounds and settings will engage in critical discussions about the disease and challenges to understanding immunity in the lung and controlling lung inflammation.
