In this proposal, we request for funding to support the travel expenses for young scientists to attend and participate in the 2016 International Meeting on the Molecular Biology of Hepatitis B Viruses, scheduled for September 21st-24th, 2016 at the conference facility of the Yonsei University of Seoul, South Korea. This meeting is the only forum that gathers the international community of researchers that focus on the hepatitis B virus (HBV) and the closely associated hepatitis delta virus (HDV). Approximately 25% of the world's population has been infected by HBV. Unfortunately, despite the availability of prophylactic vaccines, many new infections occur worldwide, mostly because of underutilization of the vaccine due to cost and other issues. Moreover, for the approximately 350 million people already chronically infected with HBV (approximately 15 million of whom are co-infected with HDV), the vaccine is of no therapeutic value. As a result, between 0.5 and 1 million people die of HBV/HDV every year worldwide. It is therefore imperative that basic research on HBV continues, and the latest progress in the field is discussed and disseminated in a timely manner. The annual HBV meeting provides the forum for scientific exchanges and the dissemination of latest research information. The 2014 meeting will uphold and enhance the traditional format. It will consist of 8 oral scientific sessions and 2 poster sessions as well as less structured networking time. The scientific interactions will be facilitated by two keynote addresses (see their acceptance letters). As in the past, great effort has been made to minimize the cost of the meeting. Furthermore, the Hepatitis B Foundation has made a strong commitment to support this meeting since 2005, in terms of providing a permanent home for organizing the meeting and making its staff available for supervising the meeting and publicizing it, especially to universitis with large numbers of underrepresented minorities. In order to allow the participation of junior and minority investigators, support from the NIH to help defray the meeting costs is requested. It is expected that over 200-300 attendees will register for the 2016 HBV meeting, which will mark the 32nd anniversary of the HBV meeting.
HBV continues to be a major global and US public health problem with more than 350 million individuals chronically infected worldwide and with an annual rate of up to one million deaths due to HBV and HBV/HDV- induced liver failure, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. The current proposal for the support of HBV meeting is crucial for the development of future antiviral strategies specifically against covalently closed circular DNA clearance and progression toward liver disease pathogenesis.
