NIH Support for Conferences and Scientific Meetings (R13/U13) FOA: PA-16-294 Project Summary: International Conference on HHV-6 & 7 The 10th International Conference on HHV-6 & 7 is a three-day conference in July 2017 which will bring together approximately 150 investigators from over a dozen countries to discuss current research topics related to Human Herpesviruses 6A, 6B & 7. Using the standard medical conference format, investigators will present their original research to the audience and attendees will have the opportunity to present questions, discuss findings, and share ideas. While the relationship between HHV-6A, HHV-6B & HHV-7 infection and some diseases such as encephalitis, febrile seizures and febrile status epilepticus are well-established, the role of HHV-6 & 7 in other conditions such as acute graft vs host disease, liver failure and pneumonia remains unclear. The inherited form of HHV-6 that affects 1% of the population (chromosomally integrated HHV-6) and recent data suggest that it can activate in immunocompromised patients and recipients of high dose steroids and HDAC inhibitors, with unknown consequences. The international conference on HHV-6 & 7 provides a venue for investigators to discuss these important issues and encourage further understanding in all areas, from molecular biology to clinical research. The conference organizers would like to offer travel grants to a diverse group of speakers and trainees in the United States to travel to the conference in Berlin, Germany. Since there are very few NIH grants awarded to study these viruses, a significant number of participants are unable to attend without some form of subsidy.
NIH Support for Conferences and Scientific Meetings (R13/U13) FOA: PA-16-294 Project Narrative: International Conference on HHV-6 & 7 Roseoloviruses HHV-6A, HHV-6B & HHV-7 are understudied relative to the other herpesviruses; major complications of these viruses include HHV-6B encephalitis in the setting of hematopoietic cell transplants with rates reported at 8% of cord blood transplants in one meta-analysis. Among many new disease associations, HHV-6B has recently emerged as a risk factor for acute Graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and active HHV-6B/HHV-7 infection was shown to cause one third of febrile status epilepticus in infants. In addition, inherited chromosomally integrated HHV-6 (affecting 1% of the population and 2% of patients) can be activated via immunosuppression or specific drugs such as HDAC inhibitors, with unknown clinical consequences. Since there are only a handful of NIH grants relating to these viruses, the conference is not possible without travel support to key speakers and investigators.
| Komaroff, Anthony L; Boeckh, Michael; Eliason, Eva et al. (2018) Summary of the 10th International Conference on Human Herpesviruses-6 and -7 (HHV-6A, -6B, and HHV-7). J Med Virol 90:625-630 |
