One exciting area of contemporary applied biology is the search for new approaches to selectively kill specified populations of cells within the body. Such approaches hold great promise for the development of new modes of therapy against cancer and a variety of other conditions. A unique feature of this meeting is a design which will facilitate interactions between groups studying chemical models of killing and those studying cell-mediated killing. Considerable emphasis will be placed on toxic proteins and the targeting of such proteins in vitro and in vivo by means of cell-specific antibodies or other vehicles. Novel approaches to the construction of more active and more specific targeted cytotoxic agents will be discussed, as will ways to circumvent barriers to the effective application of such molecules in clinical practice.
