.) We plan to present a one-time symposium covering cutting-edge research in scientific disciplines that have evolved from the identification and characterization of genes responsible for cancer. This symposium is being organized as a memorial to Dr. Teruko Hanafusa, whose contributions to the study of retroviruses and oncogenes laid important foundations for later studies on the structure and function of the genes responsible for cancer etiology and progression. The discovery of oncogenes and their proto-oncogene progenitors created many novel approaches to the study of intracellular signal transduction, protein-protein interactions, the cell cycle, neurobiology and cancer biology. These disciplines have promoted a vigorous pursuit of novel therapeutic strategies for cancer as well as for neurological and immunological diseases. The proposed symposium will present recent important developments in these related fields by leading investigators whose work evolved directly from the study of retroviral oncogenes.
