This application seeks support for the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th International Symposia on Polyomaviruses and Human Diseases. The 2nd International meeting will be held in Sapporo, Japan from June 11-13, 2004. The third International meeting will be held in Philadelphia in June of 2005, and the fourth International meeting will be held in Barcelona, Spain in June of 2006. These meetings have become the primary international conference for scientists and clinicians studying diseases associated with human polyomaviruses. These symposia are unique in that they bring together clinicians and basic scientists interested in developing therapeutic strategies to treat polyomavirus induced human disease. Specifically, we are requesting funds to defray the costs of 1. plenary session speakers, 2. travel grants for graduate students and post-doctoral fellows, 3. preparation of on-site registration materials, and 4. poster session costs.
The Specific Aims of the 2nd International Symposium on Polyomaviruses and Human Diseases are to provide a forum for the dissemination of new information related to 1. the impact of human polyomaviruses in disease, 2. the epidemiology of polyomavirus associated disease, 3. the basic biology underlying polyomavirus associated disease, and 4. the development of treatment strategies to prevent or treat disease associated with polyomavirus infections. This meeting will provide a forum to foster collaborations between basic researchers and clinicians that should lead to novel methodologies to treat patients suffering from human polyomavirus associated disease. The attendance is estimated at 80 people based on the success of the 1st International Symposium held last year in Italy.
