The emerging field of gene therapy has had its first successes in children with severe combined immune deficiency and in adults with hemophilia. Responses have also been observed in patients with an ever-broadening range of otherwise intractable cancers. It is also evident that the biological complexity associated with obtaining effective gene transfer mandates a multi-disciplinary approach to the field, involving collaboration between basic and clinical researchers and between industry and academia. This meeting provides a unique environment to foster such interactions, allowing individuals to be updated on a broad range of scientific issues, knowledge of which will be essential if the potential of this powerful new approach to be realized. The ASGT 5TH Annual Meeting will be held June 5-9, 2002 in Boston. The meeting will include 3 keynote addresses, 12 symposia (4 speakers each), presidential symposia, special symposia on future biology, 20 colloquia (selected from submitted abstracts), 12 workshops (6 speakers each), 24 educational seminars, 20 meet-the professor sessions, poster viewing, a high school teacher outreach program and public education. The areas covered in the meeting will be gene therapy approaches to cardiovascular disease, cancer, genetic diseases, infectious diseases, musculo-skeletal disorders, neural disorders, and hematopoiesis. The workshops are designed to discuss the improvements in delivery systems, production of vectors, novel vector systems, and specific diseases. The """"""""meet-the-professor"""""""" sessions are designed to promote interaction among young investigators and faculty. Young scientists will have opportunities to present their work in colloquia and at poster sessions. Based on the 4th Annual Meeting and a recent increase in membership, we expect nearly 2,500 participants. We have planned a program where 10-15% of the participants will have an opportunity to make oral presentations. Because of the breadth of gene therapy, we seek """"""""cross-institutional support"""""""" from the NIH, including, but not limited to, NHLBI, OD, NCI, NEI, NHGRI, NIA, NIAID, NIAMS, NICHD, NIDCR, NIDDK, NIGMS, NIMH, and NINDS. Emphasis on extensive participant of young practitioners in the field give the ASGT meeting a unique niche as the premier scientific meeting in gene therapy.
