The Human Biology Association is an open-membership society comprised of researchers from a variety of backgrounds, all of whom share an interest understanding individual and population variation in health and disease. The purpose of the Association is to foster research in human biology by encouraging communication and exchange of ideas and research results between established investigators, as well as between new and established investigators. In its 27 years of existence, it has met these goals successfully. Its annual meeting has become the primary congregating point of researchers in the field of human biology - an interdisciplinary specialization positioned strategically at the intersection of the life sciences (biology, genetics, statistics), social/behavioral sciences (anthropology, demography, psychology), and the health sciences (epidemiology, medicine, obstetrics/gynecology, pediatrics, physiology, public health). Three popular features of the meeting are the Plenary Session, Pearl Memorial Lecture, and Student Presentation Awards. We propose to create two Student Travel Awards for supporting minority, female and foreign student attendance. An outstanding panel of speakers and Pearl Memorial Lecturer has been assembled to address """"""""Strategies for Reproductive Success"""""""" as the topic for the April 2002 meeting. The plenary session and its published proceedings will offer a novel view of the ways in which genetic, physiological, social and cultural factors act synergistically to decide reproductive success, judged at both the individual and population levels. This plenary session topic is of particular relevance to the mission of the NICHD in that it directly addresses the causes and consequences of reproductive behavior and success. This request is for the NIH to assist the Association by assuming funding of the transportation and hotel costs of these awards for the April 2002 annual meeting, thereby stimulating the continued development of young investigators in the interdisciplinary, field of human biology and their interest in initiating research in the reproductive sciences and in the areas of maternal and child health.
