This application seeks support for 5th International Symposium on Neurovirology that will be held as a 2.5 day meeting scheduled for September 25-27, 2003 in Baltimore, Maryland. The 5th Symposium will be preceded by a 2-day Workshop on HIV Molecular & Clinical Neuroscience to be held in the same location. Specifically, the application requests funding to cover the costs of (1) plenary session speakers, (2) travel grants for graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and clinical fellows, (3) publication costs associated with the preparation of the program and abstracts in the Journal of Neurovirology, the official journal of the International Society of Neurovirology, (4) preparation of on-site registration packet materials, (5) poster session costs, (6) rental of audiovisual equipment, (7) rental of rooms for workshop and poster sessions, (8) secretarial effort association with registration, program preparation, abstract processing, and general meeting preparation activities, and (9) web-based management of all meeting activities.
The Specific Aims of the 5th International Symposium on Neurovirology are to provide a forum for the dissemination of new information related to (1) the impact of other neurologic diseases and the aging process on HIV-associated CNS disease, (2) the impact of the innate immune responses on virus infection of the CNS, (3) homeostasis in the CNS and the effects of viral infections in astrocytes, (4) protein folding diseases, including prions and cellular proteins, (5) bioterrorism and emerging infections, including the assessment of risks posed by neurotropic viruses, (6) host genetics and the impact of viral infection of the CNS, (7) gene therapy and neural stem cell approaches to CNS infections, and (8) neuroimmune responses and CNS trafficking. Overall, the 5th Symposium will seek to update investigators working the field of neurovirology and related disciplines with leading edge information so that important gaps in knowledge can continue to be identified. Armed with this information, attendees will work toward formulating new questions and experimental directions to enhance the development of new strategies to prevent and treat neurologic disease associated with prions, HIV, and other viral pathogens. The application also seeks an additional two-years of funding to establish the Symposium Series as an annual event to continue to develop this important area of investigation. It is anticipated that approximately 350 individuals attending the 5th Symposium. ? ?
