The activities proposed in this application will develop and conduct an educational workshop in psychoneuroimmunology. Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) is an interdisciplinary field that examines how psychological, behavioral, cognitive, social, and environmental events interact with and influence endocrine, neurological, and immune responding. The workshop will feature leading researchers in PNI. The educational plan for the workshop emphasizes the integration of psychological, neurological, endocrinological, and immunological components of PNI. Both current findings in the field and the scientific methodologies for obtaining and analyzing data will also be emphasized. Participants in this workshop will consist of both social/behavioral and biomedical scientists recruited from regional, national, and international institutions. Individuals will be recruited from departments of psychology and biological science, from schools of medicine, pharmacy, nursing, and dentistry, and from other appropriate academic departments and schools. Individuals currently working in or training at research hospitals, non-profits research institutions, and pharmaceutical companies will also be recruited. Special efforts will be made to recruit members of minority and under-represented groups. Preference will be given to participants who are at the early stage of their careers. In order to encourage the development of interdisciplinary collaborations, the recruitment plan for the workshop states that at least two individuals from the same institution (or from institutions within close physical proximity to one another) must apply for the workshop. One individual must be a social or behavioral scientist, while the other must be a biomedical scientist. A long-term goal of the workshop is to encourage cross-disciplinary collaborations and the submission of quality grant applications with interdisciplinary approaches. To accomplish this goal, the workshop will also provide training on grant writing and grant preparation. At the conclusion of the workshop, workshop participants may communicate with one another and with the workshop faculty via an Internet World Wide Web site specifically established, funded and maintained by the applicant organization.
