Once every three years, the community of scientists engaged in mucosal immunology research convene at the International Congress of Mucosal Immunity to obtain an in-depth overview of their scientific area. The 11th such International Congress will be held in Orlando, FL on June 16-20, 2002 at the Wyndham Palace Hotel and is being organized under the auspices of the Society for Mucosal Immunity led by the current President Dr. Charles Elson (University of Alabama). Each day of this four-day meeting will focus on a major scientific area of interest to mucosal immunologists. This includes days devoted to antigen presentation as well as B cell, T cell, and epithelial cell barrier function. Each day of the meeting will begin with a plenary session in which outstanding scientists from both outside and inside the area of mucosal immunology will speak. These will be followed by Symposia driven by abstracts submitted by meeting participants. Finally, each day will end with an address from an outstanding mucosal immunologist who will sum up research in their respective area of interest. The Congress will focus on basic themes of mucosal immunity including oral tolerance, regulation of mucosal responses, antigen presentation and B cell function in the mucosal immune system. In addition, it will examine diseases due to mucosal immune dysfunction including such major diseases as inflammatory bowel diseases, asthma, and Helicobactor infection. Finally, it will devote major attention to mucosal vaccine development, particularly as this elucidates the search for a HIV vaccine. Overall, the Congress is a major and necessary part of the intellectual landscape of mucosal immunity. A major goal of this Congress is to attract young investigators into the field of basic mucosal immunology as well as the study of mucosal diseases having an immunologic origin, and support for such individuals is being sought in this application. Support for young investigators is critical because they represent the future of the field.
