On March 7-9, 2002, a group of 21 scientists actively involved in research on chlamydiae met in with the purpose of establishing a society to foster the exchange of information in basic research on chlamydiae. A constitution was drafted for the Chlamydia Basic Research Society (CBRS), and the first meeting of the society took place on March 8-10, 2003 in Memphis, TN. It was attended by 139 scientists and 86 graduate students and post-doctoral fellows from a total of 17 countries. The constitution of the society was formally approved by the membership on March 10, 2003, and officers and an executive council were elected. Subsequently, the Society applied for and received tax exempt status from the IRS under section 501 (c) of the Internal Revenue Code (EIN 01-0627924). This proposal is to request funds to assist in sponsoring this meeting, specifically to partially underwrite the expenses of graduate students and post-doctoral fellows to attend the meeting. The next meeting will be held April 23-25, 2005 in Indianapolis, IN. Funds are also requested for the following 2 meetings (2007, 2009) although dates and locations have not yet been fixed. The objectives of the meeting are the same as those of the society which are codified in its constitution. They are 1) To encourage basic research in chlamydial biology and pathogenesis; 2) To provide a forum for the exchange of information among scientists engaged in research on basic chlamydial biology and pathogenesis; and 3) To promote the development of young scientists in chlamydial research by encouraging their active participation in Society meetings and activities. Because other meetings on Chlamydia were comprehensive and have not allowed sufficient time to cover the basic science adequately, the meeting of the CBRS was designed to emphasize only the basic science aspects of chlamydial research so that as many presentations and posters as possible could be included to provide the maximal coverage of the areas of molecular and cell biology, pathogenic mechanisms, and immunologic responses.
