? This proposal requests partial support for the 2008 Federation of American Societies of Experimental Biology (FASEB) Summer Conference on the """"""""Biology of the Immune System"""""""", which has been held every other summer for the past 20 years. The purpose of the meeting is to bring together basic immunologists from academia and the pharmaceutical industry at the professorial, post-doctoral and pre-doctoral levels to present and discuss cutting-edge research in basic immunology. The meeting will focus on new discoveries concerning the organs, cells, and molecules that play key roles in innate and adaptive immunity. The conference should also be attractive to savvy clinical researchers who know that the next generation of therapies will come from the kind of basic science discoveries presented at this conference. The time-tested format will consist of oral presentations by international leaders in the field and poster presentations by other attendees. A major strength of the meeting is that the participants stay in a secluded resort and share meals for the length of the conference. This total immersion atmosphere is very conducive to in depth discussions and collaboration-building for attendees at all levels. This conference will serve as the definitive small meeting with a broad focus on basic immunology in 2008. The 2008 FASEB Summer Conference on the """"""""Biology of the Immune System"""""""" is relevant to the public health because it will serve as a forum for the exchange of ideas among leading scientists about basic aspects of the immune response. These ideas are the engines that will drive the development of more effective vaccines and treatments for allergy, autoimmunity, and transplant rejection. ? ? ?
