) The field of gene therapy has undergone tremendous evolution over the last five to ten years. Recent exciting accomplishments include: 1. the development of non-inflammatory gene delivery vehicles that resulted in persistent transgene expression in the immuno-competent animals; 2. regulable transgene expression in the recipient animals; 3. unambiguous demonstration of treatment efficacy in genetic disorders such as Hemophilia B in large animal models of disease and 4. clinical applications are beginning to appear in the peer-reviewed scientific literature. As a new scientific organization, the American Society for Gene Therapy (ASGT) has set several goals for its Annual Meetings. First, the Scientific Program is designed to address those developments in fundamental cell and molecular biology that provide the essential scientific infrastructure for the ultimate emergence of gene therapy as a major therapeutic discipline in medicine. The scientific program will also focus on the validation of various gene treatment strategies in relevant animal models of disease, so that the results can be utilized to support future clinical studies in a variety of disease targets. Second, there will be an Educational Program, which will be designed not only for the members and for the young students and fellows who are interested in the science of molecular medicine, but also for the high school science teachers/students and the general public. The topics in basic sciences that will be covered in the Third Annual ASGT Meeting include """"""""molecular virology and viral vectors""""""""; """"""""molecular biophysics and non-viral vectors""""""""; """"""""molecular genetics and episomal vectors""""""""; """"""""molecular biology and regulatory vectors""""""""; """"""""stem cell biology and differentiation and """"""""humoral and cellular immunology"""""""". The disease targets for gene therapy development include """"""""genetic diseases""""""""; """"""""cardiovascular disorders""""""""; """"""""cancer""""""""; """"""""skeletal muscle and CNS disorders"""""""" and """"""""infectious diseases and AIDS"""""""". Thus, we seek cross-institutional support for the meeting from the NIH, including but not limited to, the following institutes: OD, NCI, NE1, NHLBI, NHGRI, NIA, NIAID, NIAMS, NICHD, NIDCR, NIDDK, NIGMS, NIMH and NINDS. This meeting is distinguished from the others in the area of gene therapy in that it encompasses both scientific and educational goals, and has an established track record to attract an international audience in the last two Annual Meetings of the Society. Indeed, it is widely recognized that the Annual ASGT Meeting is THE scientific meeting in Gene Therapy today.
