The purpose of this proposal is to seek support for the 2018 Annual Meeting of the American Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP), which will be held in the San Diego Convention Center April 21-24, in conjunction with the Experimental Biology convention. ASIP's Annual Meeting provides a unique forum for presentation and sharing of cutting-edge research in experimental pathology. The target audience and subject matter for the meeting are diverse but united by a common focus on mechanisms of disease. The theme of the ASIP 2018 Annual Meeting is `Pathobiology at the Cutting Edge: Disease Mechanisms Driving Prevention, Diagnosis, and Therapy.' Reflecting the interests of the ASIP membership, the 2018 Annual Meeting contains strong components in neoplasia, stem cells, precision medicine, and angiogenesis. Topics include epithelial-mesenchymal transition; gene regulation in breast cancer; the role of infectious agents in neoplasia; adaptive responses of cells in tumorigenesis; and liver injury, repair and tumorigenesis. In addition, a session on big data and molecular epidemiology has direct relevance to the study of cancer. Application of insights gained from basic research to therapy and prevention will be a particular focus throughout the meeting. The four-day program comprises symposia, workshops, and lectures by award recipients, as well as abstract-driven minisymposia and poster sessions. Notably, the 2018 program includes a `mini-meeting' on the molecular and cellular basis of cancer. The symposia that constitute this event will be held in a single room to foster informal interactions among the attendees. The program further provides a number of educational initiatives, both targeted and of interest to the biomedical research community as a whole. These include two linked sessions on the mentor-mentee relationship and individual development plans. ASIP regards promotion of the career development of trainee and young investigators as an extremely important aspect of the Annual Meeting. Accordingly, the meeting provides not only special events designed for their needs but also sessions that showcase their work. Similarly, the Program Committee works hard to ensure diversity among the participants with respect to gender, ethnic/racial group, and stage of career. The sole specific aim of this application is to promote the participation of trainees and junior investigators in the Annual Meeting through expansion of travel award programs and provision of special sessions targeted to graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, clinical residents and fellows in pathology, and faculty in the early stages of their careers.
The Annual Meeting of the American Society for Investigative Pathology offers a unique forum for the sharing of research results related to a wide spectrum of human disorders, with particular emphasis on the development, treatment, and prevention of cancer. Such sharing fosters more rapid advances in the understanding of human diseases such as cancer and accelerates the rate at which this knowledge can be applied to the development of diagnostic and prognostic tests, as well as targeted therapies. A major goal of the meeting is to provide educational and career support to young investigators who are interested in cancer biology and experimental pathology.
