On behalf of the American Summer Neuropeptide Conference, request is being made from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to support several competitive young investigator awards to NEUROPEPTIDES 2003, the 3rd Joint Meeting of the American Summer Neuropeptide Conference and the European Neuropeptide Club. This joint international meeting will be held in Montauk, New York, USA from June 8- 12, 2003. Specifically, we are requesting funds in the amount of $4,500 to help defray meeting expenses of several graduate student and postdoctoral trainees who will participate in the conference and interact with established leaders in fields related to the mission of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. In the NIDA related symposium at the meeting, """"""""Neuropeptides in the Pathogenesis and Control of Pain"""""""", leading scientists in the field will present the latest state-of-the-art research on the role of neuropeptides in the etiology and maintenance of pain. This will be an excellent vehicle by which promising graduate student and postdoctoral trainees are exposed to senior scientists actively engaged in NIDA-related research in an intimate setting. The American Summer Neuropeptide Conference, now in its thirteenth year, and its counterpart the European Neuropeptide Club, also in its thirteenth year, have become the premier international meetings for neuropeptide research. The conferences highlight major new advances in neuropeptide research and attract a good mixture of senior and junior participants from academia and industry from throughout the world. Active participation by graduate and postdoctoral trainees, as well as by women and minority scientists, is strongly encouraged. The format of the present joint conference involves morning, afternoon and early evening symposia, poster sessions, an award ceremony and conference banquet, and special lectures by distinguished international scientists. This format, coupled with the informal setting, provides an ideal forum for the dissemination and exchange of current information and the development of new collaborations among the participants.
