This is an application for funds to provide partial support for an International Symposium on Urolithiasis to be held in Hong Kong on May 25 - 28, 2004. This will be the 10th in a series of symposia that have been held every 4 years since 1968. They have been very well attended in the past and have become the yardstick by which progress in the field is measured. Articles in the Proceedings that have resulted from these symposia have been widely cited, supporting their important role in disseminating scientific progress in this field. Based on past attendances it is anticipated that more than 80% of the NIH-funded investigators in the field will attend this meeting. This conference will bring together basic scientists and clinician scientists from a variety of disciplines whose research focuses on kidney stones. These investigators will include urologists, nephrologists, endocrinologists, pediatricians, pathologists, medical geneticists, biochemists, physiologists, cell biologists, public health scientists and biologists. The kidney will not be the only organ covered, and the physiology/pathology of a variety of other tissues involved in stone formation will be discussed, including bone, liver, intestine, and blood.The goals of the Symposium are to (1) address current issues in the etiology and treatment of stone disease, (2) promote discussions and the exchange of information, particularly that associated with controversial issues, (3) provide opportunities that facilitate the spawning of collaborations, (4) encourage the involvement of young investigators, and (5) to publish proceedings, abstracts and key papers to document the information presented and make it widely available. Ten scientific sessions will held to meet these goals. Internationally recognized chairs and speakers from 5 different continents have been chosen by an advisory committee. Female speakers and speakers from a diverse number of races and scientific disciplines have been selected. It is anticipated that this symposium will play an important role in promoting research on kidney stones and several genetic diseases such as the primary hyperoxalurias. It is hoped that the cross fertilization of ideas and the development of new collaborations will foster new insights into the disease processes involved.
