This proposal is to support participation of young investigators (trainees) in the VIIth International Congress of Andrology, a meeting that combines the 26th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Andrology (ASA) and the 7th meeting of the International Society of Andrology (ISA), and to provide support for speakers to present their latest findings at a Symposium at that Congress titled, """"""""Animal Models of Male Infertility."""""""" The meeting will be held in Montreal, Canada, June 15-19, 2001. According to the ASA By-laws a student/trainee is defined as: """"""""Any student in a program leading to a degree, postdoctoral fellow, a medical intern or resident interested in the progress and development of Andrology...."""""""" Although trainee attendees to this ASA/ISA Congress will be from around the world, for the purposes of this proposal, only U.S. trainees will be eligible for the support proposed herein. The ASA has a solid history of inclusion of women and minorities in both the activities and administration of the Society and in their scientific programs. The combination of the ASA Annual Meeting with an ISA congress has occurred only one other time in the past 20 years and offers a unique opportunity for the scientific interchange between basic scientists, clinical researchers, and clinicians from around the world on a wide variety of topics important to reproductive health. In addition to plenary lectures and symposia, workshops and poster sessions provide an opportunity for attendees, especially trainees, to learn state-of-the-art techniques and to present and discuss the latest findings from their laboratories and clinical practice. Many collaborations and new ideas have originated in such sessions. It is the hope of the Program Committee that trainees participating in this Andrology Congress will be stimulated intellectually and encouraged to pursue contemporary basic science and clinical research in areas that are important to reproductive health.
