Dr. Owen, the President of the Board of Directors of the Fanconi Anemia Research Fund, Inc. seeks partial support through this conference grant application for a meeting to be held in Boston in November of this year. The Seventh Annual International Fanconi Anemia Scientific Symposium. The last International Symposium supported by the NHLBI and the Fanconi Anemia research fund was held in Bethesda in 1992. The major presentations of the meeting were published subsequently in Experimental Hematology. Each of the past 6 meetings has had similar objectives: (1) to speed scientific discovery by sharing information and developing collaborative relationships among scientists across different disciplines, (2) to disseminate information on new therapeutic modalities, (3) to jointly assess the present state of Fanconi anemia research and to plan future directions, and (4) to attract highly competent and productive investigators in molecular and cell biology to the field of Fanconi anemia research. Since 1989 in Fanconi Anemia Research fund has provided grants totaling $1.3 million to investigators in North America and Europe through the peer review activities of its Scientific Advisory Board. This funding supported the discovery of the first complementation group by Manual Buchwald in 1992. The 1995 meeting will take place at and near Children's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts and will include 22 presenters focusing on four topics: (1) to identify the other four genes, (2) to develop and analyze animal models, (3) to characterize the structure and regulation of FA genes and the function of the proteins they encode, and (4) to develop gene therapy and other clinical trials for FA patients. The requested funds will support airfare and ground transportation, $45 dollars per diem, and three nights lodging for the 22 presenting scientists and four conference moderators and coordinators.
