? ? Restoration and repair of the central nervous system in multiple sclerosis and or demyelinating diseases of the central nervous system poses many challenges. While much progress has been made in understanding the developmental biology of neurons and glia, we are just now beginning to apply these concepts to questions of nervous system repair, protection, and recovery. There are enormous challenges ahead but we believe that an international meeting will provide the opportunity to review the data in hand from many sources, and to debate and strategize about approaches that will lead to effective recovery of damaged or lost tissues. We are therefore organizing a workshop entitled """"""""Moving toward axon protection and remyelination therapies in man"""""""". In organizing this workshop we are striving bring focus to the real potential, and problems, for repair of damage in the central nervous system that results from multiple sclerosis (MS) and other diseases of the central nervous system. In addition we hope to excite young neuroscientists about the ongoing research in nervous system repair and thus attract them to the field. The workshop will be held in Washington DC, on November 11 as a satellite meeting to the Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience (SFN) that runs from November 12-16. This meeting was selected because its outstanding scientific program attracts a large number of participants (typically in excess of 20,000) thus allowing us to reach the desired target audience of graduate students, postdoctoral fellows as well as junior and senior investigators.
The specific aim of this proposal is to obtain financial support for travel and lodging costs for young investigators and keynote speakers, to provide scholarships to graduate student participants, and for other meeting expenses (e.g. audiovisual equipment rental, program book production etc). It is anticipated that the workshop format will allow an optimal interaction and exchange of information between neuroscientists active in the field and other interested scientists. The outcome of the workshop will be published in an appropriate peer-reviewed publication and will also be made available for the scientific community at large. ? ? ?