This conference grant (R13) application requests funds to partially cover the cost of planning, organizing, publicizing and hosting the 18th Annual Symposium on Nonhuman Primate Models for AIDS. The symposium will be held October 4-7, 2000 at the Monona Terrace Convention Center in Madison, Wisconsin and will be hosted by the Wisconsin Regional Primate Research Center (WRPRC), University of Wisconsin--Madison. This meeting has become the premier forum for the presentation and exchange of the most recent scientific advances in AIDS research utilizing the nonhuman primate model. The latest findings in pathogenesis, primate immunology, vaccines and therapeutics will be presented. It is anticipated that more than 300 scientists from the United States, Puerto Rico and other countries will attend. The symposium will encompass five consecutive half-day scientific sessions, each devoted to a different theme. These will be: (1) Vaccines and Therapeutics, (2) Immunology, (3) Virology, (4) Pathogenesis, and (5) Technology and Resources. Each session will have an invited Chair who will give a 30-minute state-of- the-art presentation to open the session and a Co-Chair, who will moderate the session and entertain questions. In addition, there will be an invited keynote speaker and banquet speaker to address scientific approaches and concerns regarding the global AIDS crisis and related issues of public health A Scientific Program Committee consisting of nine members will review abstracts and select those for Oral vs. Poster presentation for each of the five scientific sessions. Committee members will include leaders in the field from a variety of scientific disciplines and research institutions. Criteria for selection of oral presentations will include relevance of the topic as well as originality and quality of the information contained in the abstract. Those giving talks will be invited to submit their presentations in manuscript form for publication in the Journal of Medical Primatology. A poster session will include meritorious presentations that cannot be accommodated in one of the five platform sessions. The conference will also include an opening reception on the day of arrival (Wednesday, October 4, 2000), an evening poster session (Thursday, October 5, 2000) with accompanying reception and an evening banquet on Friday, October 6, 2000, with a topical speaker.
