XIV International Poxvirus/Iridovirus Workshop

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The upcoming Workshop is the fourteenth in a series initiated in 1978. This biennial meeting alternates between a site in Europe and North America. Since its inception the Workshop has been dedicated to the discussion of aspects of the life cycle of large double stranded DNA containing viruses of eukaryotic organisms. Poxviruses are the focus of the majority of the presentations but studies of African Swine Fever Virus, Chlorella Viruses and a variety of iridoviruses are also significant contributions to the meeting. Principal topics include virus genomics, gene expression, genome replication and recombination, virus assembly, host/virus interactions, vector design, vaccine development and pathogenesis. The importance of poxviruses in biomedical history is illustrated by the successful use of vaccinia virus in the eradication of smallpox. Today, poxviruses continue to be the focus of intensive research due to their unique life cycle, their informative host interactions and their use as effective vectors engineered for protein production. For example, poxvirus vectors are employed not only for protein purification but importantly they serve as essential reagents in a host of immunological studies, in investigations of negative strand RNA virus gene expression and replication, and in the recent use of poxvirus recombinants to stimulate DNA based vaccines. Furthermore, new insights into the molecular details of host responses to virus infections are continually being gleaned through studies of the many poxvirus-encoded factors designed to counteract the host antiviral systems. Continued investigations of the mechanisms of viral gene expression, mRNA processing, DNA replication and recombination provide new views not only of the viral life cycle but also yield new insights into mechanisms employed by their hosts. This meeting is the premier forum for the discussion of the life cycles of large eukaryotic DNA viruses. We anticipate having approximately 100 oral and 100 poster presentations with a total attendance of 200 scientists. We expect thr-lt the 2002 Workshop will prove to be as stimulating and as informative as its predecessors.