Aging and Immunity Workshop

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Funds are requested to support attendance of five junior investigators to attend a workshop on "Aging and Immunity" to be held at the Trudeau Institute on October 3-5, 2004. The goal of this workshop is to bring together prominent immunologists who study the effect of age on immune responses and vaccine efficacy to discuss key issues. An important goal is defining a rational basis for immune intervention, both in terms of therapy and vaccine design. The workshop will concentrate on discussion of selected key topics in the field and will be asked to help shape the scientific content of the workshop, based on responses to a questionnaire. The program will consist of a series of short (about 5 minute), informal presentations in eight 1.5 hour sessions. This unique format promotes dissemination of ideas and enhances discussion. Participants will be asked to stay for the entire meeting, and there will be ample opportunity for informal interactions. There will be no speaker honoraria, but we hope to provide food and accommodation and to significantly defray travel costs. We anticipate that the total budget for the meeting will be approximately $40,000. Participation is by invitation only in order to keep the group small enough to facilitate discussions. Although direct participation will be selective, the insights that emerge from the workshop will be disseminated to the entire scientific community by publication in a widely accessible journal, such as Trends in Immunology or Nature Immunology. A strength of the meeting is the bringing together of senior investigators in the fields of aging and immunology. However, it is critical for the vitality of the field to include emerging investigators. In this proposal, we are specifically requesting funds to cover the basic costs to allow five junior investigators to attend the workshop, with the goal of fostering the next generation of immunologists in this field.