Aging and Immunity Workshop

说明（由申请人提供）：申请资助五名初级研究人员参加将于2004年10月3日至5日在特鲁多研究所举行的“衰老与免疫”研讨会。本次研讨会的目的是将研究年龄对免疫反应和疫苗功效影响的杰出免疫学家聚集在一起讨论关键问题。一个重要的目标是在治疗和疫苗设计方面确定免疫干预的合理基础。讲习班将集中讨论该领域选定的关键议题，并将被要求根据对调查表的答复来帮助形成讲习班的科学内容。该计划将包括一系列简短（约5分钟）的非正式演讲，分8次，每次1.5小时。这种独特的形式促进了思想的传播和讨论。与会者将被要求在整个会议中留下，并将有充足的机会进行非正式的互动。不会有演讲酬金，但我们希望提供食物和住宿，并大幅支付旅行费用。我们预计会议的总预算约为4万美元。只有通过邀请才能参与，以便保持小组足够小，便于讨论。虽然直接参与将是有选择性的，但从研讨会中产生的见解将通过在广泛访问的期刊上发表而传播给整个科学界，例如《免疫学趋势》或《自然免疫学》。会议的一个优势是汇集了衰老和免疫学领域的高级研究人员。然而，这是至关重要的领域的活力，包括新兴的研究者。在此提案中，我们特别要求资金支付基本费用，以允许五名初级研究人员参加研讨会，目的是培养该领域的下一代免疫学家。

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.