14th International HLA & Immunogenetics Workship (HIWS)

第14届国际HLA和免疫遗传学研讨会将于2005年11月29日至12月3日在澳大利亚墨尔本大学举行。以前的13次讲习班都在北半球举行。研讨会汇集了研究HLA和免疫遗传学的国际领先科学家，讨论合作研究项目的发现。该研讨会旨在通过多中心国际合作解决具体的科学问题，从而开发可公开获得的研究资源。讲习班的活动包括：1。控制实体器官和造血干细胞移植结果的遗传多态性特征，2。2 .传染病、癌症和自身免疫性疾病免疫反应的遗传控制。包括HLA等位基因和单倍型在内的免疫应答基因数据库的建立；开发用于分析遗传数据的生物信息学和统计工具；6.移植中次要抗原的定义。7.与HLA分子结合的肽的表征；基因检测方案的标准化和MHC基因命名法，8。创建世界范围内使用的多样性电池面板；人类免疫反应基因变异的人类学定义，10。用于疾病基因定位的高密度SNP数据库的开发，11。12. KIR基因多样性的定义；移植中的虚拟匹配技术。第14届IHIWS的独特之处在于每个研究项目所涉及的国际合作程度

The 14th International HLA and Immunogenetics Workshop will be held at The University of Melbourne, Australia, between November 29-December 3, 2005. All 13 previous workshops have been held in the northern hemisphere. The Workshop brings together leading international scientists studying HLA and immunogenetics to discuss the findings of collaborative research projects. The Workshop aims to address specific scientific questions through multicenter international collaboration that leads to development of publically available research resources. The Workshop actvities include: 1. Characterization of genetic polymorphisms that control the outcome of solid organ and hemopoietic stem cell transplantation, 2. Genetic control of immune responses to infectious disease, cancer and autoimmune disorders, 3. Creation of genetic databases of immune response genes including HLA alleles and haplotypes, 4. Development of bioinformatic and statistical tools for analysis of genetic data, 5. Definition of minor antigens in transplantation, 6. characterization of peptides bound to HLA molecules, 7. Standardization of gene testing protocols and MHC gene nomenclature, 8. creation of diversity cell panels used worldwide, 9. Anthropological definition of human variation in immune response genes, 10. Development of high density SNP databases for disease gene mapping, 11. definition of KIR gene diversity, 12. Virtual matching techniques in transplantation. The 14th IHIWS is unique in the extent of international collaboration involved in each of the research projects and the remarkable scientific networking this activity promotes within the HLA and immunogenetics research community. This allows pooling of data that has been collected using standardised protocols imparting much greater power to research projects. Standardised reagents are shared between participants and assays undergo quality control in each of the participating laboratories. The workshop will be a major forum for benchmarking advances in technology, facilitating their exchange across international boundaries and implementation of new advances through industry uptake of Workshop opportunities. The data from the workshop will be archived in a publicly accessible database supported by the US National Institutes of Health. Workshop reports and abstracts will be published in the peer-reviewed literature and in a Workshop book. A core of 6 leading investigators will be invited as speakers and 10 scientists from developing nations will be supported as participants or speakers. Four Bursaries will also be offered to postdoctoral scientists on a merit basis. The program will present and discuss workshop projects. The Workshop will be open to all interested students, trainees, scientists and clinicans. The scientific exchange that will take place at the meeting will drive research and maintain international collaboration in immunogenetics for the next 5 years.