6th International Conf. on Cryptococcus & Cryptococcosis

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The purpose of this proposal is to request partial support for "The 6th International Conference on Cryptococcus and Cryptococcosis" which will be held June 24-28, 2005 at the Boston Marriott Long Wharf Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts. The emphasis of this Conference is the public health impact of Cryptococcus neoformans in both developed and developing countries, and how basic and applied research are contributing to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases caused by these fungi. This major international conference is held every three years and typically attracts over 250 scientists from over 30 countries. The first conference in the series was held in Jerusalem, Israel in November, 1989. Subsequent conferences have been held in Milan, Italy; Paris, France; London, England; and Adelaide, Australia. This is the first time this conference is being held in the United States. The conferences in the past have allowed for the establishment of close interactions among scientists from different scientific backgrounds for an exchange of ideas, expertise, and new technologies. Such interdisciplinary collaborations have fostered open dialogues and it is expected that the 6th International Conference on Cryptococcus and Cryptococcosis will continue in this tradition. This proposal requests support for administration of the meeting and for 20 graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and young investigators to attend the conference. The Specific Aims of the meeting are: 1) To bring together investigators from academia, governments and industry who study C. neoformans and Cryptococcosis; 2) To develop a consensus on the state of the art for treating the protean manifestations of Cryptococcosis and to evaluate new strategies to treat and prevent disease, including the role of vaccines; 3) To assess the current studies on the molecular mechanisms by which C. neoformans is able to invade and evade the host immune system; 4) To discuss how the recent sequencing of the C. neoformans genome, as well as the availability of new molecular tools, can facilitate advances in understanding gene regulation, molecular pathogenesis, therapy, and vaccine development; 5) To develop new research agenda for the study of C. neoformans and Cryptococcosis and to recommend new and future research initiatives and prioritize these.