XXIst North American Testis Workshop

描述（由申请人提供）：本R13会议资助申请申请资金支持2011年3月30日至4月2日在蒙特利尔凯悦酒店举行的第21届北美睾丸研讨会（NATW）。该会议于1972年首次举行，已经建立了一个传统，作为一个杰出的研究者发起的会议，汇集了睾丸生物学领域领先的基础和临床科学家。它被视为该领域学员的重要会议，研究生，医学博士研究生和博士后研究员占与会者的近一半。它也被视为活跃在涉及睾丸或睾丸细胞研究领域的高级研究人员“必须参加”的会议，因为它以这些领域的最新研究为特色。NATW每两年举行一次，紧接在同一地点举行的美国男科学会年会。因此，这次会议对与男性生殖健康有关的研究进展作出了重大贡献。来自美国和加拿大以外的科学家也作为与会者、演讲者、项目组织委员会成员和海报展示者积极参与。该领域的主要研究人员将出现在节目中，穿插从提交的摘要中选择的简短谈话，其中大部分是由学员或初级教员提出的。第21届NATW的主题是“生殖成功的睾丸决定因素”。开幕之夜将有一个主题会议，接下来的两天半将有五场科学会议。总共有20位受邀演讲者已被确认参加这五场科学会议。主题演讲将由英国戈登研究所的Azim Surani博士发表，主题为“生殖细胞：世代之间的永恒联系”。五个科学会议的主题将是“睾丸和生精细胞的起源”，“减数分裂事件-生殖和临床后果”，“父系基因组的编程和包装”，“睾丸功能的调节”和“环境对睾丸功能的影响”。每次会议将邀请四名演讲者，并从提交的摘要中选择两篇简短的演讲。最后，还将有两次海报会议，以便每位希望这样做的与会者都有机会展示他们的作品。请拨经费用于支付一部分应邀发言者的旅费和住宿费，并向选出的10名受训人员提供旅费奖励，这些受训人员的摘要将在全体会议期间作为简短发言提出。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This R13 conference grant application requests funds to support the XXIst North American Testis Workshop (NATW) to be held at the Hyatt Regency Montreal March 30 - April 2, 2011. This conference, first held in 1972, has established a tradition as an outstanding investigator-initiated meeting bringing together leading basic and clinical scientists in the field of testis biology. It is viewed as an essential conference for trainees in the field with graduate students, MD/PhD students, and postdoctoral fellows making up nearly half of the attendees. It is also viewed as a 'must attend' meeting for senior investigators active in areas of research involving the testis or testicular cells, as it is known to feature the most current research in these areas. The NATW is held every two years, immediately prior to the annual meeting of the American Society of Andrology at the same venue. Thus, this meeting provides a significant contribution to the progress of research relevant to male reproductive health. Scientists from beyond the United States and Canada also participate actively as attendees, speakers, members of the Program Organizing Committee, and poster presenters. Leading investigators in the field are featured on the program, interspersed with short talks selected from submitted abstracts, the majority of which are presented by trainees or junior faculty. The theme of the XXIst NATW will be "Testicular Determinants of Reproductive Success." There will be a keynote session on the opening night, followed by five scientific sessions over the next two and one half days. A total of 20 invited speakers have been confirmed for the five scientific sessions. The Keynote Address will be presented by Dr. Azim Surani from the Gurdon Institute in the UK and will be entitled, "Germ Cells: The Eternal Link between All Generations." The topics of the five scientific sessions will be "Origins of the Testis and Spermatogenic Cells," "Meiotic Events - Reproductive and Clinical Ramifications," "Programming and Packaging the Paternal Genome," "Regulation of Testis Function," and "Environmental Impacts on Testicular Function." Each session will feature four invited speakers, plus two short talks to be selected from submitted abstracts. Finally, there will also be two poster sessions so that every attendee who wishes to do so will have an opportunity to present their work. Funds are requested to support travel and lodging costs for a subset of the invited speakers plus to provide travel awards to 10 trainees whose abstracts are selected to be presented as short talks during the plenary sessions. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Infertility is a problem that affects approximately 12% of couples in developed countries including the United States and Canada, and male-factor or idiopathic infertility is responsible for approximately two thirds of these conditions. The North American Testis Workshop (NATW) is the only conference dedicated to basic and clinical studies of testis function and clinical ramifications. The theme of this workshop will be "Testicular Determinants of Reproductive Success." The XXIst NATW will continue a well-established heritage by covering cutting-edge research presented by world-leaders, as well as by fostering the inclusion and career development of trainees, women, underrepresented minorities and individuals with disabilities.