Support for US HUPO Meeting "Future of Proteomics"

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): We request partial funding support for operation of the 2012 Annual Meeting of the United States Human Proteome Organization (US-HUPO) entitled "The Future of Proteomics", to be held March 4-7, 2012 in San Francisco, California. Since the first US HUPO meeting in 2005, this venue has been and continues to be a vital conference for the highly interdisciplinary scientific field of proteomics, particularly as directe towards biological and clinical questions. US-HUPO is a unique meeting of scientists because it truly reflects the multidisciplinary interactions that have allowed proteomic researchers to approach and solve sophisticated biomedical problems. The US HUPO meeting endeavors to promote the clinical application and translation of diverse technological platforms including mass spectrometry, protein microarrays, biosensors, clinical assays to biomarker discovery and validation for diagnostic, prognostic and treatment purposes. The conference is heavily attended and has always attracted first-rate speakers in this field. The 2012 Annual Meeting will again bring together an outstanding and diverse group of scientists at the forefront of proteomics. Invited speakers in the symposium will explicitly discuss applications relevant to a wide range of diseases including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and infectious diseases. As technological advances made in the recent years are of critical importance in enabling scientists to more effectively address biological problems, the technological future of proteomics will also be a hallmark of the meeting. The topics chosen will educate participants on the latest, most effective technologies and methods, illustrate successful translation of these technologies into the clinic, and highlight new directions and grand challenges for the future of this field. Panel discussions will be held on key topics in order to encourage a robust dialogue between speakers and meeting participants to discuss critical goals for the future in proteomics, outline anticipated obstacles, and brainstorm solutions. This year US-HUPO will introduce parallel Career Development sessions in Biotechnology and Biological Applications, to provide early stage investigators with crucial insights into growth areas in proteomics and strategies for professional development. The poster sessions will also offer a more informal exchange of scientific ideas and advances. Ample time will be devoted to social venues for attendees to meet each other and establish new contacts and collaborations. Currently, 29% of the invited speakers are either women or members of minority groups. Once the program is completed with selections from submitted abstracts, we expect to have at least 35% women and minority speakers, and at least 35% early stage investigators (assistant professors, post-docs and/ graduate students). Attendance is expected to be 350-450 participants, including 100-150 students/post-docs. Registration is not restricted, and all interested persons may attend. A special effort will be made to recruit minority and industrial participants; the latter should be readily achievable given the concentration of biotechnology firms in the San Francisco Bay area. Participants will present posters on new findings each afternoon. Importantly, the conference provides a forum for young investigators to see the connection between fundamental scientific inquiry and the application of scientific methods to the design of efficacious interventions for human disease. To emphasize this goal, over 20 poster presentations that complement the themes of the meeting will be selected for short oral presentations during the concurrent sessions. Finally, it is important to note that preceding the meeting, US-HUPO offers several Full-Day and Half-Day short courses on contemporary topics in proteomics. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE (provided by applicant): Funding is requested to support the 2012 Annual Meeting of the United States Human Proteome Organization (US-HUPO), whose mission is to promote scientific and educational activities to encourage the use of new technologies for analyzing proteins in human tissues and fluids, and model organisms, with the ultimate goal of developing critically needed methods for early diagnosis, prognosis of human diseases and new therapies for treating contemporary health problems that affect millions of people worldwide.