Conference Support for International Congress on Oncogenic Herpesviruses

描述（由申请人提供）：本次会议拨款申请要求资金支持第一届国际致癌疱疹病毒及相关疾病大会。本次会议的独特和创新之处在于，它将作为卡波西肉瘤相关疱疹病毒（KSHV）及相关制剂国际研讨会（第15届年会）和爱泼斯坦-巴尔病毒及相关疾病国际研讨会（第15届双年会）的首次联合会议。这笔资金将用于减少美国病毒肿瘤学博士预科和博士后学员的旅行和注册费用。会议的目标与NIH、NCI、NIAID和NIDCR的使命宣言一致，即推进和促进与人类癌症和其他罕见疾病相关的慢性感染的研究步伐，特别是在艾滋病毒/艾滋病的背景下。会议将由宾夕法尼亚大学医学院艾布拉姆森癌症中心、宾夕法尼亚大学牙科学院和Wistar研究所癌症中心共同主办。它将于2012年8月1日至5日在费城市中心的喜来登市中心酒店举行。本次会议的所有剩余费用将从与会者支付的注册费和主办机构、基金会、制药和生物技术公司的捐款中筹集。会议的主要焦点是致癌疱疹病毒和相关人类疾病的生物学，特别关注病毒发病机制、病毒潜伏期和再激活、病毒基因表达和复制、宿主对感染的反应、流行病学、疫苗开发和治疗干预。除EBV和KSHV外，还将介绍与猴疱疹病毒（HVS）、鼠疱疹病毒-68 （MHV-68）、恒河病毒横纹蛇病毒（RRV）和恒河淋巴隐病毒（rhLCV）相关的研究。此外，该计划还包括一个公开论坛，讨论该领域需要科学界关注的新发展。这些会议所涵盖的主题，由该领域的志愿者利益相关者主持，经过多年的发展，涵盖的问题包括：病毒检测和诊断交叉验证的必要性，风险

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This conference grant application requests funds to support the first International Congress on Oncogenic Herpesvirus and Associated Disease. This meeting is unique and innovative in that it will serve as the first combined meeting of the International Workshop on Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus (KSHV) and Related Agents (15th Annual Meeting) and the International Symposium on Epstein-Barr Virus and Associated Diseases (15th Biennial Meeting). The funds will be used to reduce the travel and registration costs to US pre- and post-doctoral trainees in viral oncology. The goals of the meeting are consistent with the mission statements of the NIH, NCI, NIAID, and NIDCR, namely, to advance and promote the pace of research on chronic infections associated with human cancer and other rare diseases, especially in the setting of HIV- AIDS. The Conference will be co-hosted by the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine Abramson Cancer Center, the University of Pennsylvania School of Dentistry, and the Wistar Institute Cancer Center. It will take place August 1-5th 2012 in the Sheraton Downtown Hotel located in center city Philadelphia. All remaining costs for this conference will be raised from registration fees paid by conferees and contributions from host institutions, foundations, and pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. The main focus of the meeting is on the biology of oncogenic herpesviruses and associated human diseases, with specific focus on viral pathogenesis, viral latency and reactivation, viral gene expression and replication, host responses to infection, epidemiology, vaccine development, and therapeutic intervention. In addition to EBV and KSHV, studies related to herpesvirus saimiri (HVS), murine herpesvirus-68 (MHV-68), rhesus rhadinovirus (RRV), and rhesus lymphocryptovirus (rhLCV) will be presented. In addition, the program contains an open forum discussion on novel developments in the field that need attention by the scientific community. Subjects covered by these sessions, which are moderated by a volunteer stake holder in the field have been evolved over the years and have covered issues ranging from: the need for cross-validation for viral detection and diagnostics, the risk of virus contamination for blood bank safety, and the development of effective vaccines and anti-viral therapies. To further encourage the presentation of novel data, the conference provides the opportunity for a late breaker session for a few chosen abstracts that can be submitted at a deadline close to the conference date. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Human viruses are responsible for >17% of all human cancers. It is estimated that ~400,000 new cancer cases per year (est. for 2011) can be attributed to chronic infection of a human gammaherpesvirus. Both EBV and KSHV infect a large percentage of the adult human population, and have complex cofactor roles in a variety of malignancies, including Kaposi's Sarcroma, pleural effusion lymphoma, and Multicentric Castleman's disease for KSHV, and Burkitt's lymphomas, nasopharyngeal carcinomas, gastric carcinomas, Hodgkin's and Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, and NK/T cell lymphomas for EBV. Many of these cancers are elevated in HIV- AIDS and other forms of immunosuppression, including treatments for organ transplant and autoimmune disease. Many of the viral-associated malignancies are endemic to geographical locations throughout the developing and developed world, and may have complex genetic predispositions or high-risk environmental cofactors. Several therapeutic approaches have been explored, including vaccination and small molecule anti- viral therapies, but to date, no standard clinical approach has succeeded in achieving long-term protection or treatment of these viral associated malignancies and related diseases.