International Symposium on ALPD and Cirrhosis

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This R13 application seeks support for the 6th~10th International Symposium on Alcoholic Liver and Pancreatic Disease (ALPD) and Cirrhosis to be held in 2011-2015. This series of symposia began in 2006 and has been highly successful in bringing together 120~200 investigators from 10~17 nations around the world with cutting-edge and complementary expertise and generating a wealth of new collaborations that led to major advances in the field. We wish to continue this unique and synergizing tradition to further promote basic and translational research on ALPD and cirrhosis, as well as global outreach on these important diseases which affect millions of people world-wide. Overall specific aims of the symposia remain to be: 1) to continue to promote international collaboration among different disciplines and nations; 2) to share the complementary resources and expertise available in various countries, thus adding synergy and unique ideas together; 3) to encourage young investigators to interact at an international level; and 4) to promote dissemination to professional and lay communities of new scientific and translational information which can be helpful for prevention and treatment of the diseases. The 6th~8th symposia will be held in Fukuoka, Japan in 2011, in Beijing, China in 2012, and Deli, India in 2013, and their organizers have been selected. Each will have a unique general theme and subthemes for scientific sessions. A preliminary program for the 6th meeting has been created around the theme of "From Stem Cells to Global Health", reviewed by International Advisory Committee, and approved by Japanese Society of Hepatology and Japanese Society of Gastroenterology, the hosting organizations. Thematic sessions include: Stem Cells in ALD, Liver and Pancreatic Cancer; Cell Death Regulation in ASH and Alcoholic Pancreatitis; Novel Insights into Liver and Pancreatic Fibrogenesis; New Treatments of ALPD and Cirrhosis; and Global Health: Impacts of Alcohol, Smoking, and Obesity. The symposia have been supported in part by the NIAAA's R13 mechanism to defray travel costs of invited US speakers and to provide travel awards for young investigators. The hosting organization provided a matching support for the venue and meeting logistics, but also for invited speakers and young attendees from non-US and hosting nations. Future symposia will follow this mechanism of shared financial responsibility, which will assure cost-effective meeting management without compromising the synergistic outcome for science and outreach.