Seventeenth Annual Meeting of the Rocky Mountain Virology Association

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The Rocky Mountain Virology Association will hold its 17th annual meeting in September 2017. The meeting brings together regional and national investigators in virology and prion biology for a 2-day retreat- style conference with extensive interaction and collaboration. The original meeting was organized by investigators in Colorado and Wyoming who were interested in the free and open exchange of scientific data and ideas concerning general virology in a venue that promotes collaboration among students, post-doctoral researchers and faculty members. Specifically, our annual three-day autumn meeting at the Mountain Campus of Colorado State University encourages young scientists to present their research and receive feedback from established scientists. The goals are promotion of scientific interactions and training. A major benefit of participation has been the novel collaborations that arise between scientists in different disciplines, i.e. RNA stability and Flavivirus biology. The topics discussed include medical virology (vaccines, epidemiology, viral zoonoses), arthropod-borne diseases (RNA viruses and RNA metabolism, viral vectors and vector biology), host defenses (viral immunology and pathogenesis), and prion biology. Special sessions on HIV pathogenesis, vaccine development, pandemic influenza, prions, virus discovery and the global impact of viral diseases have been featured at past meetings. The next meeting will feature a roundtable discussion of emerging arboviral diseases, dengue, chikungunya, and Zika. Founders and attendees include scientists from Colorado State University, The University of Colorado, the University of Wyoming, the University of Northern Colorado, the Centers for Disease Control (Fort Collins) and the Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service as well as scientists from regional biotech companies, and universities in Iowa, Idaho, Nebraska, Kansas, Montana and Utah. The Rocky Mountain Virology Association was incorporated in 2010 as a tax-exempt educational charity (Section 501(c)(3)). Our board of directors is charged with encouraging student and junior faculty involvement by minimizing costs as we encourage women and minorities to participate in all stages of program development. Everyone involved in programming is a volunteer. Our attendance is limited by venue to a maximum of 114 individuals. This assures active involvement and interaction for all. Comparable general virology meetings such as the annual American Society for Virology meeting have attendance of about 1500 and high registration, housing and travel costs. Collaborative interactions at these meetings tend to be very focused on individual virus families. Our meeting promotes diverse collaboration. Funds are requested to provide minority grants and childcare, reduce registration fees for graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and early-stage investigators, and for travel and housing for invited speakers. Registration fees and individual charitable contributions cover costs for the meeting. The RMVC has been an outstanding source of communication and collaboration for the Rocky mountain region.