From Bench to Clinic: How Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Conjunction with Focused Outreach Continues to be Transformative

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Abstract The Americas Association of Sarcoidosis and Other Granulomatous Disorders (AASOG) is a physician and physician-scientist directed organization that is dedicated to a better understanding of the pathogenesis and improving treatment of patients with sarcoidosis. This poorly understood disease commonly afflicts underrepresented minorities. AASOG is a subsidiary of the World Association of Sarcoidosis and Other Granulomatous Disorders (WASOG), which is based in Europe and was founded in 1987. AASOG has previously sponsored 7 annual national meetings. I addition to general subjects related to genetics, biomarkers and treatment for sarcoidosis, this 8th annual conference will focus on 2 specific areas: 1) How better to provide access to minority communities for Sarcoidosis treatment 2) A detailed discussion of neurosarcoidosis, with special considerations on fatigue, the most common symptom in sarcoidosis and its affect on quality of life. Conference Title: Combining Transformative Sarcoidosis Research and Outreach to Improve Health Disparities With this framework in mind, many of the invited participants are underrepresented minorities, and many of the attendees are junior faculty or trainees. The focus on underrepresented minorities expands beyond the invited participants in that the low registration fees will make this meeting highly accessible to underrepresented minorities. Trainee participation in the meeting will be further encouraged by waiving registration fees and providing travel awards to 5 students/junior investigators based upon the quality of their research presentations. Furthermore, the highly interactive scientific environment and engagement with well-established research scientists will be contributory to their career development. This meeting will thereby encourage and promote the development of new scientists dedicated to the advancement of sarcoidosis research and treatment and encourage further collaboration among researchers to advance our knowledge of sarcoidosis. Thus, the 2017 AASOG meeting will support a variety of activities that are directly relevant to the scientific missions of the National Institutes of Health and public health.