2010 Immunochemistry and Immunobiology Gordon Research Conference

描述(申请人提供)：可能没有器官比免疫系统对人类健康的影响更大。免疫系统的细胞几乎巡视身体的每一个部位，以抵御病原体。然而，可能会发生免疫功能失调，并可能导致免疫缺陷、自身免疫或过敏。在过去的几十年里，关于免疫系统的正常运作、免疫反应可能如何出错以及免疫调节如何用于治疗优势的知识呈爆炸式增长。戈登免疫化学和免疫生物学研究会议(GRC)自1966年以来一直定期举行。下一次会议计划于2010年5月在瑞士Les Diablerets举行。GRC组织的理念帮助塑造了这一长期会议系列的独特特点，其特点有几个重要因素。首先，这是一次享有盛誉的会议，吸引了该领域最有成就的调查人员。这并不是以初级调查人员为代价的，他们在节目中也作为特邀演讲者得到了很好的代表。其次，这是一个相对较小的会议(不到150人)，在一个亲密的环境中举行，与会者留在会议地点。此外，在戈登会议上，被邀请的演讲者预计将在整个会议期间留下来，他们的费用报销取决于遵守这一政策。参加整个会议的地点和道德使初级调查人员与他们的较资深同事之间有了密切的联系。第三，九个半天的会议涵盖了免疫学的广泛领域，集中讨论了调查最密集的“热点”问题。其他涵盖免疫学的会议规模很大，而规模较小的免疫学会议几乎总是集中在免疫发展或细胞因子等副主题上。第四，高度重视未出版材料的编排。第五，会议有一个民主的组织，有许多专家的意见，导致了方案的形成。特别是，积极争取妇女和代表性不足的少数群体的参与。在此申请中，我们寻求对这一重要和享有盛誉的会议的支持。这是NIH支持一次会议的建议，会议总结了解免疫系统的最新进展，特别是支持初级研究人员的旅行。免疫系统每天保护我们免受感染，但它也可能功能不正常，导致过敏或慢性疾病，如I型糖尿病和多发性硬化症。这次会议将汇聚世界顶尖专家，就基础研究和有助于促进该领域知识的更多应用主题的想法、技术和概念进行密切和密集的交流。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): There probably is no organ with a greater impact on human health than the immune system. The cells of the immune system patrol nearly every site in the body in order to defend against pathogens. Dysregulation of immune function can occur, however, and may result in immunodeficiency, autoimmunity or allergy. The last several decades have seen an explosion of knowledge regarding the normal functioning of the immune system, how immune reactions may go awry, and how immune modulation may be used for therapeutic advantage. The Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Immunochemistry and Immunobiology has been held regularly since 1966. The next meeting is planned for May 2010, at Les Diablerets, Switzerland. The philosophy of the GRC organization has helped to shape the unique character of this longstanding meeting series, which is distinguished by several important factors. First, it is a prestigious meeting that attracts the most accomplished investigators in the field. This is not at the expense of junior investigators, who are also well represented in the program as invited speakers. Second, it is a relatively small meeting (less than 150 attendees), held in an intimate setting with attendees staying at the meeting place. Moreover, at Gordon Conferences invited speakers are expected to stay for the entire meeting and their expense reimbursements depend on abiding by this policy. The location and the ethic of attending the entire meeting allows for close contacts between junior investigators and their more senior colleagues. Third, the nine half day meeting sessions cover the broad field of immunology, focusing on the most intensely investigated "hot" issues. Other meetings that broadly cover immunology are very large, while smaller immunology meetings almost always focus on subtopics such as immune development or cytokines. Fourth, a strong emphasis is placed on the presentation of unpublished material. Fifth, the meeting has a democratic organization with input from a great many experts leading to the formation of the program. In particular, participation by women and underrepresented minorities is actively sought. In this application, we seek support for this important and prestigious conference. This is a proposal for NIH support for a meeting to summarize the latest advances in understanding the immune system, particularly to support the travel of junior investigators. The immune system protects us against infections every day, but it can also function improperly, causing allergies or chronic diseases such as type I diabetes and multiple sclerosis. The meeting will bring together leading experts in the world for an intimate and intense exchange of ideas, techniques and concepts on both basic research and more applied topics that will help to advance knowledge in the field.