16th annual meeting of the PanAmerican Society for Pigment Cell research

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): We are requesting via the R13 mechanism partial support for the 16th annual meeting of the PanAmerican Society for Pigment Cell research, " Interdisciplinary and Translational Approaches to Pigment Cell Biology and Disease", to be held September 30 - October 2, 2010 in the British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia. This venue is a wheelchair friendly facility with state-of-the- art video /multimedia equipments, and with space for exhibits, refreshment and board meeting needs. The subject of the last PASPCR meeting in 2009 (Memphis, TN) was how the pigmentary system responds to sun exposure in the context of cutaneous biology. However, pigmentation is a field that integrates scientists from many different disciplines and backgrounds, and recent advances in a number of areas hold tremendous promise for the development of new treatments for pigmentary diseases such as melanoma and vitiligo. Thus, the 2010 meeting will focus on interdisciplinary and translational approaches, and bring together clinicians, clinical scientists, and basic scientists. Planning for this year's conference has been underway for 18 months; we expect 125 - 150 attendees for a 2 1/2 day conference that includes 6 oral sessions, 3 special poster forums, and an honorary lecture by the recipient of this year's Aaron B Lerner Award. Invitations have been issued to 14 scientists to give keynote addresses, selected because of the importance of their research contributions and the diversity of fields represented by their laboratories; all have agreed to participate as invited speakers. The remainder of the participants will apply through a registration process that includes the option but not the requirement to give an oral or poster presentations. We estimate that 25% of the audience will represent graduate students or postdoctoral fellows, and that 25% will take advantage of 23 credits of continuing medical education under the auspices and approved by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and the American Medical Association. Attendees will leave the meeting with a deepened understanding of the latest discoveries in pigmentary biology and with cutting-edge tools for tackling problems across basic and clinical disciplines. Financial support for this meeting would have a considerable impact on the success of the conference and make it possible for the field's leading researchers and young scientists to participate.