International Travel Proposal: Funding to support travel and attendance at the 4th Intl. Symposium on Ranaviruses - Budapest, Hungary.

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Growing concerns about amphibian declines, the increasing reliance of humans on aqua- and mari-culture as a food source, and the ability of ranaviruses to infect divergent hosts underscores the need for a conference that brings together investigators interested in various aspects of infectious disease in cold-blooded vertebrates. Hence, the purpose of this proposal is to request funds to partially support the attendance of US investigators at the 4th International Symposium on Ranaviruses (4th ISR) to be held in Budapest, Hungary in conjunction with the 10th International Symposium on Viruses of Lower Vertebrates (10th ISVLV). The ISVLV (June 4 - 7, 2017) and ISR (June 7 - 10, 2017) will facilitate communication between senior and junior faculty, post-doctoral fellows, and graduate/veterinary students working on five continents whose prime focus is on viruses that target cold-blooded vertebrates. The majority of the funds in this award will be used to support the travel of trainees (graduate students and postdoctoral fellows) and junior faculty, with special attention paid to supporting members of underrepresented groups.Ranaviruses (RVs, family Iridoviridae) are emerging pathogens that target ecologically- and commercially important fish, amphibians, and reptiles. The RVs are promiscuous pathogens and the lack of host specificity suggests that infections in aqua- or mari-culture facilities may spread to wildlife, and vice versa. In view of the above, the purpose of this proposal is to request funding to support an international meeting, the 4th International Symposium on Ranaviruses (4th ISR) focused on RVs and the diseases they cause. The meeting will bring together a diverse array of investigators (e.g., virologists, veterinarians, immunologists, ecologists, veterinary pathologists) and provide a forum for the discussion of RVs and their impact on cold-blooded vertebrates. To further increase the usefulness of this meeting, the 4th ISR will be coupled to the 10th International Symposium on Viruses of Lower Vertebrates (ISVLV). The ISVLV has a long-standing interest in viruses infecting lower vertebrates and the joint meeting will facilitate collaboration among scientists interested in this field of study. Thus, the joint ISR-ISVLV meeting will bring together one of largest groups of investigators focused on viruses of poikilothermic vertebrates and leverage their complementary skills and expertise to produce a comprehensive understanding of pathogens that impact not only wildlife, but also important food species.