Keystone Symposia on Molecular and Cellular Biology is now welcoming abstracts, scholarship applications and registrations for its conference on “Pathogenesis of Influenza: Host-Virus Interactions,” which takes place May 23-28, 2011 at the Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers in Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
Organized by Siamon Gordon of the University of Oxford, Malik Peiris of The University of Hong Kong and Kanta Subbarao of NIAID, US National Institutes of Health, the conference will begin on the evening of Monday, May 23 with keynote addresses by Sir John J. Skehel of MRC National Institute of Medical Research, UK, Robert G. Webster of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, USA and Peter C. Doherty of the University of Melbourne, Australia. These will be followed by four days of informative plenaries, short talks, workshops and poster sessions. Short talk speakers will be selected based on abstract submissions.
The mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of influenza remain controversial. The direct cytopathic effects of viral replication, tissue tropism of the virus, viral-bacterial synergy, as well as innate host responses are inextricably linked and play roles to varying degrees in “seasonal,” zoonotic and pandemic influenza, examples being the pandemics of 1918 and 2009 and H5N1 avian influenza. Animal models, though indispensible, have significant limitations with regard to physiological relevance to human disease. This symposium brings together researchers working on the virus, viral receptors and tissue tropism, innate and adaptive immunity, systems biology and clinical aspects of lung injury and host defense, to address questions on the pathogenesis of influenza. The aim will be to integrate data from animal and ex vivo / in vitro human experimental models as well as human disease to understand pathogenesis of influenza and how this may lead to effective interventions. As this symposium will take place in the aftermath of the first pandemic in 40 years, there will be a wealth of new knowledge as well as intense scientific interest in the subject.
The conference is organized in Collaboration with The University of Hong Kong and is part of its Centenary Celebration. It is also made possible by an Area of Excellence in Influenza grant funded by the University Grants Committee of Hong Kong. Registration rates are discounted for students, and scholarships are available for students and postdoctoral fellows.
Deadlines: Abstract & Scholarship – January 21, 2011 / Late-Breaking Abstract – February 22, 2011 / Early Registration Deadline – March 22, 2011
For more information including the full meeting program, please visit www.keystonesymposia.org/11E3.
Download flyer here
