2011 US-HUPO Conference -- Proteomics: New Developments and Grand Challenges

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): We request partial funding support for operation of the 2011 Annual Meeting of the United States Human Proteome Organization (US-HUPO) entitled "Proteomics: New Developments and Grand Challenges", to be held March 20-23, 2011 in Raleigh, North Carolina. This meeting has been and continues to be a vital conference for the highly interdisciplinary scientific field of proteomics directed towards biological and clinical questions. US-HUPO is a unique meeting of scientists because it truly reflects the multiple disciplines, strategies, and technologies for which proteomics encompasses to enable this field to approach and solve sophisticated biomedical problems and provide perspective and accomplishments on how these findings can be translated into the clinic for diagnostic, prognostic and treatment purposes. The field is rich with diverse technological platforms including mass spectrometry, protein microarrays, biosensors, clinical assays, and biomarker discovery and validation. The first meeting of US-HUPO was in 2005 and what has evolved is a program that has provided the scientific foundation that has propelled the field of proteomics forward in rapid fashion. The conference is heavily attended and has always attracted first-rate speakers in this field. The 2011 Annual Meeting will again bring together an outstanding and diverse group of scientists at the forefront of proteomics. Invited speakers in the symposium will explicitly discuss applications relevant to a wide range of diseases including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and infectious diseases. The technological advances that have been made in the recent year are of critical importance to allow scientists to more effectively address biological problems and thus, this will also be a hallmark of the meeting. The topics chosen will educate participants on the latest, most effective technologies and methods, illustrate successful translation of these technologies into the clinic, and highlight new directions and grand challenges for the future of this field. Panel discussions will be held on key topics in order to encourage a robust dialogue between speakers and meeting participants to discuss critical goals for the future in proteomics, outline anticipated obstacles, and brainstorm solutions. This year US- HUPO will introduce a Business Meeting in the program to allow the participants to understand the mission and details of US-HUPO and thus allow for direct feedback from those in attendance to further improve the meeting. The poster sessions will also offer a more informal exchange of scientific ideas and advances. Ample time will be devoted to social venues for attendees to meet each other and establish new contacts and collaborations. Currently, 33% of the invited speakers are either women or members of minority groups and 33% are new investigators (Assistant/Associate Level). Attendance is expected to be 350-450 participants, including 100-150 students/post A docs. Registration is not restricted, and all interested persons may attend. A special effort will be made to recruit minority and industrial participants;the latter should be readily achievable given that Research Triangle Park is only 15 minutes from downtown Raleigh. Participants will present posters on new findings each afternoon. Importantly, the conference provides a forum for young investigators to see the connection between fundamental scientific inquiry and the application of scientific methods to the design of efficacious interventions for human disease. To emphasize this goal, over 20 poster presentations that complement the themes of the meeting will be selected for short oral presentations during the concurrent sessions. Finally, it is important to note that preceding the meeting, US-HUPO offer several Full-Day and Half-Day short courses on contemporary topics in proteomics. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE (provided by applicant): Funding is requested to support the 2011 Annual Meeting of the United States Human Proteome Organization (US-HUPO), whose mission is to promote scientific and educational activities to encourage the use of new technologies for analyzing proteins in human tissues and fluids, and model organisms, with the ultimate goal of developing critically needed methods for early diagnosis, prognosis of human diseases and new therapies for treating contemporary health problems that affect millions of people worldwide.