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We extend a warm invitation to colleagues throughout the world with common scientific interests to join us at the Fifth International Conference on Tularemia, which will be held from November 1 - 4 2006 at the Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratories, Woods Hole, MA. Previous meetings in this series, held in Sweden, the Czech Republic, and the United Kingdom, have been increasing in size and scientific scope over the last decade. Our purpose, then and now, is to bring together those studying the bacteriology, molecular genetics, ecology and host response to Francisella. We hope to share new data and ideas, exchange reagents, and forge new relationships. Woods Hole will provide a relaxed and informal setting in which to learn, meet new colleagues and connect with long standing ones, and consider how best to meet the future challenges in the field. We hope you will plan to join this enthusiastic and growing scientific community, as we seek to encourage common collaboration to the benefit of public health and the world's response to the challenge of infectious diseases.
The meeting will be comprised of formal invited presentations, workshop sessions drawn from submitted abstracts, moderated discussions, poster presentations, and plentiful opportunities for attendee conversation. Our aim is to provide not only the long view, and context, from invited speakers with pertinent recent data, but also to capture the very newest data from all working in this rapidly evolving area. To that end, all participants are strongly encouraged to submit abstracts, which will be received as close to the meeting date as practical to allow for inclusion of late breaking results. All submitted abstracts will be reviewed by the organizing committee, and those with clear scientific merit will be presented as posters. The committee will also select a good proportion of the meeting's oral presentations from submitted abstracts.
Draft meeting programs will be posted here as they become available. The following information, which should be considered preliminary, is provided for planning purposes:
Location and transportation:
Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratories is on Cape Cod about 1 - 1.5 hours south of Boston, MA, and adjacent to Martha's Vineyard. See http://www.mbl.edu/ for information about MBL. Transportation into the Logan International Airport in Boston, MA or T.F. Green Airport in Providence, RI, may be most convenient. Bus service from downtown Boston directly to Woods Hole is available; charter buses may be arranged for conference participants if sufficient interest is evident (please register your interest via the link!).
Schedule:
Participants should plan on arriving in time for an opening session on the afternoon of Wednesday, November 1, 2006 and depart on mid-day Saturday, November 4. A very limited number of accommodations at MBL may be available for international travelers who need to plan travel for Sunday. Domestic travelers wishing to travel on Sunday to take advantage of a Saturday night stay are encouraged to consider arranging private hotel accommodations in Woods Hole or elsewhere. Please note that many hotels in Woods Hole are not open at this time of year, and advanced planning is important.
Accommodations:
Housing may be provided at both MBL lodging and at area hotels (plans for designating another specific area hotel are in progress). A limited number of single rooms will be available through MBL; shared accommodations are more common. Meals will be provided through MBL at the dining room. We expect that all conference participants will be required to secure housing and participate in meal costs for the entire meeting.
Budget:
Participants will be responsible for registration fees (currently estimated as $175 US), lodging costs (currently estimated as $40 per night shared, $80 single for MBL housing), and meal costs (currently estimated as $50 per day, three meals and breaks). Every effort will be made to control costs, particularly to encourage the participation of students and more junior colleagues; however, it should be noted that the above costs are very preliminary. A limited number of travel awards for non-U.S. participants may be available.
Registration and Abstract Submission:
Both registration and abstract submission will be performed through this web site. Deadlines for both will be announced shortly. Space will be limited, and early registration during the winter of 2006 is strongly advised.
Language:
The official conference language is English. Translation services will be investigated; requests for such are welcome and will aid in conference planning.
Questions, suggestions, and comments:
Are welcome as we develop the program and activities. We look forward to seeing you in 2006!
International Organizing Committee:
May Chu (WHO, Switzerland and CDC, USA), Co-Chair - Email (chum@who.int)
Karen Elkins (CBER / FDA, USA), Co-Chair - Email (elkins@cber.fda.gov)
Wayne Conlan (NRC, Canada)
Roland Grunow (Bundeswehr Institute of Microbiology, Germany)
Fran Nano (University of Victoria, Canada)
Anders Sjostedt (University of Umea, Sweden)
Jiri Stulik (University of Defence, Czech Republic)
Richard Titball (Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, United Kingdom)
Local / USA Organizing Committee:
Katy Bosio (Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO)
Tom Kawula (University of North Carolina, NC)
Karl Klose (University of Texas San Antonio, TX)
Dennis Metzger (Albany Medical College, NY)
Girija Ramakrishnan (University of Virginia, VA)
Sam Telford (Tufts University, MA)
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