IWOP-12, August 5th through 9th 2012, at Tarrytown House Estate and Conference Center, Tarrytown, NY
The objectives of the IWOP meetings are to:
- Serve as a forum for exchange of new information among active researchers concerning the basic biology, molecular genetics, immunology, biochemistry, pathogenesis, drug development, therapy, and epidemiology of the immunodeficiency-dependent diseases (e.g., as in AIDS patients) caused by eukaryotic protists and;
- Foster the entry of new and young investigators into these underserved research areas. The IWOP meeting focuses on opportunistic protists; e.g. the free-living amoebae, Pneumocystis, Cryptosporidium, Toxoplasma, the Microsporidia, and kinetoplastid flagellates.
Organizing Committee
Louis M. Weiss, Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
Melanie T. Cushion, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, and VA Medical Center.
Enrique J. Calderon, Seville University
Edna S. Kaneshiro, University of Cincinnati
Elizabeth S. Didier, Tulane Primate Center
Francine Marciano-Cabral, Medical College of Virginia
Olga Matos, New University of Lisbon
Anthony P. Sinai, University of Kentucky
Lihua Xiao Center for Disease Control
Preliminary Program
The final program will depend on submitted abstracts and will be posted on July 15, 2012.
| Sunday, August 5th |
| 3:00 PM |
Registration |
| 5:30PM |
Dinner |
| 8:00 PM |
Opening Plenary Session |
| Monday, August 6th |
| Breakfast |
| 9:00 AM |
Clinical Issues and Opportunistic Protists in Immune Competent Hosts:Colonization, Association with chronic disease, Co-morbidity Clinical Diagnosis, Detection, New treatment strategies, Blood-based diagnostic testing, Molecular techniques for diagnosis |
| Coffee Break |
| 11:00 AM |
Genotyping, Detection, and Diagnosis: Molecular Typing of Opportunistic Infections, Diagnostic criteria and new approaches, Molecular and other viability assays |
| Lunch |
| 1:30 PM |
Taxonomy, Phylogeny, and Evolution: Molecular phylogeny, Description of new species, Reclassification |
| Coffee Break |
| 3:30 PM |
Molecular Biology: Processing/expression of the surface antigens, Development of transformation systems, Identification of genes, Regulation of gene expression, Expression of genes in heterologous systems, Genotypes and virulence |
| Dinner |
| 7:30 PM |
Community Initiatives and Round Table Discussions |
| 8:00 PM |
Poster Session A |
| Tuesday, August 7th |
| Breakfast |
| 9:00 AM |
Genome Projects Advances and Summaries: Genome project – updates, Gene nomenclature issues, Presence and/or absence of metabolic pathways Genotyping, Detection, Diagnosis: Molecular Typing of Opportunistic Infections |
| Coffee Break |
| 11:00 AM |
Immunobiology and Pathogenesis: Humoral responses - interleukins/cytokines, Cellular responses, Gastrointestinal mucosal immunity, Effects of environmental toxins onopportunistic infections, Encephalitis caused by opportunistic protists, innate immunity, TOLL receptors |
| Lunch |
| 1:30 PM |
Host-Pathogen Interactions: Microarray/Expression profiling approaches, Proteomic approaches to understanding host-pathogen interactions, Pathophysiology ofOpportunistic infections, Manipulation of host apoptotic pathways , Pneumocystis effect on lung surfactant proteins, Host mediators in the acute toxoplasmosis, Effects of secreted proteins (e.g. Toxoplasma rhoptry components) on host cell functions |
| Coffee Break |
| 3:30 PM |
Cellular and Developmental Biology: Life cycle/mating/ development, Mitochondria, apicoplast, and other organelles, Cell wall synthesis, Heat shock proteins, Encystation and development of latent stages, Stage-specific expressed genes, Intracellular trafficking, Signal transduction |
| Dinner |
| 7:30 PM |
Community Initiatives and Round Table Discussions |
| 8:00 PM |
Poster Session B |
| Wednesday, August 8th |
| Breakfast |
| 9:00 AM |
Biochemistry: Lipid biosynthesis, Pyrimidine and purine biosynthesis/scavenging, Cyst/oocyst/spore wall, polar tube proteins, Polyamine metabolism, Proteomics, Crystal structures of enzymes and other proteins, Transport and uptake mechanisms |
| Coffee Break |
| 11:00 AM |
Cultivation and Animal Models: Nutritional requirements, Experimental models of infection, New approaches for cell culture maintenance |
| Lunch |
| 1:30 PM |
Drug Development and Drug Resistance: Genomic approaches to drug development, Vaccines/adoptive transfer, Drug resistance, Gene mutations in heterologous systems, New drug targets, Drug design |
| Coffee Break |
| 3:30 PM |
Epidemiology and Ecology: Opportunistic protists in Africa, Pacifica, Asia, Australia, South America, Europe, Organisms in the environment, new reservoirs, Environmental factors and survival/transmission, Zoonotic infections: Opportunistic protist infections in domestic and wild animals, Roles of animals in transmission of human infections, Opportunistic ameba in the environment, Detection of opportunistic protists in waste and drinking water |
| Dinner |
| 8:00 PM |
Reception and closing event |
| Thursday, August 9th |
| 8:00 AM |
Breakfast and Informal Meetings
Special Interest groups, Collaboration Group Meetings |