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Daniel Rotrosen, M.D., Director, DAIT
Dr. Susan Kirshner joined DAIT on March 1, as a Program Officer in the Autoimmunity Section, Clinical Immunology Branch following completion of a post-doctoral fellowship in the laboratory of Dr. Dinah S. Singer in the Experimental Immunology Branch of the National Cancer Institute. While there, she focused on elucidating the transcriptional regulation of MHC class I expression in response to hormonal stimulation. Dr. Kirshner's doctorate was received under the supervision of Professor Edna Mozes at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. Her research topic was T cell epitopes and T cell activation in the autoimmune disease myasthenia gravis.
Dr. Rotrosen announced the following scientific activities:
NIAID Tetramer Facility: A NIAID Tetramer Facility has been established through the NIH AIDS Research and Reference Reagent Program. This facility provides custom synthesis and distribution of soluble MHC I/peptide tetramer reagents that can be used to stain antigen specific CD8 T cells. Investigators can apply for tetramer reagents through the NIAID Tetramer Facility Web Site http://www.niaid.nih.gov/reposit/default.htm.
Biomarkers and Surrogate Endpoints: Advancing Clinical Research and Applications The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) organized a meeting, held on April 15-16, 1999 at NIH, to discuss the prospects for the development of new biomarkers and surrogate endpoints in clinical research. DAIT staff played a major role in the development of this meeting.
Asthma Center Directors Meeting: The biannual meeting of the directors of the NIAID-sponsored Asthma Centers will take place at NIH on June 10-11, 1999. This meeting, co-sponsored by NIAID and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), will focus on the status of the Inner City Asthma Study, the role of allergens and pollutants in asthma and allergy, the causes of asthma in early life, and the future of allergen immunotherapy.
Environmental Protection Agency Asthma Workshop: NIAID will participate in a meeting, sponsored by EPA's Office of Research and Development, entitled "Asthma: The Regional Science Issues," to be held in Washington, D.C. June 15-17, 1999. This meeting will discuss basic aspects of asthma and the linkage between environmental factors and asthma. NIAID will present information obtained from the Inner-City Asthma Study.
Healthy Homes Initiative: NIAID is collaborating with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (Office of Lead Hazard Control), National Center for Environmental Health, Center for Disease Control, EPA, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and NIEHS, in joining the Healthy Homes Initiative Task Force. This task force is a result of President Clinton's Executive Order on Children's Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks, and focuses on improving children's health by identifying and implementing housing-based interventions. Among the areas of particular interest to NIAID, the task force will consider moisture control and other means to control levels of indoor house dust mite, cockroach, and mold.
American Association of Immunologists (AAI) Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, April 17-22, 1999: The fifteenth annual Symposium on Contemporary Topics in Immunology was held and cosponsored by NIAID, AAI and the Clinical Immunology Society. Dr. Helen Quill, Chief, Basic Immunology Branch, chaired this symposium. This year's symposium included a presentation by the NIAID Director, Dr. Anthony Fauci, on the immunobiology of host defense in HIV/AIDS, as well as presentations on primary immunodeficiency diseases, mechanisms of T cell tolerance in pregnancy, and the molecular regulation of T cell activation.
Workshop on Alloimmunization as a Strategy for Vaccine Design against HIV/AIDS: Dr. Charles Hackett, Chief, Molecular and Structural Immunology Section co-organized a workshop with the Division of AIDS, NIAID, to discuss alloimmunization as a potential vaccine strategy against HIV infection and AIDS. This workshop included a number of invited experts in the field, and was held on May 6, 1999.
Hyperaccelerated Award/Mechanisms in Immune Disease Trials - Update: In May, 1998, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) issued RFA AI-98-006 entitled: "Hyperaccelerated Award/Mechanisms in Immune Disease Trials" in order to support mechanistic studies of immunologic and other parameters in patient samples from clinical trials in these diseases. Such studies are frequently not done and represent a unique opportunity to conduct scientific research in human subjects. This RFA is co-sponsored by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes (NINDS), the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), and the Office of Research and Womens Health (ORWH). To date, 14 applications have been received. All funded applications have been co-funded by 2 or more of the co-sponsors. This pilot project will be renewed for FY 2000. It is expected that the scope will be expanded to include cancer trials in which the anti-tumor effect is immune system-mediated, and that the National Cancer Institute (NCI) will join the RFA as a co-sponsor.
New Immunotherapies for Autoimmune Diseases Symposium: On April 9-10,1999, the NIAID held a unique meeting on New Immunotherapies for Autoimmune Diseases for both scientists and lay individuals. Both the lay individuals and scientists who attended were very enthusiastic about the interaction afforded at the meeting and felt more meetings of this type should be held to enhance communication and emphasize our partnership in research and treatment of these diseases.
BASIC IMMUNOLOGY, HOST DEFENSE AND THE BIOTERRORIST THREAT:
Ad hoc Council members and guests presented their current research efforts on this significant topic. Moderator, Dr. Daniel Rotrosen, Director, DAIT introduced the speakers and topics: Dr. George W. Korch, Chief, Virology Division, USAMRIID, Fort Detrick: An Overview of Bioterrorist Threats and Research Responses; Dr.Michael J. Holtman, Director, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine: The Epithelial Barrier in Defense and Disease; Dr. Tomas Ganz, Professor of Medicine and Pathology, UCLA School of Medicine: Antimicrobial Peptides in Innate Immunity - Biology and Applications; Dr. Todd R. Golub, Research Scientist, MIT Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School: An Overview of DNA Microarray Technology and Applications; Dr. Stephen S. Morse, Program Manager, Defense Sciences Office, Defense Advanced Research projects Agency: Immunology Research - Applications to Bioterrorism.
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