*The "International Conference on Antivirals for Neglected and Emerging
Viruses" (ICAV-9) will take place in the historic capital of the Hanse,
Lübeck, Germany, from October 10 to 13, 2010*
Dear colleague,
Infectious viral diseases exert a shocking toll on the developing
world. Over 2.5 million people die each year from AIDS, mostly in
sub-Saharan Africa. More than 3 billion people are at risk of infection
with dengue fever. Rotavirus, a cause of common diarrhoea, kills an
estimated 600,000 children each year. Three percent of the world's
population, around 170 million people, are chronically infected with
hepatitis C. In West Africa alone, there are some 500,000 cases of
Lassa fever every year. Furthermore, many RNA viruses such as the new
H1N1 subtype of influenza or the enteroviruses are emerging in developed
countries. Despite these facts, few drugs are available for the
treatment of these viral diseases; even fewer reach those in need.
The International Consortium on Anti-Virals (ICAV) was founded to
discover and develop antiviral therapies for neglected and emerging
diseases and to ensure their accessibility to all those in need. ICAV
is currently developing therapies for viral diseases such as influenza,
HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, Dengue fever, Lassa fever, yellow fever,
chikungunya fever, and other infectious viral diseases. ICAV has
developed new funding schemes that capitalize on the discoveries of
antiviral compounds made in academia. (See more on ICAV at
www.icav-citav.ca <http://www.icav-citav.ca>).
You are cordially invited to join us for ICAV's 9th International
Symposium, the "International Conference on Antivirals for Neglected and
Emerging Viruses" (ICAV-9), which will take place from October 10 -- 13,
2010, at the "Media Docks" in the old port of the historic Hanseatic
City of Lübeck, Germany. We have assembled an interesting scientific
programme with a focus on the discovery of antiviral therapies of
disease caused by dengue virus, influenza virus, enteroviruses,
chikungunyavirus, coronaviruses, and other emerging or neglected
viruses. We will also have a microsymposium on "Targeting Host Factors
in HIV/AIDS Therapy". Please see the conference webpage, www.icav-9.org
<http://www.icav-9.org>, for the scientific programme and for
registration. The early-registration deadline is August 31, 2010, and
the same applies for hotel booking. Also, by September 13, 2010, you are
encouraged to submit an abstract describing your scientific results in
the field. While the oral presentations to be selected from the
submitted abstracts will focus on antivirals for neglected and emerging
viruses (as well as on antivirals directed at host factors in HIV/AIDS
therapy), the poster session will be open for presentations of antiviral
work of any kind.
Please visit the conference webpage frequently, as the scientific
programme will be continuously updated.
We are working on obtaining funding for bursaries for PhD students
(please provide a letter of confirmation signed by your supervisor) and
for participants from low-and-middle-income countries. If we are
successful, partial reimbursement may become available after the
conference. If you want to apply for this, please send an e-mail to
loc-ica...@biochem.uni-luebeck.de.
For any questions you may have, please do not hesitate to contact the
ICAV-9 convenor, Professor Rolf Hilgenfeld, at
hilgenf...@biochem.uni-luebeck.de.
We very much hope to see you at ICAV-9 in Lübeck in October!
Sincerely,
Rolf Hilgenfeld Jeremy Carver, CEO, CSO
Institute of Biochemistry International Consortium on Antivirals
University of Lübeck
www.icav-9.org <http://www.icav-9.org>
