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The scientific program for the Conference
is selected to provide an overview of cutting-edge research on
inflammatory mechanisms and the modification of these mechanisms to
define clinically useful therapeutic agents. The program is intended
to provide insight into strategies to provide new therapeutic agents
that address currently unmet clinical needs. The meeting opens on
Sunday afternoon with the inaugural symposium of the meeting,
“Inflammatory Bowel Disease: From Basic Mechanisms to the Clinic”,
followed in the evening by the Keynote Lecture, entitled “Regulation
of Auto-inflammatory Responses."
Each of the Symposia features invited
speakers who will provide an up to date and in depth review of hot
areas of biology and medicinal chemistry related to inflammation. The
final Symposium features new data on drugs in the early stages of
development. The afternoon sessions feature both poster presentations
and Mini-symposia. These sessions allow Conference attendees an
opportunity to interact with their colleagues in a more informal
setting that leads to great opportunities for scientific exchange and
networking.
Please bookmark and check this website for
updates on the speakers and their topics.
Research Symposia
The various Symposia of the meeting,
organized by experts in each topic, are intended to provide an
overview of current research in the area as well as details of
particular strategies for therapeutically useful intervention.
Inflammatory
Bowel Disease: From Basic Mechanisms to the Clinic
organized by Jo Viney (Amgen) and Stephan Targen
(Cedars-Sinai/UCLA). In this session the audience will begin by
learning about the newest family of costimulatory immune regulators
recently demonstrated to play a role in intestinal homeostasis, as
well as the emerging knowledge surrounding the function of innate
immune receptors at mucosal surfaces. The speakers will also cover
the latest information regarding the elicitation of effector cells
and regulatory cells in the intestine, with particular emphasis on
the uniqueness of intestinal antigen presenting cells and the major
role that IL-17 plays in the gut. An overview of the recent
experimental therapeutic approaches that have been tried in the
clinic will provide context for highlighting the latest breakthrough
and potentially promising therapies for treating both Crohn’s
disease and ulcerative colitis. Finally, an update on the latest
ground-breaking genetic studies in IBD will provide the foundation
for how genetic information can be transformed into understanding
more about the complex mechanistic basis of disease when integrated
pathways are studied together, with an emphasis on how this type of
approach can reveal novel therapeutic approaches for intervention in
the disease process.
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Tolerance
Induction as a Therapeutic Option for Autoimmunity
organized by Steve Nadler (Bristol-Myers Squibb) and John Iacomini
(Harvard). The induction of tolerance to
autoantigens is the “holy grail” for the
treatment of autoimmune disease. Many
therapeutic modalities for tolerance
induction have been studied over the
years, both preclinically and in the
clinic. This session will address the
basic science and some of the more recent
approaches towards the induction of
tolerance including antigen specific
tolerization strategies, effector T-cell
targeted therapies and utilization of T
regulatory cells.
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Inflammation and
Pain organized by Jane Connor (MedImmune) and Jeff Mogil
(McGill University). Pain (along with redness, heat and swelling) is
one of the four hallmarks of inflammation. However, in spite of
well-established animal models of inflammatory pain (such as
carrageenan-induced hyperalgesia) providing confidence in rationale
and currently marketed clinical therapies (such as NSAIDs and COX-2
inhibitors) in this area, there continues to be a significant unmet
medical need for the treatment of pain driven by inflammation. This
symposium will focus on more recent approaches to evaluating pain in
animals as well as novel targets recently identified that possess
the potential to treat those patients whose pain goes untreated in
spite of current therapies.
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Biologics as a
Platform for Inflammation Therapies organized by John
Beals (Eli Lilly) and Frank Castellino (Notre Dame University).
Biological therapeutics are increasingly being used to treat
diseases that are exacerbated by inflammation, e.g., rheumatoid
arthritis (anti-TNF and IL-1 antagonist therapies) and sepsis
(activated Protein C). The goal of this session is to explore the
hurdles associated with using biologicals as inflammation therapies
and solutions to address these challenges.
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The IL17/IL23
Axis in Autoimmunity organized by Joel Tocker (Amgen) and
Sarah Gaffen (SUNY Buffalo). The regulation of IL-17 production from
a distinct and pathogenic population of T helper cells and the
contribution of these cells and IL-17 in animal models of autoimmune
disease and inflammation is a hot topic. Further the complexities in
the regulation of IL-17 production, the IL-17R signaling complex,
and the nature of the IL-17 ligand itself offer numerous approaches
and opportunities to modulate IL-17 biologic activity. This
symposium will include presentations by Dr. Jill Wright (Wyeth), Dr.
Erik Lubberts (Erasmus Medical Center), Dr. Sarah Gaffen (SUNY
Buffalo) and Dr. Arian Laurence (NIAMS).
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SPEAKERS
New Drugs: Targeting Inflammation in
Disease organized
by Bruce Tomczuk (Chemnomics) and Rey Panettieri (University of
Pennsylvania). This symposium will present novel therapies for
asthma, COPD, and rheumatoid arthritis. The asthma presentations
will focus on a pharmacological and a non-pharmacological approach
toward this complex disease. The presentation on COPD, which has a
high unmet medical need, will focus on symptomatic relief of mucus
production. RA therapeutics will focus on the exciting novel
mechanisms of IL-6 and lymphotoxin-β/ LIGHT. This symposium will
feature presentations by Shao-Lee Li (Amgen), Gerard Cox (McMaster
University), Kenneth Adler (North Carolina State University), and
Tony Manning (BiogenIdec) and other late-breaking clinical results.
VIEW SPEAKERS
Abstracts
Unless specifically indicated, all
abstracts will be considered for Mini-symposia oral presentations.
Those abstracts not selected for Mini-symposia presentations will be
considered for poster presentations.
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Mini-Symposia
The Mini-symposia will consist of oral presentations of selected
submitted abstracts on topics relevant to inflammatory and immune
mechanisms in disease. The submitters of abstracts selected for
Mini-symposia presentations will be contacted before July 4, 2008.
The Mini-symposia will be chaired by experts in the topical areas
and will coordinate programs of short presentations followed by
group discussion. Mini-symposia presenters will be given the option
of presenting a poster of their work in addition to their oral
Mini-symposia talk to allow participation in the GE Healthcare®
Poster Competition. Tentative Mini-symposia topics are listed below,
but titles may be amended depending on the content of submitted
abstracts.
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Inflammation in Disease Pathogenesis
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Inflammatory Signaling and Activation Mechanisms
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Novel Drug Targets that Mediate Inflammation
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In Vivo Target Validation and Animal Models in Inflammation
Poster Sessions
Two Poster Sessions will provide opportunities for all scientists to
discuss experimental design, methods, results and conclusions from
research reported in submitted abstracts. The titles and schedule
for poster presentation will be available on this website after
August 25, 2008.
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