Friday, January 24, 2020, 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
NIH Building 1, Wilson Hall
The fourth lecture in the 2019–2020 NIH Director's Seminar Series will be presented by Peter D. Crompton, M.D., M.P.H., the Chief of the Malaria Infection Biology and Immunity Unit at the NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Crompton studies the immunology and epidemiology of Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Africa. Through the NIAID International Centers for Excellence in Research program, and in close collaboration with an outstanding team of clinicians and scientists at the University of Sciences, Technique and Technology of Bamako in Mali, Dr. Crompton and his team conduct longitudinal cohort studies in areas of intense seasonal malaria transmission. The overall goals of these studies are 1) to investigate the mechanisms and targets of immunity to malaria by prospectively identifying malaria-resistant individuals, and 2) to understand how the P. falciparum parasite modulates the host response to evade clearance. In his seminar Dr. Crompton will present recent discoveries from the Mali cohort, including a new role for natural killer cells in the protection against blood-stage malaria, as well as evidence that p53 contributes to the control of malaria-induced inflammation.
Tuesday, January 28, 2020 to Wednesday, January 29, 2020 (registration required)
NIH Natcher Conference Center (Building 45)
Current adeno-associated virus (AAV) manufacturing capacity cannot keep pace with the demand for AAV gene therapy clinical trials. The purpose of the meeting — co-hosted by the NIH's National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) and the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) — is to bring together thought leaders, key stakeholders and innovators to explore obstacles and identify opportunities for expanding the capacity of AAV manufacturing for rare disease gene therapies. Workshop sessions will explore prominent manufacturing formats and technologies; major logistical bottlenecks; strategies to streamline scale transitions; master file best practices and opportunities; analytics and lot release testing; and barriers to innovation.
Registration is required for this event.
Friday, February 28, 2020, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm (registration required)
NIH Natcher Conference Center (Building 45), main auditorium
Sponsored by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) and Clinical Center (CC) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Rare Disease Day at NIH aims to raise awareness about rare diseases, the people they affect, and NIH research collaborations under way to address scientific challenges and to advance new treatments.
This year’s event will feature interactive panel discussions on individualized therapeutic approaches and personalized medicine, shortening the diagnostic odyssey, and expanding and improving access to rare diseases knowledge, as well as a town hall-style question and answer session, posters and exhibits by rare disease groups and researchers, and tours of the NIH Clinical Center and National Library of Medicine.
Admission is free, and the event is open to the public, including patients, patient advocates, health care providers, researchers, industry representatives, and government employees. Those interested in attending can register here.
Tuesday, April 7, 2020, 10:40 am (register by March 27)
NIH Porter Neuroscience Center (Building 35), Rooms 610/620/630
RNA biology has emerged as one of the most influential areas in modern biology and biomedicine. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) is home to a wide spectrum of work in RNA biology, such as elucidating RNA biogenesis and structure, identifying functions for various classes of RNAs, establishing the role of RNA in disease, and exploring RNA-based and RNA-targeted therapies.
This workshop will focus on how basic steps in RNA metabolism are carried out and are integrated into a complex intracellular environment. It aims to bring together experts in the field to describe recent advances in methodologies used to understand subcellular RNA distribution, organization, and function; discuss the impact they have had on current models; and identify key areas of future development.
Registration for this event will close on March 27, 2020, or once conference capacity has been reached. Registration is free, but please register early to ensure a seat at the conference.
Thursday, April 16, 2020 to Friday, April 17, 2020 (register by April 3)
NIH Porter Neuroscience Research Center (Building 35), Room 610/620/630
Cancer health disparities affect millions of people across the United States. Disparities in cancer burden are evident by geography, race/ethnicity, genetic ancestry, immigrant status, culture, gender, sexual orientation (LGBTQ+), and socioeconomic class, among other factors. Cancer disparities are not only due to barriers in access to health care, but also due to cultural barriers, environmental disadvantage, ancestry-related risk factors, persistent co-morbidities, and chronic stress exposure because of discrimination and social isolation. For example, migration studies provided strong evidence that the environment defines cancer risk whereas additional findings from population studies suggest that differences in genetic ancestry can lead to population differences in cancer susceptibility. One such mechanism by which environmental and ancestry-related factors affect health outcomes is by inducing an adverse tumor biology, leading to an increased tumor mutational burden and an altered immune profile.
This symposium will present recent advances in our understanding of the causes of cancer health disparities in rural populations and among Native Americans, focus on the roles of financial toxicity and the tumor immune profile in causing outcome disparities and discuss evidence-based strategies to reduce these disparities, including novel approaches to prevention and precision medicine.
The deadline for registration is April 3, 2020. The deadline for abstract submission is January 31, 2020.
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