Retroviruses Conference Deadlines: Community Press,Scholarships,Nov. 3; Abstracts October 3, Late-Breakers January 5
The 5th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections will be held February 1-5, 1998 at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel in Chicago. About 3,500 people will be able to register -- 50% more than last year, when many who wanted to go could not attend. The meeting is likely to be full again this year -- and registration will close at the deadlines below -- so anyone who wants to go should mark the important dates on their calendars."Registration will be limited to investigators actively involved in the field of HIV. In addition, a limited number of slots have been reserved for: (1) press, (2) community advocates, and (3) senior marketing personnel who provide liaison functions within their companies." This meeting is not open to anyone who wants to attend and pay the registration fee (about $500); therefore, those who want to go must do so through one of the categories allowed.
Community Categories/Deadlines
Provided that scholarship funding can be raised, about 150 community treatment activists will be able to register, as follows:
(1) Full community scholarships -- 30 persons (if funding available).
(2) Partial scholarships (free registration) -- 30 persons (if funding available).
(3) Community press -- about 90 slots reserved. "Community press will be limited to two writers per established AIDS treatment newsletter. A writer may also obtain a letter from an organization (with a newsletter) stating the description of his or her conference writing assignment." Note: "mainstream press" is being handled separately. All press must register in advance, as no one will be admitted at the door. For more information, contact the conference secretariat.
The time line for all three community categories is:
September 26: Full and partial scholarship applications, and community press applications, will be mailed to more than 100 community organizations, and posted at www.retroconference.org.
November 3: Deadline for community press and scholarship applications. On November 21, applicants will be notified of the status of their application by the conference secretariat.
Note: This year's Community Liaison Subcommittee has been expanded to five members: Dawn Averitt, Henry E. Chang, Michael Marco, Kiyoshi Kuromiya, and Billy Pick. This Subcommittee is committed to raising funds for the scholarships. You can submit comments, suggestions, or questions to the Community Liaison Subcommittee by email to kiyoshi@critpath.org.
Researcher Categories/Deadlines:
Those whose abstracts are accepted for presentation will be given priority for registration and housing.
In addition, some scholarships will be available for fellows-in-training.
This year's conference is sponsored by the Foundation for Retrovirology and Human Health, in scientific collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The conference secretariat is the Westover Management Group, Inc., 211 N. Union St., Suite 100, Alexandria, VA 22314, phone 703/684-4876, fax 703/684-4841, email info@retroconference, home page www.retroconference.org.
October 3: Deadline for abstract submission (except late breakers). Abstract dispositions will be mailed November 1.
November 7: Registration opens for authors with accepted abstracts.
November 28: Deadline for preferential registration/housing for authors with accepted abstracts.
December 1: Registration/housing opens for other investigators.
December 31: Final registration/housing deadline (or when registration reaches capacity at 3,500).
January 5: Late breaker abstract deadline.
