Infectious Agents and Cancer Blog
4th ASICON - Lucknow-India, 16-18 December, 2011
The 4th National Conference of AIDS Society of India (ASICON) has been held December 16th through 18th at 
the Sanjay Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences in Lucknow - India, with contribution of 30 International and 40 national speakers articulated in 20 plenary sessions, discussion forums, workshops, abstract & poster sessions.
The Program is available at the Conference web-page and has been focused on several aspects of HIV/AIDS epidemic in India, including AIDS-associated malignancies.
A special issue of the Conference has been to evaluate appropriate preventive measures in particular for Mother to Child Transmission (MTCT), considering that currently only a third of the 23'000'000 deliveries per year are screened for HIV. On the screening issue the special subject "Is India ready for testing all the patients in clinical settings" has been debated by Dr Jyoti Dhar (UK) and Dr I.S. Gilada (Mumbai), who is ASICON Chair and CEO.
Furthermore this year event included publication of Conference Proceedings and assembling of real-time presentation movies. The video film, titled “GETTING TO ZERO: Long Road Ahead for India’s AIDS Programme” (time: 28:30 minutes) is in two parts: Part I and II, available at http://youtu.be/zt8UL136IHs and http://youtu.be/mRBD0D1oGtQ, respectively.
Cultural activities of Indian heritage performed at the Conference:
Posted by Franco Buonaguro at 23:10 Comments (0)
8th AORTIC Conference - Cairo - Egypt, 30th Nov-02Dec, 2011
The 8th African Organisation for Research and Training in Cancer - AORTIC Conference was held in Cairo - Egypt, form 
Nov 30 to Dec 02, 2011, in the spectacular venue of the Intercontinental City Stars Hotel of Heliopolis.
The Conference, very well organized for scientific as well as social activities, spanned from epidemiologic studies to pathogenetic mechanisms, clinical diagnosis, therapeutic strategies and preventive programs of cancers in the Africa Continent, as from the scientific program.
Besides conventional pathogen-related cancers, major emphasis has been given to breast and prostate cancers, which are conventionally associated to genetic predisposing factors.
Key issues have been the need to establish Cancer registries along with the relevance of implementing cancer screening (particularly for cervical cancer) and palliative care programs, as well as radiation oncology unit.
A special session has been dedicated to the recently NCI-funded EMBLEM project focus on revisiting the Burkitt's lymphoma epidemiology and pathogenesis with the most advanced, newly established technologies. The session has been organized and coordinated by Dr Mbulaiteye, who is the PI of the EMBLEM project, whose aims and activities are detailed at the NCI webpage http://emblem.cancer.gov/collaboration/
An interview to Dr Mbulaiteye by Ecancer.tv is available at IAC Blog page on EMBLEM.
Posted by Franco Buonaguro at 21:53 Comments (0)
The PEPFAR Program in Africa at the IHV Annual Meeting - Baltimore 2011
The U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program activities in Africa were reported at the 13th Annual International Meeting of the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD on October 30-November 2, 2011.
The PEPFAR Report has been presented on Sunday October 30 in a specific session from 10:30 to 14:00.
The full program is available at the Meeting website
The high quality of clinical and research activities performed in African Countries was highly appreciated by IHV colleagues, such as IHV's Dr. Alash'le Abimiku and Martine Etienne- Mesubi, who are actively collaborating on the project. .
A special thanks was expressed by the University of Maryland's Dr. Joseph O'Neill, Director of the University's Global Programs, to IHV's Dr. Robert Redfield and Dr. William Blattner, who lead IHV's significant PEPFAR programs in seven African and two Caribbean nations.
Posted by Franco Buonaguro at 00:49 Comments (0)
13th International Conference on Malignancies in AIDS and Other Acquired Immunodeficiencies (ICMAOI)
The 13th International Conference on Malignancies in AIDS and Other Acquired Immunodeficiencies (ICMAOI) is planned for November 7-8 2011 at the Lister Hill Center Auditorium on the campus of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland .
The International Conference on Malignancies in AIDS and Other Acquired Immunodeficiencies is the only forum that is solely focused on presentation of basic, epidemiologic, and clinical aspects of research on malignancies in HIV-infected and other immunosuppressed individuals. The conference addresses basic and clinical research on viral oncology oncology, immunology, genetics, epidemiology, pathogenesis, drug discovery, early diagnosis, and clinical investigation of malignant diseases in AIDS and other immunodeficiency states including organ transplantation.
The Conference is co-ordinated by Robert Yarchoan - MD and Geraldina Dominguez - PhD,
Posted by Franco Buonaguro at 22:59 Comments (1)
19th International “AIDS, Cancer and Public Health” Conference at St. Petersburg State University, 24-26 May 2010
The 19th International “AIDS, Cancer and Public Health” Conference was held at St. Petersburg State University on the 24th through 26th of May 2010.
The meeting has been organized annually by Professor Andrei Kozlov, director of the Biomedical Center in St. Petersburg, to consolidate efforts of leading Russian and international scientists and experts engaged in different aspects of fighting HIV/AIDS. Topics discussed during the Conference include TB, the eradication of smallpox and the prospects for eliminating other diseases, and efforts to discover vaccines against HIV and certain cancers.
The Conference has been announced by CDC International news and The Body The Complete HIV/AIDS Resource.
http://www.aidsconference.spb.ru/
Posted by Franco Buonaguro at 20:59 Comments (0)
12th International Conference on Malignancies in AIDS and Other Acquired Immunodeficiencies (ICMAOI)
The 12th International Conference on Malignancies in AIDS and Other Acquired Immunodeficiencies (ICMAOI) was held at the Lister Hill Center Auditorium on the campus of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland on April 26–27, 2010.
The International Conference on Malignancies in AIDS and Other Acquired Immunodeficiencies is the only forum that is solely focused on presentation of basic, epidemiologic, and clinical aspects of research on malignancies in HIV-infected and other immunosuppressed individuals. The conference addresses basic and clinical research on viral oncology oncology, immunology, genetics, epidemiology, pathogenesis, drug discovery, early diagnosis, and clinical investigation of malignant diseases in AIDS and other immunodeficiency states including organ transplantation.
The Conference program successfully, co-ordinated by Robert Yarchoan - MD and Geraldina Dominguez - PhD, has gathered together >40 fantastic lectures by some of the world's leading scientists, including those from developing Countries. Conference Proceedings, including all Abstracts contributed to the Conference, have been published as supplement of the IAC online Journal.
The list of recent and upcoming events is available at the NCI Office of HIV and AIDS Malignancy - OHAM
Posted by Franco Buonaguro at 18:57 Comments (0)
4th European Congress of Virology, 7-11 April 2010, Cernobbio - Italy
The 4th European Congress of Virology was held on April 7th through 11th at Villa Erba in Cernobbio (Italy).
The Conference has been the first combined event organized by the newly established European Virology Society. More than 1'300 participants gathered in Cernobbio and several aspects of Virology have been discussed spanning from H1N1-2009 epidemiology to viral oncogenesis. A summary of the conference has been published on the July issue of Expert Review of Vaccines to elucidate social and scientific highlights of the Conference.
Organizers have paid a special tribute to several scientists from USA as well as from Europe to improve links between research groups from the two Atlantic sites. Further pictures have been published on Picasa and are available at
ESV past events and ESV Congress Calendar are available at the ESV website http://www.eusv.eu/.
Posted by Franco Buonaguro at 12:53 Comments (0)
1st Joint Meeting on HEREDITARY BREAST & OVARIAN CANCER, Bari Sept 10-12
The 1st Joint Meeting on HEREDITARY BREAST & OVARIAN CANCER: RISKS AND CHALLENGES has been held at the Medical School of Bari-Italy on September 10-12, 2009. The conference has gathered several scientists and young students. Three presentations of the students have been awarded. Discussions and interactions between the faculty and the participants have been strongly favored. The 2nd Meeting will be held at the New York University, NY – USA on March 24-26, 2011 The 3rd Meeting at the National Cancer Institute “Giovanni Paolo II”, Bari – Italy on September 12-14, 2013 
The Joint Meeting “Hereditary breast & ovarian cancer: risks and challenges” represents a continuation of conferences independently held on this topic in the two Institution since 2003: 2nd International Workshop on Familial Breast Cancer at the National Cancer Institute of Bari and V Lynne Cohen Foundation Meeting at the 
University of New York. The co-organizers believe that a close dialogue on scientific, ethical, and clinical issues by participants on both sides of the Atlantic may contribute to a better formulation of future questions. This meeting will be held biennially and will alternate between European and U.S. locations.
Posted by Franco Buonaguro at 20:49 Comments (2)
9th National Congress of the Italian Society of Virology (SIV) - Orvieto 2009
The 9th NATIONAL CONGRESS OF THE ITALIAN SOCIETY OF VIROLOGY (SIV)
has been held in Orvieto (TR) - ITALY on September 7-9, 2009. Most of the oral presentation have been given by young scientists in all fields of virology (basic, medical, veterinary, plant virology). 10 presentations have been awarded with a free registration grant for the next year 4th EUROPEAN CONGRESS OF VIROLOGY to be held in Cernobbio (CO) on April 7-10, 2010.
The Pioneer lecture in Human Virology has b
een given Monday evening by Robert C. Gallo (Baltimore, USA) on Viruses, epidemics and their control with emphasis on HIV. Bob's lecture has been an inspiring excursus on the virology field and his own accomplishments in the last 40 years.
A relevant Key Note Lecture has been given by A. Papa (Thessaloniki) on Epidemiology and genetic diversity of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever virus.
Giovanni Martelli (Bari) held a Pioneer in Plant Virology lecture on Specific cell responses to plant virus infections: an ultrastructural overview, showing the relevance of his group 
since late '70s particularly on electron Microscopy studies.
Moreover, G. Gerna (Pavia) had the GB Rossi Lecture on Molecular basis and clinical implications of the human cytomegalovirus tropism for endothelial/epithelial cells, showing the relevance of the proper cell culture system for the optimal expression of all envelope proteins and the production of a more effective HCMV vaccine.
Furthermore, anti-H1N1 strategies (including vaccination schedule, particularly in relationship to the seasonal flu vaccine) have been elaborated by Giorgio Palù and discussed in the assembly.
Finally the participants expressed their interest and support to the coming European Conference.
All pictures are available for dowload at http://picasaweb.google.it/FMBuonaguro/OrvietoSIV2009?feat=directlink
The Conference Abstract Book is available at http://www.siv-virologia.it/files/eventi2009/SIV_2009_abstract.pdf
Posted by Franco Buonaguro at 16:37 Comments (0)
The summary message from the Malmö IPV Conference
We have just received the summary message from the 25th IPV Conference Organizing Committee.
Dear Colleagues......
With this “last announcement” we would like to summarize the 25th International Papillomavirus (IPV) Conference in Malmö, Sweden and thank all those who contributed to making the conference such an extraordinarily successful event.
Jubilee and Nobel Prize Celebration
A major theme of the 25th IPV was celebration, which was underlined at the Opening Ceremony at the Malmö Opera. It was a 25th jubilee for a successful conference series that has brought the interdisciplinary HPV field together and hosted the original public presentations of many seminal discoveries, including the discovery of the cervical cancer-causing papillomaviruses, their mechanisms of transformation, the preventive HPV vaccines and the HPV-based cervical screening tests. Another major reason for the celebration was the fact that the discovery of the cervical cancer-causing papillomaviruses was also awarded the 2008 Nobel Prize in Medicine.
Larger than ever before – ample opportunity for global networking
With 2225 participants, out of which >2000 were foreign delegates from 80 different countries, the 25th IPV was one of the largest international conferences ever held in Southern Sweden.
Webcasting of Lectures – A Lasting Educational Resource
For the first time, the reviews were peer-reviewed to ensure accuracy and clarity. Furthermore, the review lectures were broadcast on the web such that everyone in the entire world will for free be able to listen to these lectures and study the slides at their convenience. Just click on hpv2009.org/webcasts.htm and select the review lecture of your choice.
Abstracts & Scientific Presentations
With the amazing amount of high quality abstracts submitted, the IPV has consolidated its position as the leading conference encompassing all areas of HPV research, from clinical vaccinology to molecular biology. About 3300 authors submitted 966 abstracts, which were presented as 887 posters and 237 oral presentations. The amount of printed matter would have sufficed to build a skyscraper!
Peer-Reviewed Educational Review Lectures
The conference started with an Educational Pre-conference that provided updated reviews by distinguished experts on the essential facts on HPV that underpin the cancer-preventive efforts targeting HPV.
Favourable evaluation
The conference received very high marks in the evaluation by participants. E.g., 94% thought the conference was well organised and 95% thought the content and speakers were good. 97% strongly agree or agree that they have learned something fr
om this event.
One participant stated: “The workshop was the best organised ever from all previous HPV conferences. Outstanding! I will use the materials on the web during my entire year with my students! Thanks for organising such a wonderful resource.”
We are looking forward to see you in Montreal at the 26th International Papillomavirus Conference with Clinical and Public Health Workshops July 3-8, 2010, www.hpv2010.org
Please also see the attachment that also contains pictures from the conference.
The 25th IPV ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
Joakim Dillner, Peter Bistoletti, Lena Dillner, Kristina Elfgren, Ola Forslund, Bengt-Göran Hansson,Geo von Krogh (deceased), Bodil Norrild, Stefan Schwartz, Marc Steben, Thomas Zheng
Posted by Franco Buonaguro at 21:26 Comments (0)
11th ICMAOI Conference - Proceedings
Proceedings from the 11th ICMAOI Conference have been published as a supplement in the IAC journal. The published abstracts show the vast range of subjects covered during the 
ICMAOI Conference and the high quality of presentations.
The next Conference will be held in the Spring of 2010 on the NIH Campus, Bethesda, Maryland, USA. Information regarding the upcoming Conference can be found at http://oham.cancer.gov/oham_research/programs/ICMAOI/
where also previous Conferences programs and abstract books are available.
At the Office of HIV and AIDS Malignancies (OHAM) 
website additional information is available on Conferences activities as well as Research Grant Opportunities and International activities (for example the India Conference shown below).
The OHAM is a very active NCI office, directed by Dr Robert Yarchoan since December 2007.
A special thank also to the Program Director Dr Geraldina Dominguez.
Posted by Franco Buonaguro at 14:46 Comments (0)
IPV Conference - Malmo 2009
The 25th IPV Conference has been held in Malmo-Sweden. More than 2000 participants convened to this beautiful town with a peculiar mixing of middle age and ultra-modern pioneer architecture.
Conference halls, poster areas and Company stands have all been well distributed at MaloMassan Conference Hall.
Technological support has been the key of success of the Conference with Wi-Fi connection in all rooms, spaces for computers, and particularly interesting is the availability of most presentation on the Conference WebCast site.
A special congratulation to Joachim Dillner, for the conference scientific organization, his warm hospitality and .... the goliardic tour to the Copenhagen Tivoli park (the cold Nordic people, probably, are not very cold).
Posted by Franco Buonaguro at 19:04 Comments (0)
The DREAM project event
Photo Album of the Social Event and AIDS Meeting with Robert Gallo organized for promotion and support of the DREAM Program developed by the Comunità of Sant'Egidio in Sub-Saharan Countries to prevent, by ART treatment, children born from HIV-positive mothers.
The event in Naples represented the launch of the promotion process which took place during the 20-26 April TV program Trenta Ore Per la Vita [30 hrs for life].
Posted by Franco Buonaguro at 17:11 Comments (0)
Inaugural Meeting of the European Society of Virology
On April 24th the European Society of Virology has been officially inaugurated at the City Hall (Campidoglio) in Rome.
Over 150 virologists from several European countries convened for the 
event which has been hosted by the the Italian Society of Virology, whose President, Giorgio Palù, addressed an introductory welcome.
The new ESV Society, whose main objective is to foster Virology Research in Europe, has been well accepted and supported by other European Microbiology Society (including FEMS), American and European Virology Society (ASV, ESCV, ESVV, etc..) and European Institutional entities (ECDC, WHO, EEC, etc..).
Otto Haller has been ratified as first President of the newly established society, whose first meeting will be held at Cernobbio (Como-Italy) on 2010. The Executive Board includes Giorgio Palù (first Vice-President), Ben Berkhout (second Vice-President), Gabriella Campadelli-Fiume (Treasurer), Bernhard Fleckenstein (Secretary General).
The Inaugural Meeting has been highlighted by Robin Weiss, Albert Osterhaus and Ronald C. Desrosiers lectures. Photos of the event are available at ESV Picasa Album.
Posted by Franco Buonaguro at 17:36 Comments (0)
Naples 17-18 April 2009. Meeting on HIV/AIDS with Bob Gallo Participation
On the 18th of April in Naples will be held a Meeting on HIV/AIDS current status of the Epidemic at Città della Scienza. The Meeting has been organized by several Health Institutions of the Campania Region. .
The event has been organized in occasio
n of the 25th Anniversary of the HIV virus discovery and the International Conference of Castel dell'Ovo-Naples, where the virus was first described. Few months after the Nobel Prize award for the discovery of the HIV-1 virus, the Conference will focus on the results achieved as well as on the scientific and public-health difficulties still to be solved for the disease generally defined as the modern Plague.
The evening of the 17th Robert Gallo, co-discoverer of the virus will be awarded of the Italian Public Health Medal for his scientific contributes to the Retrovirology field and in particular to HIV studies.
Bob and MaryJane at the Conference on Cancer Vaccine, Naples 2006
Posted by Franco Buonaguro at 22:50 Comments (0)