Project Grant R13AI186428

2024 INTERNATIONAL MEETING ON THE MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF HEPATITIS B VIRUSES (INTERNATIONAL HBV MEETING) - ABSTRACT/SUMMARY HEPATITIS B VIRUS (HBV) IS A MAJOR GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH THREAT WITH APPROXIMATELY 296 MILLION CHRONICALLY INFECTED PEOPLE WORLDWIDE AND OVER 800,000 DEATHS PER YEAR. CHRONIC HBV INFECTION IS A LEADING CAUSE FOR DEVELOPMENT OF LIVER CIRRHOSIS AND HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA. DESPITE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE PROPHYLACTIC HBV VACCINE, IT HAS NO IMPACT ON ESTABLISHED CHRONIC INFECTIONS. CONSEQUENTLY, THERE IS A GREAT NEED TO DISCOVER NEW THERAPEUTIC STRATEGIES TO CURE CHRONIC HBV INFECTION AND SLOW OR STOP THE RESULTING DISEASE. THE ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL HBV MEETING IS THE ONLY FORUM THAT GATHERS THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY OF RESEARCHERS WHO STUDY INFECTION, PERSISTENCE, PATHOGENESIS, AND DRUG DEVELOPMENT FOR HBV AND THE CLOSELY ASSOCIATED HEPATITIS DELTA VIRUS (HDV). THIS INTERNATIONAL HBV MEETING HAS BEEN HELD YEARLY SINCE 1985 AND HAS BEEN ROTATING BETWEEN THE US, EUROPE, EAST ASIA AND AUSTRALIA. IN 2024, THIS MEETING WILL BE HELD CHICAGO, IL, IN 2025 IN EUROPE AND THE MEETING SITE FOR 2026 WILL BE DETERMINED NEXT YEAR. SUCCESS OF THE INTERNATIONAL HBV MEETING RELIES ON THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF NOT ONLY THE ESTABLISHED INVESTIGATORS, BUT IMPORTANTLY, ALSO ON EARLY CAREER RESEARCHERS FROM DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS. TO FACILITATE THE PARTICIPATION OF YOUNG SCIENTISTS, WE REQUEST FUNDING TO SUPPORT TRAVEL EXPENSES FOR EARLY CAREER AND UNDER- REPRESENTED RESEARCHERS AT THE 2024, 2025 AND 2026 INTERNATIONAL HBV MEETINGS. THE 2024 MEETING WILL PROVIDE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR SCIENTIFIC EXCHANGE AND DISSEMINATION OF THE LATEST RESEARCH INFORMATION TO DISCOVER NEW STRATEGIES FOR POTENTIALLY CURING HBV AND HDV. AN ESTIMATED 500-600 DELEGATES WILL ATTEND THE 2024 MEETING. THE MEETING WILL CONSIST OF 10 ORAL SCIENTIFIC SESSIONS, 2 POSTER SESSIONS, 3 PLENARY LECTURES FROM EXPERTS OUTSIDE OF THE HBV FIELD WHO WILL BRING DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES, AND A LECTURE GIVEN BY THE RECIPIENT OF THE DISTINGUISHED AWARD IN HBV RESEARCH THAT IS AWARDED ANNUALLY BY THE MEETING. TOWARD THE GOAL OF CURING HBV AND HDV, THIS MEETING WILL HOST A HBV CURE SATELLITE SYMPOSIUM TO DISCUSS MECHANISMS OF ANTIVIRAL THERAPIES, AND BY AN HBV COMMUNITY FORUM WHERE SCIENTISTS FROM THE HBV COMMUNITY ENGAGE WITH THE GENERAL PUBLIC, MEDIA, STUDENTS AND THOSE AFFECTED BY HBV TO DISCUSS HBV/HDV AND THE RELATED DISEASES. AS IN THE PAST, GREAT EFFORT HAS BEEN MADE TO MINIMIZE THE COST OF THE MEETING. A MAJOR STRENGTH OF THE MEETING ORGANIZATION BEING CONTINUAL SUPPORT FROM THE HEPATITIS B FOUNDATION SINCE 2005. TO ENABLE AND FACILITATE PARTICIPATION OF EARLY CAREER RESEARCHERS AND UNDER-REPRESENTED MINORITY INVESTIGATORS TO MAXIMIZE THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE MEETING, WE REQUEST SUPPORT FROM THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH TO HELP DEFRAY THEIR TRAVEL COSTS. THIS FUNDING WILL BE USED TO ENSURE ATTENDANCE AND PRESENTATION BY EARLY CAREER RESEARCHERS, PARTICULARLY FROM LOW AND MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRIES, AS WELL AS DISADVANTAGED AND UNDER-REPRESENTED MINORITY INVESTIGATORS.