GENETICS 2010 meeting highlights latest research on human genetic disorders

The Genetics Society of America (GSA) biennial meeting, "GENETICS 2010: Model Organisms to Human Biology," June 12-15, 2010, at the Sheraton Boston, Massachusetts, will bring together investigators who study genetic models in organisms such as flies, yeast, fungi, mice and other non-human organisms, with researchers in human genetics. Discussions will include the impact of basic research on the study of human diseases with sessions on stem cells, cancer as a genetic disease and models of disease (see below).

Representatives of the media are cordially invited to attend the scientific keynotes, plenary and poster sessions. Eligible media will receive complimentary registration (see below). Media may register at http://www.mohb.org/2010/pages/media.shtml.

For hotel registration, please go to the meeting site at www.mohb.org.I. SCIENTIFIC PROGRAM

Keynote Speakers:

Saturday, June 12, 2010: 2009 Nobel Laureate, Carol Greider, PhD, The Johns Hopkins University
Sunday, June 13, 2010: 2008 Lasker Award winner, Gary Ruvkun, PhD, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital
Monday, June 14, 2010: National Institute of General Medical Sciences Director, Jeremy Berg, PhD, National Institutes of Health

Plenary Sessions:

Invited Plenary Scientific Sessions will offer the opportunity to learn about the latest research in the fields listed below. Sessions include the invited speakers listed below and others to be selected from among the submitted abstracts. Co-chairs of each session are the first two names listed.

• Session 1: Personal Genomics
  • Chuck Langley, PhD, Univ of California, Davis
  • David Altshuler, MD, PhD, Harvard Medical School, Mass General Hospital
  • Leonid Kruglyak, PhD, Lewis-Sigler Institute, Princeton Univ
  • Carlos Bustamante, PhD, Cornell Univ

• Session 2: Sex and Gene Expression
  • Barbara Meyer, PhD, Univ of California, Berkeley
  • Melissa Hines, PhD, Univ of Cambridge, United Kingdom
  • David Page, PhD, Whitehead Institute, MIT
  • Eric Vilain, MD, PhD, Univ of California, Berkeley

• Session 3: Models of Disease
  • Susan Lindquist, PhD, Whitehead Institute, MIT
  • Rick Lifton, PhD, Yale Univ School of Medicine
  • Eric Olson, PhD, Univ of Texas SW Med Ctr at Dallas
  • Phil Hieter, PhD, Univ of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

• Session 4: Cancer as a Genetic Disease
  • Angelika Amon, PhD, MIT
  • Phil Beachy, PhD, Stanford Univ School of Medicine
  • Kathryn Anderson, PhD, Sloan-Kettering Institute
  • Richard Kolodner, PhD, Univ of California, San Diego and Ludgwig Institute

• Session 5: Neurogenetics: From Synapses to Senescence
  • Barry Ganetzky, PhD, Univ of Wisconsin, Madison
  • Pamela Sklar, PhD, Harvard Medical School and Mass General Hospital
  • Li-Huei Tsai, PhD, MIT
  • Erik Jorgensen, PhD, Univ of Utah

• Session 6: Modern Approaches to Pathogenesis and Infectious Disease
  • Gerry Fink, PhD, Whitehead Institute, MIT
  • Joe DeRisi, PhD, Univ of California, San Francisco
  • John Mekalanos, PhD, Harvard Medical School
  • Peter Palese, PhD, Mount Sinai School of Medicine

• Session 7: Stem Cells: The Genetics of Commitment
  • Minx Fuller, PhD, Stanford Univ
  • George Daley, PhD, Harvard Medical School and Children's Hospital
  • Anjana Rao, PhD, Harvard Medical School
  • Joanna Wysocka, PhD, Stanford Univ School of Medicine

• Session 8: Organismal Architecture and Developmental Disabilities
  • Olivier Pourquie, PhD, Stowers Institute for Medical Research
  • Matt Warman, MD, Harvard Medical School and Children's Hospital
  • Denis Duboule, PhD, Univ of Geneva and School of Life Sciences, Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne, Switzerland
  • Nicholas Katsanis, PhD, Johns Hopkins Univ School of Medicine

• Session 9: Analyzing Genomes
  • Barbara Wold, PhD, CalTech
  • Joe Ecker, PhD, The Salk Institute
  • Rich Young, PhD, Whitehead Institute, MIT
  • Stuart Kim, PhD, Stanford Univ

II. MEDIA PARTICIPATIONMedia Eligibility:

The GENETICS 2010: Model Organisms to Human Biology Meeting is open to media representatives, including those from bona fide print, broadcast, radio, and online venues, and freelance writers on a verifiable assignment from an established news source. In addition to completing the online registration form, freelancers must send the GSA Public Relations and Communications Office a confirmation of assignment letter from their editor on the news organization's letterhead.

Complimentary meeting registration will be available to members of the media who provide appropriate press credentials and identification.

• All scientific sessions at The GENETICS 2010: Model Organisms to Human Biology Meeting are open to registered members of the media.
  • Registered journalists must wear/display their GSA press badge at all times while onsite at the meeting.
  • Exchanging, loaning or borrowing of the GSA press badge is strictly prohibited.

• Camera crews filming in onsite meeting areas must make prior arrangements with the GSA Public Relations and Communications Office.
  • Filming inside the scientific sessions is prohibited unless special permission has been granted by the GSA Public Relations and Communications Office.
  • Filming inside the exhibit area is prohibited unless prior arrangements have been made through the GSA Public Relations and Communications Office.

Source: Genetics Society of America