About the Workshop: This three day workshop will focus on shared underlying mechanisms common to Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s’ disease (PD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and other dementias and neurodegenerative disorders characterized by intracellular and/or extracellular aggregates of proteinacious fibrils. Speakers will use patient presentations to introduce basic scientists to the clinical disorders. Leading experts will then discuss protein misfolding in neurodegenerative diseases, with a focus on current understanding of the molecular and genetic mechanisms relevant to the disorder. This workshop will be taught in English and in conjunction with the 2007 IBRO Congress, also to take place in Melbourne on July 12-17, 2007.

Topics May Include: The aging process and protein misfolding, compensatory mechanisms, potential therapeutic interventions by counteracting misfolding, ethical concerns raised by testing experimental therapies, selectivity of disease protein deposits, and the possibility of finding other forms of neurodegenerative diseases caused by protein misfolding that involve accumulation of protein aggregates but without overt brain amyloidosis.

Audience: The primary audience is scientists from developing countries in Asia, but the course is also open to neuroscientists in Australia and other regions of Asia and the Pacific. Graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty are encouraged to apply, as are those with a clinical background. Substantial financial support is available.

Format: The lectures will be organized in segments that focus on themes related to specific disorders and the mechanistic underpinnings of these disorders. The lecture segments will be followed by smaller discussion groups led by course instructors. At intervals between the lecture segments, students will form smaller focused breakout groups where they will participate in actively questioning current strategies in research.

Instructors: John Trojanowski, MD, PhD, University of Pennsylvania (organizer); Takeshi Iwatsubo, MD University of Tokyo; Virginia M.-Y. Lee, PhD, MBA, University of Pennsylvania; Colin Masters, MD, University of Melbourne; Richard Morimoto, PhD, Northwestern University. Others to be determined.

Who Should Apply: The primary audience is scientists from developing countries in Asia, but the course is also open to neuroscientists in Australia and other regions of Asia and the Pacific. Graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty are encouraged to apply, as are those with a clinical background. Substantial financial support is available.
 

HOW TO APPLY

Please see below for the information and list of items needed, or download a copy of all this information, including a list of the items needed for an application from either of these two links:
Information and application instructions as
MS Word document         
Information and application instructions as pdf

The DEADLINE for applications is January 25, 2007. Applications received after January 25 will be considered as space allows.

For More Information: please contact, Charyl Delaney
or Dr. Marilee Shelton-Davenport at
If you cannot see the email links above, you probably have Java turned off. (It's almost always safe to allow Java.) You can contact Marilee or Charyl by typing in the addresses and added the @ symbol and periods (i.e. the full stops.)

Where to Send Documents: Applications and supporting documents should be sent to the U.S. National Academies. If possible, please submit all materials electronically to Hard copies of signed recommendation letters should also be mailed to Marilee Shelton-Davenport at U.S. National Academies, Keck 644, 500 Fifth Street, Washington, DC 20001 or faxed to Marilee Shelton-Davenport at 202-334-1289.

Documents to Provide: Please provide the information listed below (numbering each item) and two letters of support (item 22 below):

1) Surname
2) First Name
3) Birth Date & Country
4) Age
5) Nationality
6) Description of English language capabilities
7) Education
8) Affiliation (Research/ Academic/ Others)
9) Current Work Title/ Position
10) Current Home Address
11) Current Work Address
12) Email:
13) Fax:
14) Telephone number:
15) Estimated cost for travel to Melbourne, Australia.
16) State if you have previously attended an IBRO school or awarded an IBRO Travel Grant. Please indicate whether you are also applying for a travel fellowship to the IBRO Congress.
17) Publications
18) Conferences/ Workshops/ Courses attended within past three years. State if a grant was provided, and if so, from which organization
19) One-page description of a) your past and current research and teaching activities (where applicable); b) description of your background and interest in neuroscience and/or neurodegeneration; and c) future plans.
20) Describe why participation in the workshop and the IBRO Congress will benefit you.
21) Abstract. Workshop participants are expected to participate in the IBRO Congress July 12-17. Thus, preference will be given to participants who will present their work at the Congress. Please do the following:

• Write a poster abstract describing your research, following instructions at http://ibro2007.org/abstracts.html. If you want to attend the IBRO Congress independent of this workshop (you have other means of paying for your participation), please submit the abstract.
• Include your abstract with this application.