ATS 2013 offers great programming tailored to basic and clinical scientists.

Science is central to the ATS International Conference. This year, the ATS is introducing and reintroducing some great features tailored to basic and clinical scientists: the Science Core, Science and Innovation Center, and Basic Science Center. Gary H. Gibbons, MD, director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, will speak with scientists during the conference.

Science Core
The Science Core is a thematically linked set of symposia and abstract-based sessions.

This year’s sessions will focus on lung tissue injury and repair, with particular emphasis on mechanobiology, extracellular matrix, and methods to study injury and repair. The Science Core will take place on consecutive days during ATS 2013 and will feature internationally known scientists, who will interact with attendees at abstract-based-sessions and other venues throughout the meeting.

Andrew Halayko

The Science Core was developed in response to help scientists learn new approaches to challenging questions. The Science Core will provide basic scientists with compelling content that can change the course of their research.

In the Science Core sessions, “basic science is positioned against a backdrop of translational research addressing unmet clinical needs,” according to Andrew Halayko, PhD, of the University of Manitoba. “This is unique to the ATS conference and extends the impact of the research beyond what is offered at other conferences focused only on basic or clinical science.”

At one session, for example, novel translational work that explores the treatment of pulmonary edema through the blocking of mechanosensitive channels will be presented.

“These sessions will be of interest to a wide range of attendees, including scientists, physician scientists, and clinicians,” said Mitchell Olman, MD, of the Cleveland Clinic, who is leading the session on Lung Response to Injury. “Our symposium on Lung Response to Injury will give attendees a broad based understanding of the principles of biophysical and biological lung cell injury and repair that underlies several lung disorders, including asthma, pulmonary edema, acute lung injury, and pulmonary fibrosis.”

Science Core Sessions at ATS

• A Hitchhiker’s Guide to Mechanobiology: How Matrix-Cytoskeleton Interactions Drive Cell Behavior
• Methods to Study Lung Injury and Repair
• Exciting Technological Advances for Understanding the Extracellular Matrix
• Scientific Breakthroughs of the Year: Mechanisms of Tissue Repair
• Forcing the Issue: The Lung Response to Injury
• Poster Discussion: It Takes a Village to Repair the Lung: Cells, Pathways and Methods

Science and Innovation Center

Gary H. Gibbons

On the heels of its popular debut last year, the Science and Innovation Center will return with interactive sessions by experts on a variety of topics of interest to researchers and scientists, including Gary H. Gibbons, MD, director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. It will be located in Hall C (200 Level) in the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

The venue will allow scientists to network, learn about research-related resources, and consult informally with distinguished experts about study designs.

Lynn Schnapp

“Importantly, the Science and Innovation Center facilitates networking between junior and senior scientists and provides targeted career development sessions for basic and translational researchers,” said Lynn Schnapp, MD, of the University of Washington.

Experts will discuss topics focusing on biostatistics, decellurization, epigenetics, K99 and K08 grants, lung development, lung imaging, lung mechanics, and mouse modeling. Among the presenters will be Dr. Gibbons.

Also available in the center will be the Members In Transition and Training Grant Resource Guide, plus a highlighted list of 2013 Conference symposia from three Assemblies—Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology, Respiratory Structure and Function, and Allergy, Immunology and Inflammation.

The center will be open from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, May 19, through Tuesday, May 21, in the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Beverages and light fare will be served throughout each day, and social hours will take place in the afternoons.

Basic Science Center
Basic scientists will have the opportunity to learn about products or services that can help advance their research in the new Basic Science Center, which will be conveniently located next to the Science and Innovation Center in the Exhibit Hall.

So far, representatives from five companies—Applied BioPhysics, Epithelix, DMT-USA, Stemcell Technologies, and Lonza—will be available in the Basic Science Center to talk with attendees about products and services related to molecular biology, in vivo sample analysis, animal models, genomics, flow cytometry, research reagents, data acquisition, antibodies, thermal cyclers, assays, human tissue, and microscopes, and other laboratory equipment.