PNIRS2008

PNIRS2008; Promoting Innovation in PNI: From Cytokines to Society has a full and exciting program. In addition to outstanding science, social interaction and cross-discipline discussion, which are always a highlight of PNIRS meetings, the Program Committee has added several innovations new for 2008: Two roundtable discussion workshops over lunch, one on NIH funding with program officers and another discussion with symposia speakers; Poster sessions will be featured prominently, integrated into the meeting plan with refreshments, and will be preceded by preview oral 'data blitz' sessions. In addition to the usual Senior Faculty/Trainee mentoring session, there will be a Junior Faculty/Trainee workshop on selecting and applying for academic positions and related topics, followed by a reception. The 3-hour Educational Short Course entitled New Molecular and Biological Approaches in PNI will focus on signal transduction pathways, mathematical tools for analyzing gene networks, assessing the tumor microenvironment, and neuroendocrine processes associated with cellular aging.  The Presidential Symposium is entitled Neural Mediation of the Effects of Stress and Psychological Factors on the Endocrine and Immune Systems. It will be the first time that neuroimaging techniques and findings will be featured prominently at a PNIRS meeting. We hope you will join us to share your most recent discoveries, and to help make the 2008 meeting a great success.