Why Attend the 2005 Teratology Society Meeting?

It's the 45^th Annual Meeting. The 2005 Teratology Society Meeting will be held at the TradeWinds Island Grand Resort in St. Pete Beach, Florida. This family-friendly beach resort offers classic fun in a casual atmosphere. The meeting provides a source of cutting-edge information on molecular to population aspects of normal and abnormal development in one place in a compressed time frame. It is the ideal place and time to catch up on old friends, make new friends, network, and engage in discussions from philosophical to practical with established experts in the field, new enthusiastic researchers, and up-and-coming students. It is also a place and time for clinicians, developmental and reproductive biologists and toxicologists, governmental regulators, and pharmaceutical, agrochemical, and commodity chemical researchers to come together and find common ground for consensus and topics for debate.

In keeping with the 2002 strategic planning initiatives, this year, we are meeting in a resort. Very favorable rates have been obtained at TradeWinds Island Grand Resort. Breakfast will be included with your registration fee.

Scientific Program

The Program Committee has put together a superb scientific program for the 2005 meeting. Together with our Society partners, OTIS, NBTS, and BTS we have symposia and sessions of interest for all.

We will begin the meeting with a TS/NBTS/BTS joint symposium on Cognitive Testing and Neurodevelopment opened by the Charles River Lecture entitled "Assessment of Cognitive Function: Bridging the Gap from Preclinical Animal Studies to the Human Condition" given by Dr. Peter Snyder. Neurodevelopment endpoints for human risk assessment will be the topic for a symposium sponsored by ILSI. The Josef Warkany Lecture, the James G. Wilson Publication Award, and the F. Clarke Fraser Award presentations will bring to you outstanding workers in our field and their exciting contributions. The March of Dimes Symposium looks at the exciting genomic research emerging on transcriptional regulatory processes. The Genomics, Proteomics and Bioinformatics Committee will present a symposium on Bioinformatics and its applications for research in teratology. For those new to the field, a mini course entitled "Introduction to Bioinformatics" will precede the symposium. Separate registration is required to attend the morning mini course. The Wiley-Liss Symposium is entitled "Are we playing with Fate? Manipulating Gametes and Early Embryos." The joint OTIS/TS symposium this year will cover risk communication of pregnancy exposure information. MARTA/MTA will sponsor a symposium entitled "Preclinical Data and its Value to the Clinician." The always-popular Teratogen Update will include talks on Sartans, Pseudephederine, DES and Misoprostol. The Student Plenary Session will be held Monday morning. There will also be  platform presentations and two poster sessions.

Education Course (Separate registration required)

The Education Course is entitled "Understanding Stem Cells: Current Research and Potential Clinical Applications." Speakers will give an overview of both embryonic and adult stem cells, as well as talks focusing specific areas such as hematopoetic stem cells, eye development, cancer, the use of stem cells in developmental toxicology and conclude with a talk on the bioethics of stem cell use.

On Tuesday the Sunrise Mini Course will include two speakers who will speak on the development of the vertebrate immune system and approaches for consideration for developmental immunotoxicity testing.

Bioinformatics Mini Course (Separate registration required)

On Thursday the Bioinformatics Mini Course will cover basic elements of bioinformatics, a discipline of science whose goal is to provide the tools to make sense out of the burgeoning information from data-rich experiments in genomics, proteomics and metabonomics. Many of the tools of bioniformatics consist of searchable databases with information about gene or protein structure, function, and nomenclature. The Bioinformatics Mini Course will focus on on-line databases that are freely available through the NCBI at NIH's National Library of Medicine. The presentation will include information on several databases, including the kinds of information each contains, access information, and some tricks of the trade that will help the audience begin to use these resources. The mini course will be presented by Eric Sayers, a bioinformatics training specialist from NCBI.

What Does the Meeting Registration Fee Cover?

The meeting registration fee covers a number of food and beverage functions, as well as the Society's administrative costs for the meeting. The functions include the banquet, breakfast, and coffee and refreshment breaks. We will also have a Welcoming Reception and a reception during each of the poster sessions, which are sponsored and are not included in the registration fee. The deadline for advanced registration is May 13, 2005. After that date, a late fee of $50 will apply.

Sponsorship Opportunities

Event sponsorship opportunities are available for the 2005 Teratology Society Annual Meeting. Events to be sponsored include:

• Poster Sessions

• Scientific Sessions

• Welcoming Reception

• Banquet Reception

• Banquet

• Breakfasts

• Coffee Breaks

MARTA/MTA Student Career Event

ATTENTION ALL STUDENTS AND POST-DOCS!

Please be our guest for dinner, conversation, and networking at a Student
Career Event on Monday, June 27 from 7:30 - 10: 30 PM at the Ibis Room in
the Sandpiper Hotel. This event, hosted by the Middle Atlantic Reproduction
and Teratology Association (MARTA) and Midwest Teratology Association (MTA),
is for students and post-docs attending the joint annual meetings of the
Teratology Society, Neurobehavioral Teratology Society (NBTS), the
Organization of Teratology Information Services (OTIS), and the Behavioral
Toxicology Society (BTS).

The theme for this year's event is "The careers of new scientists, and how
they got there", where recent graduates will discuss their jobs and how they
made the transition from students/post-docs to employed professionals.

As you prepare for the next phase in your professional career, we offer you
this opportunity to meet your fellow students and post-docs, and to interact
with scientists from academia, government, and industry. This is also an
opportunity for you to discuss your future and the various career paths
available to you. This event has been overwhelmingly well received in the
past, and we hope to see you there.

Abstract Submission

Instructions for Late-Breaking Abstracts can be found at this link. The deadline for submission is May 20 , 2005.

Presenting an abstract at the Annual Meeting provides a way to share your research with your colleagues, gives you an opportunity to meet people from all over the world who are interested in similar research topics, and is an invaluable networking tool.

Student/Young Investigator Awards

Each year the Teratology Society awards money to students to assist them with their travel expenses. Students/Young Investigators who have an abstract that will be presented during the meeting, as either a platform or poster presentation, are eligible for a Travel Award of $500, if travel assistance is required. Applicants should be enrolled in a program leading to a graduate degree in a field of  related to teratology or should be post-doctoral fellows in such a field and should intend to attend the Teratology Society's Annual Meeting. Student/Young Investigators who apply for a Travel Award must be members of the Teratology Society or have applied for membership at the time of the 2005 meeting. The student membership fee is $0. The award recipients must agree to assist with the operation of projection equipment during presentations at the Annual Meeting.

In addition to the Travel Awards, there are three other awards for which students and young investigators may be considered.
1) The Wilson Presentation Awards for the two best presentations in the platform competition.
2) The James C. Bradford Memorial Award is presented to the student selected as the best paper in the poster competition.
3) The Marie W. Taubeneck Award recognizes a student or young investigator for scholarship in teratology and service to the Society. Complete information for all of the awards is available on the Society's Web site.

TradeWinds Island Grand Resort

Nestled on the island of St. Pete Beach, the TradeWinds Island Grand Resort has a breezy, casual ambience, yet shares the diverse cultural events and active night life of the Tampa Bay metropolitan area. There are endless choices of things to do, all drenched in the warm, relaxing Florida sun.

Every Florida Fantasy awaits, miles of white sand beach for star-splashed strolls, breathtaking sunsets over shimmering blue water, heated pools for relaxation, and fitness centers for your workout regimen. A fun filled activities schedule will be sure to keep all members of the family entertained with the KONK (Kids Only, No Kidding) Club, adventures with Captain RedBeard, and more at the TradeWinds Island Grand. You can enjoy everything that the TradeWinds Resort has to offer: tennis, volleyball, paddleboats, whirlpools, spa services and shopping. Within minutes you'll find golf, sunset sailing cruises, dolphin encounter, museums and theme parks.

With 10 dinning and entertainment venues, the TradeWinds Island Grand Resort presents a broad spectrum of dining interests from casual to elegant, light to full course, and traditional to continental. Enjoy fresh Gulf seafood and other unique regional specialties, enhanced by a picture perfect waterfront view. Seasonal entertainment is provided pool and beachside, complemented by cool tropical drinks.

St. Pete Beach, Florida

St. Pete Beach was formed in 1957 when the four tiny towns of Pass-A-Grille Beach, Don CeSar Place, Belle Vista Beach and
St. Pete Beach voted to consolidate. Just a five minute cab ride from the hotel, you can relive some of the area's rich heritage at the Gulf Beaches Historical Museum and trace the history of Pinellas County's barrier islands all the way back to when Ponce de Leon first encountered them in the 14^th century. A fifteen minute cab ride from the hotel will take you to Ft. DeSoto Park, where Ponce de Leon once anchored in search of the Fountain of Youth. This 900-acre park, once an outpost during the Spanish-American War, is now a peaceful refuge where visitors can walk, swim, or picnic amidst Florida's unspoiled natural beauty.

Thrill-seekers will never find a dull moment on St. Pete Beach, whether they are gliding through the air on a parasail or bouncing over the water on a wave runner. Charter boats offer the excitement of deep-sea fishing and a chance to wrestle with enormous tarpon. Likewise, relaxation is as close as the sandy shoreline or a casual afternoon of fishing from a sea wall. Golf courses speckled throughout the area provide opportunities for a friendly game in the afternoon breeze.

St. Pete Beach plays host to many activities that the entire family can enjoy. Art festivals, dance performances, and musical events are sure to keep spirits high, while tropical boutiques, seafood restaurants and nightclubs offer a taste of Florida's fun-loving beach town lifestyle.

Ground Transportation

Both Tampa International Airport and St. Petersburg/Clearwater Airport are about 30 minutes away. Super Shuttle is St. Pete's Airport Shuttle Service. The cost is $38 roundtrip (fares subject to change). The travel time is approximately 45 minutes by shuttle. It is recommended to call a head make your shuttle reservations. For more information visit www.supershuttle.com or call
(727) 572-1111.

Student Room Sharing

The Teratology Society is compiling a list of students who wish to share accommodations at the Annual Meeting. The deadline for submission has expired.

The Teratology Society thanks the following Sponsors
for their support of the 2005 meeting