Teratology Society Meetings

The 2006 Teratology Society Annual Meeting will be held at the Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson, Arizona. The Meeting provides a source of cutting-edge information on molecular to clinical aspects of normal and abnormal development in one place in a compressed time frame. It also provides a place and time to catch up with old friends, make new friends, network, and indulge in discussions from philosophical to practical with established experts in the field, new enthusiastic researchers, and up-and-coming students. It brings clinicians, developmental and reproductive biologists and toxicologists, governmental regulators, and pharmaceutical, agrochemical, and commodity chemical researchers together to find common ground for consensus and topics for debate.

Very favorable sleeping room rates of $105 have been obtained at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort. See the Hotel Reservation Request Form on page 13 for more details. The Meeting Registration form is on page 14. Breakfast is included with your registration fee.

The Program Committee has put together a superb scientific program for the 2006 Meeting. Together with our society partners, Organization of Teratology Information Specialists (OTIS) and Neurobehaviorial Teratology Society (NBTS), we have symposia and sessions of interest for all. We will begin our scientific program Sunday afternoon with two symposia, a joint TS/NBTS Symposium on early exposures and childhood behavior disorders and the International Harmonization Symposium. The joint TS/NBTS Symposium will examine the important issue of early exposures and childhood behavior disorders from a clinical perspective. The terminology update symposium will discuss the international harmonization of teratology terminology and provide updates and "Roll-out" of the new version of the terminology.

Monday morning, the Josef Warkany Lecture, given annually by a scientist who has significantly contributed to the field of teratology will be presented. This year's honoree is Dr. George Daston who will speak on Genomics and Assessment of Developmental Risks. His presentation will be followed by the James G. Wilson Publication Award for best paper published in the Journal Birth Defects Research and the F. Clarke Fraser Award which highlights outstanding contributions by researchers in our field.

Through the week, the program includes many exciting topics relevant to the current research interests of our membership. A new lecture entitled the Robert L. Brent Lecture has been established and will be given by Dr. John Rogers. There will be a symposium on endocrine disruption and it will focus on challenges and successes in learning relevant human health information from animal models. This will be co-sponsored by NBTS. The National Children's Study will be discussed in a symposium that will highlight the new Vanguard Centers and results from the pilot studies.

The Teratology Society will partner with OTIS to present a joint roundtable on case studies in risk communication. This roundtable will include a keynote lecture on risk communication from Dr. Paul Slovic from Decision Research in Eugene Oregon. Dr. Slovic is one of the world's experts on risk communication and his research on how patients receive medical information and the impact of context and effect on their ability to make informed decisions has very important implications for all of us providing teratogen information.

The March of Dimes Symposium this year will focus on myogenesis and will highlight the implications of new information about the molecular regulation of embryonic skeletal myogenesis and its implications for muscle development, birth defects and regeneration. This session will include information on cell signaling pathways, stem cell differentiation and regeneration dynamics. Considerations of clinical genetics and gene-environmental interactions will also be discussed in these sessions.

A symposium titled "Chemically Induced Congenital Anomalies: Is Oxidative Stress a Common Pathway?" will be sponsored by the NIH Office of Rare Diseases. This symposium, organized by Dr. Peter Wells, will examine oxidative stress response and its role in teratology. This symposium will be followed by a Rare Diseases Roundtable where Jean Campbell from the National Organization for Rare Disorders, Inc. will meet with attendees.

Our regional partners MARTA and MTA will sponsor a symposium on pediatric safety evaluation that will include sessions on regulation, pharmacokinetics, and clinical studies.

The Wiley-Liss Symposium will look at the new biology of MiRNA. This is an exciting new area of developmental control and this symposium will focus on the role of MiRNA in pattern formation. Cross-species comparison of the role of MiRNA will be included.

Recent issues on the use of Thimerosal as a preservative in vaccines has prompted the Program Committee to develop a joint symposium with NBTS entitled "Recent Advances in Research on the Safety of Thimerosal in Vaccines." This symposium will describe new research on the kinetics of mercury containing compounds and will describe in detail recent studies with animal models of Thimerosal exposure evaluating the potential for molecular, neuroanotomical, and neurobehavioral impacts for humans.

Recent epidemiology reports have emphasized the importance of understanding and evaluating the potential for environmental endocrine dysruption. Dr. Elaine Francis has organized a symposium focused on the use of findings from both animal and human studies to evaluate the potential for this class of agents to have human and clinical impact. It will focus on several model compounds of environmental interest: Phthalates, PCBs, PBBs, and Dioxin.

Two coordinated symposia (joint with OTIS) will be presented on emerging infections and pregnancy outcomes. The first symposium will emphasize mechanisms of inflammation and infection and will examine both human and animal studies on bacterial and parasitic infections. Issues of acute inflammation as well as chronic models of infection for pregnancy outcome will be discussed. The second will examine emerging viral infections. A panel discussion has been organized to identify implications and clinical recommendations for addressing these public health problems.

A symposium sponsored by NIEHS has been organized to examine the normal role of thyroid hormone in brain development. New knowledge presented in this symposium will examine recent evidence that suggests exposure to environmental agents can alter thyroid homeostasis. There will be a discussion of what to do to protect the public from thyroid deficiencies using intervention and prevention strategies.

The Public Affairs Committee Platform Session on Regulatory Science will be co-sponsored by the ILSI Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI)–Developmental and Reproductive Toxicology Technical Committee and will highlight selected abstracts for a more in depth discussion of the information and implications of the work within the field of teratology.

This program represents the great strengths of our multidisciplinary Society and presents something for everyone. We invite you to enjoy it in Tucson!

The Society is pleased to announce the establishment of the annual Robert L. Brent Lecture, in recognition of Dr. Brent's contributions to the Teratology Society, and particularly to the implementation of the "Teratogen Update." The purpose of the Robert L. Brent Lecture is to facilitate the discussion of new and old teratogens during the Annual Meeting. The lecturer and the lecture topic are selected by the Program Committee. The first awardee is Dr. John Rogers who will be presenting on Monday, June 26, 2006, at 1:00 PM.

What Does the Meeting Registration Fee Cover?

The meeting registration fee covers a number of food and beverage functions, as well as the administrative costs for the meeting. The functions include the banquet, breakfast, and coffee and refreshment breaks. We will also have a Welcoming Reception on Sunday and a reception during each of the poster sessions. Take advantage of the Early Bird Registration rate by registering by February 18, 2006. Registering by February 18, 2006, will also enable you to receive the Program and the Abstract issue of Birth Defects Research in the mail prior to the meeting.

Education Course (Separate registration required)

The Education Course is titled "Vertebrate Embryology." This course will serve as a refresher for those in the field; and perhaps, a first-time visit for those not trained in embryology. The focus of the 2006 Vertebrate Embryology Course is to review the classical vertebrate models (rodent, chick, and humans) of embryo genesis, plus to introduce how newer models (such as Xenopus and zebra fish) are used in basic and applied research. Lectures will provide information on important species and temporal differences between various animal models and human development. Materials to be covered include: comparative cleavage and gastrulation, brain-neural tube development, craniofacial development, skeletal development, heart development, and urogenital development. There will also be separate lectures on uses of the zebra fish and Xenopus models in the study of embryology.

Narsingh Agnish Fellowship

The Society is pleased to announce that a fellowship has been established in recognition of Narsingh Agnish's contributions to the Teratology Society, and particularly to the implementation of the Education Course. The Narsingh Agnish Fellowship will facilitate the continuing participation of senior Teratology Society members at the Annual Meeting. The Fellow shall be selected by the Education Committee with the advice of Council of the Teratology Society. The Fellow will be recognized at the annual Banquet and will be asked to give a short opening talk at the Education Course. Dr. Narsingh Agnish will be the 2006 recipient of this Fellowship.

Mini Course (Separate registration required)

The Mini Course is titled "Developmental Pharmaco-kinetics" and will be comprised of two, 45-minute lectures. The Mini Course highlights the effects pharmacokinetic and dosimetry considerations from the prenatal to juvenile period have in development. Special consideration will be given to the maternal-placental-fetal unit and perinatal transition.

Event sponsorship opportunities are available for the 2006 Teratology Society Annual Meeting. Events to be sponsored include:

Please be our guest for dinner, conversation, and networking at a Student Career Event on Monday, June 26 from 7:30 - 10: 30 PM at Bill's Grill (outside near the pool) at the Ventana Canyon Resort. 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), and the Organization of Teratology Information Services (OTIS).

The theme for this year's event is "Flexibility is the key", where Teratology Society members from government, academia, consulting, contract research organizations, pharma, and the chemical industry will discuss their professional background, as well as their views on the changing job market and hiring practices.

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.