Interferon Lambda Experts Meet at NIH to Discuss Disease Impact and Translational Potential
, by DCEG Staff
In October 2018, researchers at the National Cancer Institute hosted, “IFN Lambda: Disease Impact and In October 2018, researchers at the National Cancer Institute hosted a meeting entitled, “IFN Lambda: Disease Impact and Translational Potential,” on the campus of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. The event was organized by Thomas O’Brien, M.D., M.P.H., senior investigator in the Infections and Immunoepidemiology Branch, Ludmila Prokunina-Olsson, Ph.D., chief of the Laboratory of Translational Genomics, both in DCEG; Howard Young, of the Cancer and Inflammation Program, Center for Cancer Research at NCI-Frederick; and Raymond Donnelly, from the Center for Drug Evaluation & Research at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Together, they convened an international group of scientists from a wide range of disciplines, including immunology, virology, human genetics, epidemiology, and hepatology to enhance interdisciplinary communication and promote new collaborations in research on IFN Lambda, a rapidly developing field with tremendous translational potential for cancer, infectious diseases and immunology.
The agenda included sessions on IFN Lambda Biology, Therapy and Genetic Variation; IFN Lambda and HCV Infection; IFN Lambda in Other Infections; IFN Lambda, Hepatic Fibrosis and Cancer. In addition, there was a lively poster session and a roundtable discussion regarding potential NIH funding opportunities for research projects.