Greetings from the Exec!Effie Petersdorf,
Executive Secretary, 13th IHWC
The countdown is now 336 days until the new millenium and 869 days until the opening ceremony at Whistler Mountain Village Resort for the start of the 13th Workshop! By way of recent "history", here is a perspective on what has been happening behind the scenes in Seattle as well as a review of some of the activities that have taken place with each workshop component. Organizers of the three workshop Core Components (Technology, Database, Informatics) have been hard at work over the last year designing the DNA typing protocols and developing the basic infrastructure for the workshop database. The SSOP Component (Dr. Carolyn Hurley) met prior to the ASHI meeting in Vancouver in October 1998 to finalize the set of oligoprobes that will be used for intermediate to high resolution analysis of class I and II. Both the SBT Component (Dr. Marcel Tilanus) and the SSOP Component have posted their sequencing and SSOP protocols on the web site for all participants to use. The Informatics/Database Component (Dr. Erik Rozemuller, Dr. Ramon Tate, Dr. Robert Hartzman, Dr. John Hansen) have held several working sessions to evaluate the 12th IHWC database and begin building the database for the 13th. By December 1st, all component chairs should have submitted blueprints for the actual data fields to be used in the database for data collection and analysis.
The Scientific Components have met during the past year and will continue to meet at opportune times in association with ASHI, DGI, EFI, ASEATTA, ASH and other meetings. For updates on each component, please refer to the specific summaries provided by the chairs in this Newsletter and to the 13th IHWC web site where several components have posted the minutes of their working group meetings. If you have specific questions regarding the content of components or how to get involved, please contact the component chairs directly. A complete listing of the FAXes and e-mail addresses of the chairs is provided in this Newsletter. For more general questions, you can always communicate with the local organizing committee via: secretary@www.ihwc.org or via FAX: 206-667-6969.
The Workshop Meeting will convene at Whistler Mountain, British Columbia on Monday, June 18, 2001 with an opening reception in the evening, and continue through 12 noon on Friday, June 22. On Saturday, June 23rd the IHWC will sponsor an Educational Program (Eric Mickelson and Anajane Smith) in Seattle to review recent technogical developments and provide background for the scientific symposia that will be subsequently presented at the Workshop Conference. The International Workshop Conference will officially begin at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in downtown Seattle with a welcome reception on Saturday evening, June 23nd. The conference will conclude on Wednesday June 27th. The local organizing committee and Scientific Program Committee (Dr. Bo Dupont) are well underway in planning a scientifically stimulating program for you! For your enjoyment and relaxation during the workshop and conference, the local organizing committee is also designing what promises to be an exciting and memorable event.
Our next Newsletter is slated for Spring 1999 when we plan to give you updates of the working group meetings held in conjunction with the ASH, EFI and ASBMT annual meetings. In between Newsletters, look for updates on workshop activities on the web.
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