Dear Colleague:

The National Institutes of Health is pleased to invite you to attend the third symposium on the Functional Genomics of Critical Illness and Injury, to be held April 21st and 22nd, 2005, at the Natcher Conference Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.

The 2005 symposium will once again provide opportunities for communication among experts in the various disciplines of critical care medicine and the field of functional genomics. It will showcase the latest research findings, facilitate the exchange of information on state-of-the-art methodologies, and highlight the challenges we face now and in the future. Since the last meeting, in 2003, a great deal of important new data from patients and animal models has been analyzed; these data will be the focus of this year's meeting. With this information, clinicians and researchers are now poised to begin reaching consensus on how best to apply functional genomics to the study of critical illness and injury. This in turn will provide the groundwork for future collaborative interactions. To reflect these ends, the Organizing Committee has determined that the theme of this year's Symposium is "Identifying Research Priorities."

Topics of interest on the Program include genomic, transcriptomic, and metabolomic analysis; host-pathogen responses; and the ethical, legal, and societal implications of genomic research. Oral abstracts and poster sessions that allow one-on-one discussions between presenters and participants will be integrated into the program along with featured speakers. This more intimate setting will allow participants to gain deeper insights into topics and issues most relevant to their own work.

We will be accepting abstract submissions until March 1, 2005 (see our web site for details). At least eight of the abstracts accepted will be selected for oral presentation during the plenary sessions. The remainder will be presented at the poster sessions, providing an opportunity for informal discussion and the development of new collaborations.

This symposium is a unique opportunity for the exchange of ideas   across the diverse fields committed to applying functional genomics and systems approaches to critically ill and injured patients. We look forward to welcoming you to Bethesda in April.

Sincerely,
Organizing Committee

J. Perren Cobb, MD
Washington University in St. Louis

Anthony F. Suffredini, MD
Clinical Center, NIH

Scott D. Somers, PhD
National Institute of General Medical Sciences, NIH

Robert L. Danner, MD
Clinical Center, NIH

Peter J. Munson, PhD
Center for Information Technology, NIH