Welcome
Dear Colleague:
We are pleased to invite you to our second international meeting on the Role of Nitrite in Physiology, Pathophysiology and Therapeutics Meeting, September 6-7, 2007, at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.
Nitrite research is gaining momentum in many areas of medicine. A major focus of this research is on the role of nitrite in the regulation of hypoxic and ischemic biological systems through chemical and enzymatic conversion to nitric oxide (NO) and NO modified proteins. Nitrite's abundance in vascular tissue and blood as well as accumulating evidence for physiological mechanisms for its conversion to NO at low oxygen suggest therapeutic possibilities for its use as an inexpensive, efficient treatment for a variety of human orphan diseases characterized by vasoconstriction and organ ischemia. The last two years have witnessed an increasing number of preclinical studies suggesting therapeutic efficacy for myocardial infarction, liver and kidney ischemia-reperfusion injury, stroke, hypertensive and diabetic kidney disease, sickle cell disease, and pulmonary hypertension.
Our meeting will bring together participants from the many walks of nitrite research to discuss the state of the art. Invited experts will speak on a number of facets of nitrite research, including the nitrate-nitrite-NO pathway in physiology and therapeutics; mechanisms of nitrite bioactivation; nitrite and vasodilation; nitrite-heme biochemistry; nitrite, ischemia-reperfusion, and mitochondrial respiration; nitrite and cardiac energetics; and nitrite therapeutics.
In addition, we will feature five oral podium presentations as well as poster sessions for one-on-one and small group discussions. This more intimate setting will allow participants to gain deeper insights into topics and issues most relevant to their own work.
We are grateful for the generous funding by NIH's Office of Rare Diseases, Office of the Director; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; Critical Care Medicine Department, Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center; and Wake Forest University.
This wide variety of sponsors reflects both the multifaceted nature of nitrite research and the growing consolidation and importance of the field. It is our hope that this meeting will provide a forum for nitrite investigators from diverse disciplines to exchange new knowledge, findings, and ideas, and to lay the groundwork for future collaborations. To meet these goals, we need your participation. Please join us.
We look forward to welcoming you to Bethesda in September.
Sincerely,
The Organizing Committee:
Mark T. Gladwin, MD
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH, DHHS
Richard O. Cannon, III, MD
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH, DHHS
Martin Feelisch, PhD
University of Warwick, United Kingdom
Bruce Freeman, PhD
University of Pittsburgh
Neil Hogg, PhD
Medical College of Wisconsin
Gregory Kato, MD
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH, DHHS
Malte Kelm, MD, PhD
University Hospital Aachen, Germany
Daniel B. Kim-Shapiro, PhD
Wake Forest University, North Carolina
Jon O. Lundberg, MD, PhD
Karolinska Institutet, Sweden
Rakesh P. Patel, PhD
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Alan N. Schechter, MD
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, NIH, DHHS
Eddie Weitzberg, MD, PhD
Karolinska University Hospital, Sweden
Jay L. Zweier, MD, PhD
Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute, Ohio