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The Challenge of Chronic Pain - 11-13 March 2015 Hinxton, Cambridge

The Challenge of Chronic Pain 11-13 March 2015 Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, UK Register>    Abstract & Bursary deadline: 30 January  |  Registration deadline: 16 February

Chronic pain is a major challenge in terms of human health and well-being. Approximately 20% of the population has an on-going pain problem and many are poorly treated with current medications. Because pain affects the elderly disproportionally, it becomes an increasingly important and expensive problem as our population continues to age.  The growing use of neurotoxic drugs to treat cancer and infectious diseases, and the recognition of sexual dimorphism in both pain mechanisms and the clinical presentation of pain syndromes further emphasize the need to better understand the underlying biological mechanisms of pain, so that improved therapies can be offered to patients.

This exciting new Wellcome Trust conference will discuss recent discoveries and current challenges in pain research, with a focus on translating basic research insights into new therapies. We will highlight key advances in our understanding of peripheral and central pain mechanisms, pathways and processes; explore the clinical landscape of chronic pain and pain syndromes; and address innovative approaches in target validation in animal and human studies, and their translation into novel therapeutic interventions.

This meeting is aimed at scientists, clinicians, and those working in industry or on translational research who are interested in understanding chronic pain and improving the process from mechanism to therapy. We welcome the submission of abstracts from all areas relevant to the main themes of the meeting. Several oral presentations will be chosen from the abstracts submitted.

To facilitate a highly interactive conference, the number of places available will be limited to 150 participants, therefore early registration is recommended.

Scientific programme committee
Jon Levine University of California, San Francisco, USA
Stephen McMahon King’s College London, UK
Cheryl Stucky Medical College of Wisconsin, USA
John Wood University College London, UK

Invited speakers
Ralf Baron Universitaetsklinikum Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
David Bennett University of Oxford, UK
Isabelle Decosterd University Hospital Center (CHUV) and University of Lausanne, Switzerland
Xinzhong Dong Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, USA
Patrik Ernfors Karolinska Institutet, Sweden
Claire Gaveriaux-Ruff IGBMC, France
Giandomenico Iannetti University College London, UK
Ru-Rong Ji Duke University Medical Center, USA
Qiufu Ma Harvard Medical School, USA
Emeran Mayer, UCLA, USA
Jeffrey Mogil McGill University, Canada
Jes Olesen Glostrup Hospital, Denmark
Frank Porreca University of Arizona, USA
Philippe Seguela McGill University, Canada
Lee Simon SDG LLC, USA
Claudia Sommer University of Würzburg, Germany
Fan Wang Duke University, USA
John Williams Wellcome Trust, UK
Hanns Ulrich Zeilhofer University of Zurich, Switzerland

Topics will include: 
CNS pain mechanisms
Pain genetics
Cellular mechanisms
Peripheral pain mechanisms
The chronic pain landscape
Drug development: targets, translation and clinical trials

Conference Programme:
The conference will start with registration from 12:00 and talks starting at approximately 14:00 on Wednesday, 11 March and close at approximately 17:00 on Friday, 13 March 2015.
A draft copy of the programme will be made available shortly.

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Registration & Accommodation

Registration Fees:

Accommodation:
The standard accommodation packages include registration, meals and housing for the nights of the 11 & 12 March 2015.
The no accommodation package includes registration and meals only.

As we have limited bedrooms on-site, accommodation on the Hinxton campus will be allocated on a first come, first served basis; therefore, early registration is recommended. To view more information on the Wellcome Trust Conference Centre accommodation, please click here.

Registration deadline: 16 February

Register>

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Abstracts & Posters:

Abstract Deadline: 30 January 2015

Abstract submission:
Several oral presentations will be chosen from the abstracts submitted. Please ensure that you follow the abstract guidelines and upload your abstract during registration.
Please note: abstracts will not be accepted if the presenting author is not registered.
After the deadline the scientific committee will assess your application and abstract and you will be notified whether you have been selected for a short talk or poster presentation.

Poster presentations:
Poster boards onsite will accommodate 118 cm high by 84 cm wide (A0- portrait) of printed material.
Accepted abstracts will appear in the conference programme book and poster boards will be allocated at the conference.

Bursary application:
A limited number of registration bursaries are available for PhD students to attend this conference (up to 50% of the registration fee) from the Wellcome Trust Scientific Conferences.
To apply, please contact Emily Rees on emily.rees@wtgc.org by 30 January 2015.

Travel visas
If you require a letter of acceptance in order to obtain a travel visa please e-mail emily.rees@wtgc.org

For further enquiries, please contact the conference organiser:
Emily Rees
E-mail: emily.rees@wtgc.org
Direct dial: +44 (0) 1223 495111
Fax: +44 (0) 1223 495131

Posted on 10/10/2014