Dear Colleagues,

On behalf of the American Society of Gene Therapy, welcome to the ASGT 9th Annual Meeting. We have organized a comprehensive meeting that we believe will be exciting for both the new and experienced scientists interested in gene therapy. This year’s program features the George Stamatoyannopoulos lecture by C. David Allis, PhD and the Presidential Symposium presentation by Joseph Sodroski, MD. We are providing 14 Education Sessions; 17 Scientific Symposia; 16 Workshops plus oral and poster sessions chosen from submitted abstracts. We have continued the Meet-the-Investigator breakfast/lunch sessions, and included multiple options to attend a new topic - Choosing a Career Path: academia vs. biotech? We have also for the first time initiated an International Symposium, Manufacturing Symposium, and a late breaking scientific plenary session.

The Society’s committees have done a great deal of hard work in putting together this superb program and for that, I thank them. Topics that will be covered at this year’s meeting include: Cancer Vaccines, Pre-Clinical Issues in Gene Therapy, Stem Cell Gene Therapy, Gene Therapy and Behavior, RNAi based therapies, Gene Therapy for HIV, Ethical Issues in Clinical Trial Design, Nonviral Gene Delivery, and the facts regarding vector induced tumors. This year we have added a symposium on using gene transfer to alter complex behaviors. Many other sessions cover the diverse and exciting developments in the field over the past year.

I would like to thank our exhibitors and industry supporters for their participation and generosity, in addition to our exceptional faculty who kindly share their knowledge, expertise and time. Last but not least, I want to thank all the participants for making this last year such an exciting one while advancing the field of gene therapy.

The ASGT Annual Meeting provides an outstanding forum for sharing the latest developments in the field of gene therapy and networking with our colleagues. I welcome you to Baltimore. Have a great meeting!

Sincerely,

Mark A. Kay, MD, PhD
President, ASGT