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WHO WE ARE
The American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit medical and professional organization that represents researchers and scientists devoted to the discovery of new genetic and cellular therapies. ASGCT was established in 1996 by Dr. George Stamatoyannopoulos, professor of medicine at the University of Washington's School of Medicine and a group of the country's leading researchers in gene and cell therapy. With more than 2,000 members in the United States and worldwide, ASGCT is the largest association of individuals involved in genetic and cellular therapeutics. The Society's Executive Office is located in Milwaukee, WI.
Governed by its Officers and Board of Directors, ASGCT has ten standing committees, including Bio Industry Liaison, Clinical & Regulatory Affairs, Ethics, Education, Financial Affairs, International, Membership, Program, and Publications. The Society also has 15 scientific committees such as cancer therapy, cardiovascular, genetic, musculo-skeletal, infectious, and neural degenerative disorders.
OUR MISSION
ASGCT s a professional non-profit medical and scientific organization dedicated to the understanding, development and application of genetic and cellular therapies and the promotion of professional and public education in the field.
ASGCT includes researchers, clinicians, and other professionals from around the world dedicated to discovering and developing new genetic and cellular therapies.
The Society's goals are to:
- Promote research, development and application of genetic and cellular therapies to a wide variety of human diseases
- Exchange information and promote education among professionals and the public through the Society's Annual Meetings, the ASGCT Journal, Molecular Therapy, and interactions with scientific, medical, and regulatory communities
ASGCT HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS
- The Society enrolled less than 1,000 members in 1996. Today, that number has grown to roughly 2,000 Members worldwide and 1,400 Active Members in the United States.
- At the 2008 Annual Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts, there were over 2,000 attendees. Of these, 70% work in a university or research institute, 25% work in the biotech arena, 53% have PhDs and 41% are MDs.
- ASGCT launched Molecular Therapy, its official scientific journal, in 2001. The monthly publication features papers in the general area of gene transfer, gene and cell therapies, experimental models for correction of genetic and acquired disease and clinical trials. Molecular Therapy is the most cited journal in gene therapy, according to ISI Essential Science Indicators and its 2008 impact factor is 5.970.
ASGCT ANNUAL MEETINGS
Each summer ASGCT holds an Annual Meeting. Our Annual Meeting represents the major educational initiative of the Society and has been CME accredited for all of our prior 12 meetings. The 13th Annual Meeting of ASGCT will be held May 19 - 22, 2010 in Washington, DC and is CME accredited by Indiana University School of Medicine. Each year ASGCT receives over 1,000 abstracts and has an attendance of over 2,000 scientists, postdoctoral fellows and students. The Board of Directors of ASGCT is ultimately responsible for the educational program presented at its Annual Meeting. The Board reviews and approves of the program developed by the Program, Education and Scientific Committees of ASGCT.
The development of the program begins with the ASGCT Scientific and Standing Committees. The various ASGCT committees are comprised of leaders in the various subsets of the gene and cell therapy field. For example, the Cancer Gene and Cell Therapy Committee consists of ASGCT Members who specialize in gene and cell therapy for the treatment cancer. The committee members are identified as prominent researchers in their specific area by the ASGCT President-Elect and ASGCT Board of Directors. Thus, each speaker invited to present at the ASGCT Annual Meeting is selected by the foremost scientists in his/her specific area of study in the gene and cell therapy field.
Once the ASGCT Scientific and Standing Committees have selected three or four speakers to present in each of their scientific symposia, the proposed session is submitted to the ASGCT President, ASGCT Program Committee, and ASGCT President-Elect, where the session undergoes another level of scrutiny. The ASGCT leadership reviews the program to ensure that the best faculty members have been invited and that the program represents cutting edge significant progress in the field.
To be invited as a faculty member at the ASGCT Annual Meeting is equivalent to being identified as a forerunner in the field of gene and cell therapy.
For more information on the 13th Annual Meeting, please visit http://www.asgt.org/am10/. For a complete list of ASGCT Committee Rosters, please visit http://asgct.execinc.com/scriptcontent/asp/cmte/.
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Membership
