21st Annual Rocky Mountain Virology Association Conference

Conference Summary The Rocky Mountain Virology Association will hold its 21st annual meeting in October 2021. The meeting brings together regional and national investigators in virology and prion biology for a 3-day retreat-style conference with extensive interaction and collaboration. The original meeting was organized by investigators in Colorado and Wyoming who were interested in the free and open exchange of scientific data and ideas concerning general virology in a venue that promotes collaboration among students, post-doctoral researchers and faculty members. Specifically, our annual meeting at the Mountain Campus of Colorado State University encourages young scientists to present their research and receive feedback from established scientists. The goals are promotion of scientific interactions and training. A major benefit of participation has been the novel collaborations that arise between scientists in different disciplines. The topics discussed include medical virology (vaccines, epidemiology, viral zoonoses), arthropod-borne diseases (RNA viruses, metabolism, viral vectors and vector biology), host defenses (viral immunology and pathogenesis), prion biology, cancer biology and systems biology. Special sessions on HIV pathogenesis, vaccine development, pandemic influenza, prions, virus discovery and the global impact of viral diseases have been featured at past meetings. The 2020 meeting featured perhaps the most disparate, yet now intimately tied fields, epidemiology and epigenetics. The next meeting will feature a retrospective on the COVID-19 pandemic with discussions on successful approaches and establishment of systems for future challenges. The attendees include scientists from Colorado State University, The University of Colorado, the University of Wyoming, the University of Northern Colorado, the Centers for Disease Control (Fort Collins) and the Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service as well as scientists from regional biotech companies, and universities in Iowa, Idaho, Nebraska, Kansas, Montana, New Mexico and Utah. The Rocky Mountain Virology Association was incorporated in 2010 as a tax-exempt educational charity (Section 501(c)(3)). Our board of directors is charged with encouraging student and junior faculty involvement by minimizing costs as we encourage women and minorities to participate in all stages of program presentation and development. Everyone involved in programming is a volunteer. Our attendance is limited by the venue to a maximum of 110 individuals. The growth of the meeting to capacity illustrates a strong desire on the part of regional scientists to participate. Funds for this proposal are requested to provide minority grants and childcare, reduced registration fees for graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and early-stage investigators, and for travel and housing for seven invited speakers. Registration fees, charitable contributions, and sponsorships cover the base costs for the meeting. The RMVA has been a source of communication and collaboration for the Rocky Mountain region, with outreach across the nation, for twenty years. Our efforts and NIAID support have expanded interest in this meeting to national and international levels to the benefit of all.