American Society for Reproductive Immunology Conference Support - American Society of Reproductive Immunology

Project Director
Hansen, P. J.

Recipient Organization
American Society of Reproductive Immunology
830 West End Court, Suite 400
Chicago,IL 60061

Performing Department
(N/A)

Non Technical Summary
It is important for animal and veterinary scientists to be involved in reproductive immunology research because many issues of importance to production agriculture involve the immune system and the reproductive tract. In addition, many issues of concern in animal production and veterinary medicine are also of interest in human medicine. Domestic animals serve as important models to examine immune mechanisms that are difficult to examine directly in humans and that can lead to conclusions that can be extrapolated to humans. By promoting invited lectures by animal scientists and student participation in the ASRI meeting, we will 1) stimulate interest and appreciation for large animal models among biomedical scientists and 2) integrate animal and veterinary scientists in the larger field of reproductive immunology. By awarding travel grants to graduate students, we will 1) increase awareness of the importance of reproductive immunology for animal production among the future leaders of animal and veterinary science and 2) integrate these young scientists into the larger reproductive immunology community.

Animal Health Component

(N/A)

Research Effort Categories

Basic

70%

Applied

30%

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
301	3910	1090	100%

Knowledge Area
301 - Reproductive Performance of Animals;

Subject Of Investigation
3910 - Cross-commodity research--multiple animal species;

Field Of Science
1090 - Immunology;

Keywords

reproductive immunology

fertility

venereal disease

pregnancy loss

Goals / Objectives
The specific goal of the proposal to the USDA AFRI is to foster the continued development of reproductive immunology based on species of agricultural importance by providing speaker and student travel for the ASRI meeting. The objectives are to support 3-4 speakers and 5 students whose research involves large animal models for participation at the 32nd Annual Meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Immunology (ASRI) held in 2012 in Hamburg, Germany, in conjunction with the European Society for Reproductive Immunology and the 33rd Annual Meeting in 2012 to be held in Boston in conjunction with the International Society for Reproductive Immunology. The output of the program will be increased use of domestic animal models for reproductive immunology research, increased participation of animal scientists and veterinary scientists in the field of reproductive immunology, and increased awareness of the relevance of reproductive immunology to problems of animal production and health among animal and veterinary scientists

Project Methods
The objectives will be met by each year 1) supporting travel for 4 speakers who use large animal models of reproductive immunology and 2) providing travel grants for 4 students working with large animal models to attend each meeting of the ASRI. The effectiveness of this approach will be assessed by monitoring the number of animal scientists who participate in the ASRI and by evaluating the number of domestic animal reproductive immunology papers published in forthcoming years.

Progress 03/01/12 to 02/28/14

Outputs
Target Audience: The target audience is the world-wide population of scientists involved in reproductive immunology in either a clinical or research setting as well as the population of agricultural scientists involved in reproductive biology, immunology or animal health. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Each year, the grant supported travel for 4 graduate students. Students were given the opportunity to learn about non-farm animal models of reproductive immunology research and expose biomedical scientists to their research using food animal models. As a result, employment opportunities for these students is increased (at least one has obtained a postdoc at a medical school as a result) and the students can incorporate concepts and practices from biomedicine into their research. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? The Annual Conference is advertised widely using the Internet, email and flyers. These include information about student travel grants. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The objectives were met. Each year, the grant supported travel of large animal speakers and students to the meeting.

Publications