Swine flu experts gather at New York Academy of Scien...( The very latest information on the 2...)

The very latest information on the 2009 swine influenza (H1N1) outbreak is the subject of a landmark afternoon symposium hosted by the New York Academy of Sciences on Thursday, May 28. Speakers will discuss the new recombinant virus, epidemiology, treatment, vaccine development and the public health implications of a worldwide pandemic.

Reservations are required to attend the conference, held from 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., at academy offices, 7 World Trade Center, 40th floor, 250 Greenwich St. at Barclay St. A reception will follow.

Two microbiologists/immunologists from New York Medical College are leading the symposium, which will focus on understanding the pathogenicity and transmission of the viruses to develop improved methods of prevention and control. Keynote speaker Edwin D. Kilbourne, M.D., emeritus professor, developed the first genetically engineered vaccine of any kind more than 30 years ago. He is an internationally recognized research scientist who has made significant contributions to the study and prevention of influenza and other viral diseases.

Doris Bucher, Ph.D., associate professor, whose laboratory in Valhalla is one of just three worldwide that reproduces "seed" viruses for the influenza vaccine, which begins the process of producing some 450 million doses of a new vaccine each year. Dr. Bucher is the symposium organizer.

Speakers include Michael Shaw, CDC Influenza Division; Dominick A. Iacuzio, Hoffman-La Roche, Inc.; Kanta Subbarao, NIH Laboratory of Infectious Diseases; John Treanor, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry; Philip R. Dormitzer, Novartis Vaccines; Scott Harper, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; and James Matthews, Sanofi Pasteur, moderator.

'/>"/>