05-Sep-2000
Press Release

Countdown to GSAC 2000

World's Leading Genomic Researchers Convene at 12th International Genome Sequencing and Analysis Conference

September 05, 2000

ROCKVILLE, MD - The 2000 Annual Meeting of the International Genome Sequencing and Analysis Conference (GSAC) is nearly upon us. Beginning Tuesday, September 12 through Friday, September 15, nearly 3000 attendees from around the world will gather in Miami Beach, Florida to discuss recent advances in genomics and more.

First held in 1989, GSAC has become one of the most unique and important meetings throughout the genome community attracting the world's leading researchers to present their current research developments. "Through GSAC we bring scientists together to review and discuss the latest developments in the field of genomics," said Claire Fraser, President of TIGR.

International experts from academia, government, and the private sector will be represented during GSAC's continuing plenary sessions. These sessions will highlight the following topics: "Ethics, Genomics, Computers:  How Information Technology is Changing the Rules for Science and Society"; "Advances in Agriculture/Plant Genomics"; "The Human Genome"; "Evolutionary Genomics: A New Way To View Organisms In Their Adaptive Landscape"; "Genome Ecology: Comparative & Functional Microbial Genomics in the Real World"; "Frontiers In Biology & Medicine". In addition, three concurrent sessions will be held daily covering specific advances in the areas of Technology, Bioinformatics and Genomics. Throughout the 3-day conference, scientific posters as well as electronic posters will be displayed and the authors will be on hand to discuss their research. Plenary Speakers include:

Jeff Dangl, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Edward DeLong, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Monterey, CA; Joseph Ecker, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies; Malcolm Gardner, The Institute for Genomic Research; Richard Gibbs, Baylor University Medical School; Samir Kaul, The Institute for Genomic Research; Michael Laub, Stanford University; Brent Mishler, University of California/Berkeley; Rino Rappuoli, IRIS, Chiron SpA; Gene Robinson, University of Illinois; Frank Rosenzweig, University of Florida; Gerald Rubin, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Mathias Uhlen, Royal Institute of Technology; and J. Craig Venter, Celera Genomics.

Conference attendees will also have the opportunity to meet representatives from nearly 150 biotech companies who will showcase their current advances in technology that will benefit the genomics industry.

Following GSAC, TIGR will continue its reputation of hosting professional, scientific conferences with the upcoming 4th Conference on Computational Genomics, November 16-19, 2000 in Baltimore, Maryland; and the next Microbial Genome Conference co-sponsored by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM), to be held January 25-28, 2001 in Monterey, California.

At the forefront of the emerging area of genomic science since its inception, TIGR is a not-for-profit research institute founded in 1992 with interests in structural, functional and comparative analysis of genomes and gene products in bacteria (pathogenic or disease causing and environmental) archaea and eukaryotes, both plant and animal.

For additional information on attending this year's conference or exhibiting at next years, please see www.tigr.org/conf/ or contact TIGR's Department of Conferences, Education and Training at (301) 610-5959.