NCI/HHMI Translational Research Training Meeting
NCI and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) will sponsor the "Translational Research Training Meeting: A Cancer Perspective," June 16-17, 2005, at the Natcher Conference Center on the NIH Campus in Bethesda, Md. The program will include the 2004-2005 Annual Report of the President's Cancer Panel on Translating Research into Cancer Care: Delivering on the Promise, as well as presentations of successful, established translational research training programs, a session on future training needs in academia and industry, and a comparison of translational research training for M.D.s, M.D./Ph.D.s, and Ph.D.s.

This meeting is intended to reveal more effective approaches to training physician-scientists and basic researchers to bridge the gap between basic science and its application to medicine. The comments and discussion generated will be taken into account as NCI plans and implements future training programs. HHMI is committed to enhancing the training of M.D. and Ph.D. biomedical scientists to facilitate the attainment, translation, and transfer of biological knowledge between laboratory, clinical, and public health practices.

Registration is free, but space is limited; early registration is encouraged. Go to https://cms.palladianpartners.com/cms/1108413029 for agenda and registration information.

Smokers Needed to Evaluate NCI Cessation Web Site
Federally employed smokers who are interested in quitting and have not yet enrolled in a related program are invited to visit http://www.smokefree.gov/eval to see if they are eligible to use and evaluate a smoking cessation Web site created by NCI and its partners.

Smokefree.gov is an online tool that offers evidence-based information to smokers who are ready to quit. Input from current smokers about the site will not only provide valuable information to improve the site, but also will be of service to those who may be seeking information about quitting smoking. Federal employees who smoke and who visit the site will be invited to evaluate the site and its features, and provide feedback on the usefulness of its self-help guides and other tools.

GvHD Conference Slated for June
On June 6, NCI; the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; NIH's Office of Rare Diseases; the Health Resources and Services Administration; and the Department of Defense will cosponsor a 1-day conference, "Chronic GvHD: The Next Frontier in Transplantation Research." The meeting is part of the NIH Consensus Development Project on Criteria for Clinical Trials in Chronic Graft-versus-Host Disease and will take place in Bethesda, Md. The registration deadline is May 1; for additional information, go to http://www.palladianpartners.com/gvhd.

Symposium on Skeletal Complications of Malignancy
NCI, the Paget Foundation, and the University of Virginia Health System are sponsoring a symposium on skeletal complications of malignancy, April 28-30, at the Natcher Conference Center on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Md. For more information and to register, go to http://www.paget.org/conferences.asp.