RETROPATH2022 HIGHLIGHTS
OCT 12 (WED): After being postponed twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic, RetroPath2022 was finally held in Grand Hyatt Vail, Colorado, USA. The dates, October 12-16, is usually past-peak for the annual fall color display in the Colorado Rockies. However, RetroPath2022 attendees had a nice surprise: the fall colors were late this year, affording everyone a chance to see the spectacular display of golden-yellow aspens!
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The workshop had 74 registered attendees, including delegates from Germany, Czech Republic, Japan, United Kingdom and Iceland. The workshop was held in the Cascade Ballroom of Grand Hyatt Vail. Nearly a quarter of delegates were Principal Investigators. After hors d'oeuvres on the first night, Dr. Paula Cannon kicked off the workshop with her Keynote Lecture entitled, 'Move over CAR T cells - Engineering B cells to Control HIV'. As many attendees have a come a long way, the workshop ended by 9 pm.
OCT 13 (Thu) - Ending early last night was important, as today was a full day! The sessions started with a Keynote Lecture by Dr. Sue VandeWoude entitled, 'Endogenous-Exogenous Viral Interactions during Feline Leukemia Virus Infection'. Eighteen 15-minute talks on Retroviral Evolution, Entry and Innate Immunity subsequently followed and continued until 3 pm. It's a major neural jolt after 3 years of not having in-person RetroPath lectures!
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To encourage participation in the poster session on Saturday, the Scientific Advisory Committee performed an experiment. Poster Presenters were given the opportunity to 'sell' their work via a 2-minute 'Elevator Pitch'. Many commented that this first set of 5 Poster Introductions went really well! However, there may be sampling bias involved, so please let us know by answering Question #10 in this survey link.
Shortly after the Poster Introductions, the entire group walked to Gore Creek to have a picture with the aspens!
The day is not over, but we all deserved a good dinner for making it this far! To mark the special occasion, champagne had to be sabered properly for a toast! Dr. Hung Fan managed to capture a video while successfully avoiding the blade and the flying cork!
After dinner, the attendees walked back up to the Cascade Ballroom. Dr. Masaaki Miyazawa presided over a solemn few minutes to remember the life and contributions of Dr. Leonard 'Pug' Evans to the field of retrovirology, as highlighted in our Dedication page.
The program was followed by celebrating the retirement of Dr. Kim Hasenkrug, as introduced by long-term collaborators, Dr. Mario Santiago and Dr. Ulf Dittmer. Unfortunately, Dr. Hasenkrug couldn't join in person as he was diagnosed with COVID-19. Thankfully, it was mild enough that he was able to join virtually. Dr. Hasenkrug gave an overview of his seminal work that led to the discovery of the role of regulatory T cells in persistent viral infections, as well as new work on the immunological implications of CD47, the classical 'don't eat me' signal.
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Of course, the workshop would be incomplete without addressing the elephant in the room: COVID-19. The 3 final talks of the day captured research done by retrovirologists - and inspired by retrovirology - to gain novel insights on the COVID-19 pandemic.
OCT 14 (Fri) - Today, participants get to reap the rewards of yesterday's science-packed itinerary, with an afternoon and evening free to explore! The day started with a Keynote Lecture by Dr. Mamuka Kvaratskhelia entitled, 'Unexpected Mechanisms of Action of HIV-1 Integrase and Capsid-Targeting Antiretrovirals'. This was followed by seven talks tackling various aspects of the Retrovirus Life Cycle, Persistence and Therapeutics.
The oral session was followed by a second round of Poster Introductions. We're getting the hang of this!
The sessions ended around 12 pm, just in time for lunch! Everyone was free to roam afterwards. Here's a few pictures shared by the attendees on what they did/where they went. The weather was perfect and the fall leaves kept hanging on!
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OCT 15 (Sat) - Where did the time go? Even the leaves seem to know that we're nearing the end of this incredible workshop. Fully recharged from yesterday's activities, it was another full day of science, starting off with a Keynote Lecture from Dr. George Kassiotis entitled, 'Human Endogenous Retroviruses in Immunity and Cancer'. This was followed by 5 talks on endogenous retroviruses, including a virtual talk from Dr. Herve Perron from France, who was not able to make it to his flight due to COVID testing delays.
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We were on a roll! Without skipping a beat, the ERV session quickly shifted to Pathogenesis and Immunity. The seven talks spanned over lunchtime, which thankfully featured some delectable desserts.
It's almost 3 pm, and the last, but not least, batch of Poster Introductions graced the stage.
That was the cue for the start of the Poster Session, which was held in the Zermatt Ballroom. Secret judges were deployed to view the posters, as refreshments and snacks were served.
There was a lot of activity in the Poster Session! Several had to be (gently) booted out of the room to get everyone settled for the Gala Dinner at the (expanded) Cascade Ballroom. Dr. Susan Ross presided over the Awards Ceremony for presentation prizes. It was a difficult decision as all the postdoctoral fellows and graduate students were stellar!
Profiles of our Awardees for this year can be found here.
Dinner, on the other hand, is pictured below:
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A slideshow of contributed pictures were shown during the Gala Dinner, highlighting some of the fantastic scenery that we got to experience. Special thanks to Krystof Stafl for the wonderful photography! For those who may be interested, you can download the slideshow here.
There were a lot of people to thank, including the local organizers in Colorado, the Scientific Advisory Committee, the Keynote Speakers, the Session Chairs, Facilitators and Judges, the Grand Hyatt Vail support staff, our generous sponsors, and of course, our wonderful attendees!
Due to another event, we had to leave the Ballroom by 8 pm. This was still early for most, and so a few went to Vail Village to end the evening with some brews and live music.
The next day, it's clear that more leaves have fallen. The pictures below were taken from a hotel window at the start and end of the workshop. We were truly fortunate to experience Colorado's new "gold rush"!!
October 12
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October 16
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The location for the next RetroPath meeting remains a mystery. But if the last several years could be used as a guide, it will, for sure, be another memorable adventure!
MLS
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Aspens on the Booth Creek Trail, East Vail