THE 2023 AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR RICKETTSIOLOGY (ASR) MEETING WILL BE HELD JULY 8-11, 2023, IN SNOWBIRD, UTAH. THE OBJECTIVE OF THE 2023 ASR MEETING IS TO: (I) PROVIDE THE HIGHEST-QUALITY SCIENTIFIC PROGRAM TO ATTRACT OUTSTANDING RESEARCHERS IN ACADEMIA, GOVERNMENT, AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR; (II) PROMOTE SCIENTIFIC OPPORTUNITIES FOR TRAINEES AND EARLY CAREER INVESTIGATORS TO PRESENT AND DISCUSS THEIR WORK IN A COLLEGIAL YET SCIENTIFICALLY RIGOROUS ENVIRONMENT; AND (III) PROMOTE AND SHOWCASE DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSIVITY IN THE RICKETTSIOLOGY FIELD. IN TERMS OF DOMESTIC AGRICULTURE, THE LIKELY AGENDA WILL COVER ALL ASPECTS OF RESEARCH OF ANAPLASMA MARGINALE, COXIELLA BURNETII, EHRLICHIA RUMINANTIUM AND A. PHAGOCYTOPHILUM. A. MARGINALE, THE CAUSE OF BOVINE ANAPLASMOSIS AND C. BURNETII, THE CAUSE OF COXIELLOSIS IN RUMINANTS, ARE ENDEMIC IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. BOVINE ANAPLASMOSIS IS A PRODUCTION-LIMITING BASE FOR MANY AMERICAN CATTLE PRODUCERS.WITH THE LIMITATIONS ON THE LONG-TERM USE OF TETRACYCLINE AND ACARICIDES, IMPROVED METHODS TO CONTROL THIS DISEASE ARE SORELY NEEDED. OUTBREAKS OF C. BURNETII IN SHEEP AND GOATS ARE COSTLY DUE TO HIGH FETAL LOSSES. BETTER METHODS TO CONTROL THIS PATHOGEN IN ANIMALS WOULD IMPROVE THE HEALTH OF AGRICULTURAL ANIMALS. E. RUMINANTIUM AND A. PHAGOCYTOPHILUM PRESENT A RISK TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA LIVESTOCK. E. RUMINANTIUM CAUSES HEARTWATER, A GENERALLY FATAL DISEASE IN NAÏVE RUMINANTS. BOTH THE PATHOGEN AND THE TICK VECTOR, AMBLYOMMA VARIEGATUM, ARE PRESENT IN THE CARIBBEAN AND THUS POSE A SERIOUS THREAT TO THE UNITED STATES RUMINANT PRODUCTION. A. PHAGOCYTOPHILUM IS PRIMARILY A PATHOGEN OF HORSES AND DOGS IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. HOWEVER, A. PHAGOCYTOPHILUM POSES A RISK TO THE AMERICAN SHEEP POPULATION. THERE ARE INCREASING REPORTS OF A. PHAGOCYTOPHILUM IN SHEEP IN CALIFORNIA AND MAINE, THOUGH DIAGNOSTIC TESTING IS CHALLENGING. IN NORTHERN EUROPE AND THE UNITED KINGDOM, A. PHAGOCYTOPHILUM CAUSES TICK BORNE FEVER, A DEVASTATING IMMUNOSUPPRESSIVE DISEASE IN LAMBS.A RICKETTSIOLOGY CONFERENCE PARTIALLY FUNDED THROUGH THE CROSSCUTTING AGRICULTURAL BIOSECURITY (A1181) PROGRAM WOULD: (1) FACILITATE THE DISSEMINATION OF KNOWLEDGE RELATED TO RICKETTSIAL DISEASES; (2) RAPIDLY EXPAND THE SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION FOR BETTER DETECTION AND DIAGNOSTICS OF EMERGING RICKETTSIAL DISEASES; (3) DEVELOP EARLY-STAGE RESEARCH METHODS TO REDUCE THE IMPACT OF RICKETTSIAL ILLNESSES THAT POSE A BIOSECURITY CONCERN; (4) STIMULATE CROSSTALK BETWEEN RESEARCHERS IN ACADEMIA, GOVERNMENT AND PARTNERS IN INDUSTRIES TO IMPROVE THE COMMERCIALIZATION OF RESEARCH; AND (5) FOSTER INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS TO MANAGE THREATS AND REDUCE LOSSES IN THE UNITED STATES AGRICULTURE. KEYNOTE SPEAKERS WILL BE SELECTED FROM LABORATORIES THAT RECENTLY CONTRIBUTED TO MAJOR BREAKTHROUGHS IN RICKETTSIAL DISEASES. PLENARY LECTURERS WILL BE NON-RICKETTSIAL INVESTIGATORS WORKING ON THEMATIC FIELDS ENCOMPASSING BROAD CONCEPTUAL AND/OR TECHNOLO,GICAL RELEVANCE. MAILINGS, E-POSTERS, AND SOCIAL MEDIA ADVERTISEMENTS WILL HIGHLIGHT THE AVAILABILITY OF TRAVEL AWARDS FOR ATTENDEES FROM TRADITIONALLY UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS AND FIRST-GENERATION STUDENTS. THE ASR WILL MAKE AVAILABLE CHILDCARE/FAMILY FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO PARTICIPANTS IN NEED. THERE IS NO EQUIVALENT MEETING THAT FOCUSES EXCLUSIVELY ON RICKETTSIAL DISEASES IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

University Of Maryland, Baltimore

Investigators