Joel Rovnak , Randall J Cohrs
Translational medicine and virology are intimate partner on the road towards effective personal healthcare. A driving force for the development of more efficient high-throughput screening technologies is the search for more effective antivirus therapies. Perhaps the most promising ‘golden fleece’ of translational research is individual designer medicines synthesized from the patient’s own cells which have been removed and genetically altered before replacement. This technology has its beginnings in virology where gene transfer is easily accomplished and its ultimate success will be through advances in the field of virology where promoter modifications will drive the synthesis of specific proteins in both a time and cell dependent manner. With this in mind, it would benefit those interested in translational medicine to keep abreast of current topics in virology. The 11th annual meeting of the Rocky Mountain Virology Association (RMVA) was held Sept. 23-25, 2011 at the forestry extension campus of Colorado State University (Pingree Park). RMVA (www.RockyMountainVirologyClub.org) began in 2001 as a regional gathering of virologists to share and discuss scientific data and ideas, and to provide a venue for graduate students to present their findings in a relaxed but professional setting. Since its inception, RMVA has attracted virologist from the Rocky Mountain area along with nationally and internationally recognized scientists, and has fostered interdisciplinary collaborations, assisted in grant development and has been the sounding board for multiple manuscripts. Autumn was selected to have the annual RMVA meeting coincide with the peak Aspen color change, and this year was not a disappointment. Herein a brief summary by the contributing author (identified by number in the figure) is presented.
