In this issue
	Call For Submissions: Case Study of the Month Online Abstract Program Now Open Annual Meeting Updates Regional Notes Around NAASO

Online Abstract Program Now Open

NAASO is now accepting online abstracts for the 2004 Annual Scientific Meeting. Mark your calendars - the abstract submission site automatically shuts down on June 25, 2004 at 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time. Abstracts will not be accepted after this deadline. NAASO encourages submission of all abstracts dealing with obesity-related issues. Each abstract will be peer- reviewed by a select panel through a blinded review process. Notification of abstract acceptance will be sent via e-mail to corresponding authors in mid-August. Abstracts will be published in the October 2004 Obesity Research Annual Meeting Abstract Supplement. Remember, you can log on and off the site at any time to work on your abstract. Please print a "preview" of your abstract prior to submission. If you experience any technical difficulties while working on the site, please contact support@marathonmultimedia.com Submit your Online Abstract »

Annual Meeting Updates

Double Check Your Calendars Annual Meeting Dates have shifted due to contractual agreements with the hosting hotel. Mark your calendars for NOVEMBER 14 -18, 2004. The Annual Scientific Meeting will be held in Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada. All new Annual Meeting information will be posted on the NAASO website as it becomes available. Annual Meeting Sponsorship Opportunities It's not too early to plan your company's participation in the NAASO Annual Meeting. A wide variety of sponsorship opportunities are available. Your company can select an event, educational session or sponsor symposia. For more details and a schedule of complete opportunities available, please contact Margaret Castillo at mcastillo@diabetes.org Reserve Your Exhibit Space Plan now to showcase your company products and services at NAASO's Annual Meeting. For more information on exhibiting, contact Tricia Cavallo at tcavallo@diabetes.org Visit our Annual Meeting Page often »

Regional Notes

Kathleen Keller writes from the East Coast Barry Popkin, Nutrition Epidemiology Division, Dept of Nutrition, University of North Carolina helped lead a panel on dietary shifts and obesity at the International Livestock Congress, San Antonio, March 2004. He will also present a seminar in Moscow May 12 on nutritional and economic dynamics in the Russian Federation to senior government officials and academics. Donna Gibson reports from the Northeast Simin Liu, MD, ScD, Brigham and Women's Hospital, tell us that an R01 application titled Steroid Hormones, Adipose-cytokines, and Diabetes Risk recently received outstanding percentile of 1.8. This grant will establish type 2 diabetes as an endpoint in the ongoing Women's Health Study and the Physicians' Health Study and explore some novel aspects of molecular epidemiology of type 2 diabetes. The NIH- funded Boston Obesity Nutrition Research Center will hold its an Annual Program at Boston University School of Medicine, Boston MA on Monday, June 28, 2004. Steve Smith writes from the South The Pennington Biomedical Research Center continues to host a series of two-day Scientific Symposia on selected hot topics in nutrition, obesity and diabetes. The aim is to gather a small group of preeminent scientists, each bringing an academic guest, to present the latest research and data and to engage in a lively, open dialogue. This spring, in an effort to understand the pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome, the Center will host a symposia entitled "Pathogenesis of Metabolic Syndrome" on May 2-4, 2004. PENNINGTON AWARDED POST-DOCTORAL TRAINING GRANT A research Training Program entitled, "Obesity: From Genes to Man," was funded at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University. The objective of this program is to train Ph.D. postdoctoral fellows to become productive research scientists capable of establishing scientific careers that further the efforts of the NIH. From Mexico, Jorge Gonzalez-Barranco reports Plans are underway for the XIV Annual Obesity Course to be held July 5 - 7 in Mexico City. The topic is Molecular Biology in Obesity -- Clinical Approach, Etiology and Treatment. Special focus will be given to the treatment of obesity in relation to the population and health burdens in Mexico. Read complete list of Regional Notes »

Around NAASO

2nd Edition of Handbook of Obesity Released Authored by Drs. George A. Bray and Claude Bouchard, the 2nd Edition of the Handbook of Obesity is now published in 2 volumes. The first volume deals with Etiology and Pathophysiology while the second volume covers Evaluation and Treatment. The book is published by Marcel Dekker, NY and the volumes are sold separately. Live WebCast of Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass Surgeries April 20, 5 p.m. EDT - Surgeons at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center will use laparoscopic surgery to perform a live Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. Free CME available. April 27, 12 Noon EDT - Surgeons from the Center for Surgical Weight Loss & Wellness at Atlantic City Medical Center will demonstrate minimally invasive Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery to treat morbid obesity. May 10th - Watch surgeons at New Jersey's Morristown Memorial Hospital's Bariatric Surgery Center perform gastric bypass surgery live. Viewers participating via the Web will be able to email questions to the OR for live on-camera responses by the surgical team. For more information on each Webcast and how to participate visit www.or-live.com Wedding Bells Best wishes to Shine Chang and Karen Teff, members of the NAASO Publications Committee. Dr. Chang was married April 4 in Washington, DC -- great anniversary date--04-04-04. Dr. Teff will be married April 17 in Rockville, Maryland. Congratulations from all of us at NAASO.