Released on: December 19, 2007, 1:55 pm

Press Release Author: GTCbio

Industry: Pharmaceuticals

Press Release Summary: Joost J. Oppenheim, Chief of the Laboratory of Molecular
Immunoregulation at NCI, NIH, will be the honored keynote speaker at the 6th
Cytokines and Inflammation conference to be held January 28-29, 2008 in Orlando, FL.


Press Release Body: MONROVIA, CA -Joost J. Oppenheim, Chief of the Laboratory of
Molecular Immunoregulation at NCI, NIH, will be the honored keynote speaker at the
6th Cytokines and Inflammation conference to be held January 28-29, 2008 in Orlando,
FL.

Dr. Oppenheim has done many pioneering studies of cytokines including IL-1 and
participated in the patented discoveries of interleukin-8 and MCP-1. His discovery
of cytokines has given him the nickname "Father of Cytokines". Dr. Oppenheim has
published well over 550 papers (includes books, chapters, reprints and reviews)
during his impressive career. Dr. Joost J. Oppenheim along Dr. Scott Durum
instigated the founding of the International Cytokine Society in 1993

The topic Dr. Oppenheim will be presenting on is Regulation of T Regulatory Cells.
Dr. Oppenheim is currently studying the structure-function relationships of
chemoattractant cytokines. His studies are focused on the effects of chemokines and
downstream effector molecules such as defensins and cathelicidin LL-37 on innate and
adaptive immunity, the regulation of angiogenesis by chemokines, and identification
of chemokine inhibitors present in medicinal plant extracts and herbal preparation.

Dr. Oppenheim has also been investigating the "cross-talk" resulting in
phosphorylation and mutual inactivation of chemokine and opioid receptors. This
results in bidirectional desensitization of the receptors and provides a mechanism
by which opioids can suppress the activities of proinflammatory chemokines.
Conversely, chemokines can suppress opioid receptor functions thus presumably
contributing to the increased perception of pain associated with inflammation.

The conference will also feature presentations from Alba Therapeutics, Amgen,
AstraZeneca, Biogen-Idec, ChemoCentryx, Children\'s Hospital of Pittsburgh, Cleveland
Clinic, FDA CDER, Genentech, Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation,
Hôpital Edouard Herriot, McGill University, MedImmune, Merck, Merck-Serono, NIH,
Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Roche Palo Alto, Schering Plough, St. Judes Children's
Research Hospital, University of Glasgow, University Medical Center Utrecht, and
University of Massachusetts Medical School. The full agenda is available online at
www.gtcbio.com.


Web Site: http://gtcbio.com/Allconferences.aspx

Contact Details: ABOUT GTCbio

GTCbio organizes conferences specifically for the biomedical and biopharmaceutical
industries. Our goal is to facilitate the exchange of biopharmaceutical and
biomedical intelligence between industry leaders, academic and government
organizations, and the financial community.
GTCbio is a subsidiary of Global Technology Community, LLC, a privately held company
founded in 2002.

Contact: GTCBIO (626) 256-6405, (626) 256-6460 fax, infogtcbio@gtcbio.com