We are requesting partial financial support to defray speaker and special participant travel expenses associated with the 12th International Congress of Human Genetics (ICHG) to be held in October 11-15, 2011, in Montreal Canada. The ICHG is held every 5 years, rotating among continents to encourage diverse attendance. It is sponsored by the regional human genetics professional organization on the continent. The 2011 Congress will be held concurrently with and be sponsored by the American Society of Human Genetics and is expected to attract between 6,000 and 7,000 attendees. The American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG), founded in 1948, is the primary professional membership organization for human genetics specialists worldwide. The Society's nearly 8,000 members include researchers, academicians, clinicians, laboratory practice professionals, genetic counselors, nurses and others who have a special interest in the field of human genetics. The 2011 Scientific Program will include 100-120 internationally renowned invited speakers, and thought leaders who will share summaries, provide insights, and debate different timely topics within the field. In addition, oral and poster presentations will be accepted from submitted abstracts. State-of the-art debates will inform participants about current areas of controversy. Education sessions will be designed for students and instructors of K-12, undergraduate and professional courses and curriculum developers in genetics. A special track of events will be available for trainees, both pre- and post-doctoral, including special sessions on professional development. An additional concurrent track, called the Advocates Program, will be provided, as at all ASHG annual meetings, for about 2 dozen lay leaders of genetics or disease organizations, so that there can be direct interaction between the consumer/advocates and genetics professionals from around the world. Those attending the ICHG conference will be exposed to a wide-range of topics in human genetics, enhancing both the research agenda and clinical practice of medical genetics around the world. The many carefully selected topics and varied backgrounds of the thousands of attendees will lead to lively scientific interchange and creative thinking. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Objectives of the Conference: The goal of the 2011 International Congress of Human Genetics is to provide the ideal venue for genetic scientists to share the latest research results and practice models, and to promote international discussion among researchers, academicians, clinicians, laboratory practice professionals, counselors, and all trainees in the field of human genetics. This International Congress is held every 5 years, and rotates among the continents. This year it is being held in conjunction with the Annual meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) and most of the attendees will be ASHG members. Larger and with more emphasis on international discussions, this meeting is designed to facilitate interactions among scientists from all over the world. Attendees will be a part of a record-breaking meeting that provides the world's focal point for human genetics. Research plans will be updated, new collaborations formed, and clinical practice modified as the result of new information shared at the ICHG. As a result of the congress, attendees will be able to identify limitations and gaps in current practice of genetic medicine and its applications, and will gain knowledge and insight to develop a research agenda going forward. The mixture of events includes plenary sessions of expert speakers and an added 2 young investigator talks, invited scientific sessions, invited educational sessions, and 408 talks to be selected from submitted abstracts. Every abstract is reviewed by 3 independent reviewers and scored, with the highest scoring abstracts in the topics listed below making the platform sessions. The major topic areas to be covered will be: cancer cytogenetics, cancer genetics, cardiovascular genetics, clinical genetics and dysmorphology, theory and methods of complex traits, development, epigenetics, ethical, legal and social issues, evolutionary and population genetics, gene structure and gene function, genetic counseling and clinical testing, genetics education, genomics, health services research, metabolic disorders, molecular basis of Mendelian disorders, pharmacogenetics, prenatal/perinatal genetics, psychiatric genetics neurogenetics, and neurodegeneration, reproductive genetics, statistical genetics and genetic epidemiology, and therapy for genetic disorders. Each topic has up to 10 subtopics. These categories are used by the program committee for the invited and educational sessions, and each abstract submitter is asked to suggest the topic of their abstract. The SPC then groups presentations and posters in creating the final program.