Convocation

Medical Mycology Supplement 1 2005, 43, S1
/S2 Convocation D. A. STEVENS Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, San Jose, CA; Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA ‘‘David, I spoke to Sherwood Gorbach this morning. He emphasized again that he and the deputy editor had read the manuscript [update review on anti-Aspergillus therapy] and thought it was very well done, simply too long. That manuscript was about 15,000 words. I also mentioned we [Steinbach, Denning, Stevens] had [completed preparation of] another lengthy manuscript detailing combination [antiAspergillus ] therapy [4], at which point his interest really perked up. He suggested we could possibly bundle them both in the same supplement . . .’’. We’re then asked about how the Supplement, and thus this meeting, was named ‘Advances Against Aspergillosis’? The genesis of that I uncovered in an e-mail from me to S. Stephens of CID, 23 June 2002: ‘‘I think I know what you’re thinking, re ‘Advances in Aspergillosis’ not being correct; you’re thinking it’s sounding like the Aspergillosis is what’s advancing . . . To avoid any ambiguity, can I suggest as an Correspondence: David A. Stevens, M.D., Dept. Med., Sta. Clara Valley Med. Ctr., 751 So. Bascom Av., San Jose, CA 95128-2699, USA. Tel: /1 408 885 4313; Fax: /1 408 885 4306; E-mail: – 2005 ISHAM alternative, ‘Advances Against Aspergillosis’? The [by now five] articles don’t only concern treatment, some also concern pathogenesis, diagnosis, clinical delineation, etc., so ‘Treatment’ would be too narrow. We’re hoping to present advances in all these areas covered in the supplement, and the object is to make advances against the aspergillosis diseases, so my alternative would seem on target . . .’’. The final question is, how did the Supplement then evolve into this conference? We had found industry and foundations agreed on the need for an update in the field, for the reasons enumerated in my first paragraph above, and they generously donated funds to have the Supplement published (donors listed in reference 1). In fact, the funds raised were slightly in excess of that needed for the publication. The explanation of the evolution lay in an e-mail from me to Steinbach, D. Denning, R. Moss, and J. Montoya, the authors of the five articles [2,4
/7] in the Supplement, 6 September 2002: ‘‘. . . We may at this point have the $ needed to get [the Supplement] off the ground, and possibly even a surplus . . . if there’s a surplus, we could ask the donors if they’d agree to let us keep it, in return . . . we would, in a year’s time . . . use it as a seed to put on an international conference on aspergillosis . . . and the results could be published as an update . . . What say y’all?’’. So at that point we could be sure five people would come to such a conference! However, colleagues from the US, Europe, and Japan welcomed the idea and helped shoulder the load of establishing and composing such a conference (as members of the Organizing and Scientific Committees), donors (industry and foundations) generously helped with support for it, the invited speakers graciously accepted, and we concluded with 364 registrants. Lest anyone think establishing an international scientific meeting is anything less than daunting, Fig. 1 shows much of the collected paperwork that was entailed! We thank the many sponsors of this conference, who are listed elsewhere, for making this meeting possible. In addition to the financial support of all the sponsors, I would particularly like to note the special, additional personal efforts of three individuals on behalf of the meeting: John Andrews (Pfizer), Karen Campbell DOI: 10.1080/13693780500052305 Why a meeting devoted exclusively to Aspergillus and aspergillosis? Our reasons were that aspergillosis is now the leading fungal cause of patient mortality, and there is also substantial morbidity due to allergy and chronic infection. The key genomes are being sequenced, providing a new impetus for basic research. New antifungals are being launched with anti-Aspergillus activity, and new ones are in development. As a result of these important events, there is a need for improved communication amongst basic scientists, clinical scientists, and those who hope to work at the interface. The direct antecedent of this conference was a Supplement published in Clinical Infectious Diseases (CID) [1], containing a handful of articles, but each extensive in its scope. We are asked how the Supplement came about. It started with a review article [2], updating an earlier extensive article [3] in CID, with the objective of updating the therapy of the disease. The newer review article had been submitted to CID. The initial stimulus for the Supplement was found in the following e-mail, from W. Steinbach to me, 21 May 2002: S2 Stevens the public and knowledge in the scientific community. In other words, TEACH. 4. To stimulate RESEARCH. Bring experts together in one (lovely) venue. Form new research collaborations, especially across disciplines. Fig. 1 Paper copies of much of the correspondence about the meeting. (Gilead), and Stephen Hussey (Merck). We are delighted to have Medical Mycology, the official journal of the International Society for Human and Animal Mycology, as the publisher for the second Supplement, Advances Against Aspergillosis, which markedly broadens and updates the initial one, and thank Dr Ira F. Salkin, Editor-in-Chief and Mr Ian Mellor of Taylor & Francis Group for their efforts. The goals of this conference were: 1. To present reviews, enabling all to gain perspective on the present status of disciplines outside the ones they work on. 2. To LEARN the current thinking and latest developments in each field. 3. To disseminate information on the organism and the diseases it causes. This will increase awareness in References 1 Steinbach WJ, Stevens DA, Denning DW, Moss RB. Advances against aspergillosis. Clin Infect Dis 2003; 37(Suppl 3): S155
/S292. 2 Steinbach WJ, Stevens DA. Review of newer antifungal and immunomodulatory strategies for invasive aspergillosis. Clin Infect Dis 2003; 37(Suppl 3): S157
/S187. 3 Denning DW, Stevens DA. Antifungal and surgical treatment of invasive aspergillosis: review of 2,121 published cases. Rev Infect Dis 1990; 12: 1147
/1200. 4 Steinbach WJ, Stevens DA, Denning DW. Combination and sequential antifungal therapy for invasive aspergillosis: review of published in vitro and in vivo interactions and 6,281 clinical cases from 1966
/2001. Clin Infect Dis 2003; 37(Suppl 3): S188
/S224. 5 Stevens DA, Moss RB, Kurup VP, et al . Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis in cystic fibrosis, state of the art. Clin Infect Dis 2003; 37(Suppl 3): S225
/S264. 6 Montoya JG, Chaparro SV, Celis D, et al . Invasive aspergillosis in the setting of cardiac transplantation. Clin Infect Dis 2003; 37(Suppl 3): S281
/S292. 7 Denning DW, Riniotis K, Dobrashian R, Sambatakou H. Chronic cavitary and fibrosing pulmonary and (...truncated)