The Symposium was co-sponsored by the Canadian VHL Family Alliance and the VHL Family Alliance International, in cooperation with the University of Western Ontario and the Robarts Research Institute. The conference was supported in part by grants from the U.S. National Cancer Institute and the Canadian Institute for Cancer Research.

Continuing Medical Education credits were available to attendees through the University of Western Ontario.

For Researchers

For those engaged in biomedical research, or interested in hearing the state of research, the conference began at 8 AM on Thursday morning with an exciting lineup of speakers, reporting on the status of their studies into the mechanisms of VHL in the cell.

For Clinicians

Most clinicians began Friday and Saturday’s lineup of talks on improvements in diagnostics and treatment of the various aspects of VHL. Continuing Medical Education credits were offered by the University of Western Ontario. Nursing credits by arrangement.

For Families

Families did not want to miss Friday and Saturday in particular. The language of this meeting will be technical. When we hold meetings designed for families, we ask the doctors to constrain the language and remember that they are speaking to patients.

This meeting, however, is designed primarily for doctors and researchers, to allow them to collaborate, and share the state of their research, As families, we need them to do that! So we don’t want to hold them back by asking them to remember that patients are in the room too. In this meeting, we are listening in on a technical meeting, and we want them to move the research forward.

You can still learn a great deal, and we encourage you to come. It would be a good idea to re-read your handbook before you come, and perhaps bring it along so you have that glossary handy. Feel free to ask one of us for explanations in the hallway as necessary.

Saturday's meeting is particularly designed for patients and their families. The Friday and Saturday meetings will be talking about clinical issues -- the latest ways of diagnosing and treating particular kinds of tumors.

The Thursday meeting is highly technical, allowing the basic science researchers to collaborate, exchange ideas, and move the pace of research forward. You are always welcome, but please know that much of Thursday will be challenging even for physicians.

Want to be a leader?

Those who are leaders for VHL -- or who might want to become a leader -- in any part of the world are invited to a Leadership Meeting Saturday, following the meeting. Leaders from states of the U.S., provinces of Canada, and from any other countries of the world, are invited. This is a great opportunity to meet your peers, or to explore the possibility of becoming a leader in your own area. The most important work we do is at the local level -- raising the visibility of VHL and helping people with VHL feel less alone. There is always work for new leaders!

Fun Stuff Too!!

We have planned lots of fun stuff around the edges as well. There will be time to schmooz in the hallways or over breaks and meals, talk with the authors of the many posters, and chat with the presenters.

Travel

Fly to London, Ontario, Canada, airport code YXU. Or drive from Detroit or Toronto. Click for Map

London, Ontario, Canada, is half-way between Detroit, Michigan, and Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It takes about two hours to drive from either major city.

Housing

The conference hotel is the Four Points Sheraton in London, Ontario.

Four Points by Sheraton London

Conference speakers and attendees are responsible for making their own hotel arrangements.

Update: our block of rooms has been filled, but there are hotel rooms at nearby hotels:

• Quality Suites (next door) +1-519-680-1024 Reserve online
• Comfort Inn (one block) +1-519-685-9300 Reserve online
• Or check with Tourism London Ontario

Register by paper or fax

Note: this meeting has passed. Registration is closed.

Click here to print or download the registration form. There is no online registration. Credit cards are accepted via paper or fax. Please fax to +1-519-663-3314 by October 20.

Because we have to finalize the food order with the hotel by October 20, we really need to hear from you before then if at all possible -- you can still come, but there might not be enough food for you if you don't pre-register. If you have to pay at the door, please send us a note that you are coming.

See http://www.vhl.org/conf2006 for details about the meeting, and for information about meeting registration and travel arrangements. Call 800-767-4845, ext. 4, for assistance by phone.

To receive the latest info via e-mail, be sure to register for our online mailing list at vhl.org

Highlights of the agenda

• Click here to download the final agenda

Thursday

• Mechanisms of VHL-dependent tumorigenesis
• HIF-dependent and independent tumour suppressor functions of VHL

Friday

• Nature of VHL Disease and Advances in Treatment Protocols
  • Eye
  • Central Nervous System
  • Pheochromocytoma and Paraganglioma
  • Kidney
  • Reproductive Tract
  • Pancreas
  • Polycythemia
• Consensus Meeting

Saturday

• Living with VHL
• Managing VHL
• Leadership meeting

Committee - click here for details

Conference chairman will be Dr. Stephen Pautler. A large number of respected physicians are participating in planning this important meeting.

Members of the Organizing Committee and the Scientific Committee are listed here.