Goal:

To explore and advance the frontiers of research in microcirculation through identifying and integrating fundamental regulatory processes that underlie microvascular function with the purpose of advancing clinical practice and patient care.

There are 4 integrative themes for the meeting, each substantiated by a symposium and complementary poster session:

• Plasticity
  
• Inflammation
  
• Cell Signaling
  
• Intercellular Communication

Symposia and poster sessions are scheduled in series over 2 days to ensure that all participants can attend each session. Each symposium begins with 2 keynote lectures and continues with 4 oral presentations selected from submitted abstracts, with an emphasis on young investigators. Across themes, we aim to explore how basic regulatory processes in the microcirculation contribute to and/or are altered during pathophysiological states.

Objectives:

The 4 main objectives of this meeting are to:

• Invigorate research in microcirculation through promoting interactions among scientists and physicians whose work is relevant to microcirculation.
  
• Stimulate early-career scientists to study the microcirculation.
  
• Highlight disease processes where disruption of the microcirculation is particularly evident in order to promote interest in areas of research most relevant to clinical practice.
  
• Foster interpersonal interactions by providing a venue with numerous opportunities for informal discussions between keynote speakers and developing young investigators.

Rationale:

In this era of translational research, it is essential that new insight into all dimensions of the microcirculation be integrated into the understanding, treatment and prevention of disease. Investigators who study all aspects of the microcirculation should be aware of the information most needed by physicians to most effectively improve patient care. This meeting is planned for building bridges between basic research in microcirculation and the application of this knowledge to patient care.