Latest News

Unilever workshop on polyunsaturated fatty acids and child cognition
28 July, 2006 [PDF]

ISSFAL Bulletin number 11

News from the ISSFAL 2006 Committee

Wow. Less than 2 weeks to go!

Time to shake out the moths from your swim gear and to try to find that gaudy Hawaiian shirt or Sarong. It's almost tropical ISSFAL time!

IMPORTANT. YOU MUST HAVE A VISA TO ENTER AUSTRALIA – YOUR TRAVEL AGENT WILL HELP.

Exciting news about the program

By now you should have seen the program on the website. We hope you have noticed that there is a new session Lipids in Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition and another on the effect of PUFA on cognition school-age children. Of course you are aware of the session on bone health and the sessions on lipidomics that should be very exciting. Lipids in maternal/infant nutrition is a major theme of the meeting with 5 concurrent sessions as well as a special concurrent workshop on the topic to be held on the Friday. Fatty acid metabolism will also feature with two very exciting sessions.

One very interesting feature of the meeting is the Plenary Selected Short Communications – these have been chosen by the organisers from submitted abstracts as being of particular interest to the delegates.

The last session on Friday will see a novel end to the meeting with the Plenary breakout into 4 hot topic discussion sessions on fish as a source of DHA, healthy margarines, arachidonic acid requirements, & the role of systematic reviews in nutrition followed by a general summary consensus report.

Exciting news about the social program

As you are aware, all delegates are invited to the dinner as well as the welcome reception. We are currently organising a unique free “meet the expert” breakfast for all young investigators on Tuesday. Food at all session breaks (coffee, tea, lunch) is free and we have added a special complementary farewell drinks session after the last session on the Friday.

IMPORTANT. YOU MUST HAVE A VISA TO ENTER AUSTRALIA – YOUR TRAVEL AGENT WILL HELP.

After all the work we can’t wait to meet you all and hear about your results.

Travel safely. See you in Cairns.

Omega-3 Research Institute Inc. Satellite Symposium
Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: An Update
Sunday 23 July 2006, 8:00 am-1:00 pm [PDF]

ISSFAL Bulletin number 10

The conference is getting closer and now that abstract submission is closed we can get on with finalising the program. Some feedback from the process so far.

ABSTRACTS

We have received over 300 abstracts and we are currently sorting them into categories and allocating oral and poster sessions. Even with 150 oral places available, you can imagine how difficult this is!

Some highlights:

• There are several "new methods" abstracts that look extremely interesting. It looks like fatty acid methodology is about to make a quantum leap. In this context, we are negotiating with chromatography company to have 'fast GC' on demonstration throughout the conference.
• Clinical trials. Results will be presented from several randomised controlled trials for the very first time in both the cardiovascular and the maternal infant nutrition areas.
• Lipidomics. This session looks very exciting. It looks like people are getting a real grip in the fatty acid-gene interaction area.
• Maternal infant nutrition. There is great interest in this area. We have selected enough abstracts to fill 6 concurrent sessions in addition to the Plenary session on the Tuesday morning.
• Cardiovascular. As expected, there is huge interest in this area. We have selected abstracts enough to fill 9 concurrent sessions and we can say with certainty that there will be some real surprises from some of the sessions.
• There have also been many abstracts in the brain, visual function and mental health area and we have at least five sessions in this area together with the Plenary talks by Drs Nicholas Bazan, Hee-Yong Kim and Stanley Rapoport.

PROGRAM

We are working hard to get the program finalised. We realise that many of you are asking about your presentation dates so that you can organise your trips to Australia. We are planning to advise of Abstract acceptance and Young Investigator awards within the next 10 days and to provide full details of the program in the next 2 to 3 weeks.

ADD-ON TOURING OPTIONS FOR OVERSEAS VISITORS

As you finalise your travel plans, you make like to consider taking some extra time to explore the north of Australia by taking an overland tour between Cairns and Darwin or Alice Springs, or looking at other parts of Far North Queensland. Elisabeth Eaton, our conference manager, was in Cairns recently and picked up some interesting brochures. She suggests that you visit the following websites for ideas:

www.desertventurer.com.au
www.billytea.com.au
www.kangahop.com.au
www.jungletours.com.au

Unfortunately she has not had time to experience these tours personally so cannot comment on them further.

One trip that she has personally tried is an overnight stay out on the Barrier Reef with Compass/Reef Encounters (www.reeftrip.com). Although the overnight stays are primarily aimed at divers who want either solo or accompanied dives (both day and night dives), Elisabeth advises that her stay provided an excellent snorkelling experience away from the crowds. And what could beat passing the evening sitting in a spa on the deck of a boat anchored on the Great Barrier Reef.

ISSFAL Bulletin number 9

We have had over 260 abstracts arrive and more are coming in.
We have also had lots of requests for late abstract submission for various reasons including the Easter holidays.
So that we can be fair to everyone we are extending the deadline until
FRIDAY 21 APRIL.

NO ABSTRACTS WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER THAT DATE.

ISSFAL Bulletin number 8

There is more exciting news about ISSFAL 2006. The last session of the conference is reserved for bringing together important issues into 3 or more workshops with a final plenary session to discuss final consensus points or research gaps and priority questions.

SESSION 1. FISH AS A SOURCE OF DHA

1. Fish vs Land based oils as a source of DHA. Sustainability; Mercury, pesticides, dioxins and other contaminants; Use of land based protein and oils for aquaculture; Genetically modified plant oils.
2. Summary and conclusions: Research gaps; Translation - industry and regulators
3. Recommendations for moving forward

SESSION 2. AA REQUIREMENTS IN EARLY LIFE

1. Role in pregnancy. Proposed need - actual data
2. Role in infancy. Growth; Development; Immunity; Other functions.
3. Summary and conclusions. Research gaps; Translation - industry and regulators
4. Recommendations for moving forward

SESSION 3. INNOVATIVE MARGARINES

1. How to make a spread which has the right/best physical properties and that has the optimum health properties? Saturated FA and trans FA; Interesterification; Plant sterol addition; Stearic acid.
2. Is there a place for butter in the future kitchen? Butter versus veg oil/butter blends.
3. Use of novel vegetable oils in creating spreads. Long chain n-3 FA; Stearic acid
4. Summary & conclusions. Research gaps; Translation – industry & regulators.
5. Recommendations for moving forward

These sessions will take the form of structured discussion. So, if you want to have a say about any of these issues please feel free to offer information or data in the form of a single PowerPoint slide or paragraph sent to us prior to the conference. You could also come prepared to make a short comment from the floor during the course of the meeting to help the Chairs cover all issues.

By the way, the abstracts are starting to flow in. There is no limit to the number abstracts you submit but they need to be clearly different from each other and preference will be given to new data. Note there are only 180 places for oral presentations, so get your abstract in early to avoid disappointment.

REMINDER - ABSTRACTS CLOSE MONDAY 10th APRIL

ISSFAL Bulletin number 7

Dear Colleagues,

In case you have heard of cyclones in Cairns – Well, “Larry” was all noise and little fury as far as Cairns was concerned. Most of the damage was in Innisfail. The locals were unimpressed as this is the cyclone season. When the conference gets going in July the cyclone season will be long over and perfect conditions are assured.

Wondering how the organization for ISSFAL 2006 is going? Please read on:-

Plenary program

The ISSFAL program for plenary speakers has been finalized! The primary themes include cardiovascular disease, maternal and infant health, metabolism and eiscosanoids. In this bulletin we feature the eiscosanoid plenary session that will feature the latest data on the docosanoids and neuronal cell signalling (Nicolas Bazan), the role of eicosanoids in the resolution of inflammation (Derek Gilroy) and the most up to date information on the mechanisms of action and the interpretation and translation of clinical trial data in relation to COX-II inhibitors (Michael James).

Concurrent sessions

As well as having a number of special or sponsored concurrent sessions that will include invited speakers, we are holding open 30 sessions with space for up to 180 free papers. Preference will be given to investigators with new data for these free paper presentations. The free papers will be essential to the vibrancy of the meeting and we are already aware that there will be first time presentations of new data in the areas of diet and genetic polymorphisms in cardiovascular disease, cognitive function trials in school age children, optimizing the dose of n-3 long chain fatty acids in the nutrition of preterm infants, lipids and bone health, the effect of dietary fatty acids on heart tissue from patients undergoing cardiac surgery, and many more.

One of the special concurrent sessions, being organized by Tom Brenna and Hee-Yong Kim will feature the new world of Lipidomics. Topics will include:

• Rapid double bond localization by covalent adduct chemical ionization mass spectrometry with gas or liquid introduction (Brenna)
• Phospholipid Molecular Species Analyzed by LC/MS (Kim)
• Novel eicosanoid-derived DNA- and glutathione-adducts arising from oxidative stress (Blair)
• Lipid Search Tools for lipidomics: Phospholipids and oxygenated metabolites associated with ethanol (Taguchi)
• Determination of phosphoinositides in clinically accessible samples (Wenk)
• Analysis of neutral lipids and eicosanoids (Murphy)

Free social events

The cost of the major social events, the cocktail party and the conference dinner, are included in the registration fee. Our wish is to be as inclusive as possible and offer delegates maximum opportunity for networking and interaction with colleagues. The cost of the registration has been subsidized by the generous sponsorship from the lipid and fatty acid nutrition industry.

Young investigator events

Not forgetting our younger investigators, we will be organizing ‘meet the expert’ breakfasts where young investigators will have the opportunity to sit at the breakfast table with their academic heroes.

Publication

Arrangements have been made with AOCS Press to publish key papers from the conference in a Special Issue of Lipids. Authors who are interested in submitting a manuscript (less than 2000 words) should indicate this at the time of abstract submission.

Young Investigator Grants

The committee have made every effort to support early career scientists. We have limited the support to Invited Speakers so that funds are available to support up to 70 Young Investigator Awards that will take the form of free registration.

Criteria:
• Must be a current PhD student or a young researcher (less than 5 years since graduation). A letter certifying this status - on official letterhead and signed by the Head of Department or PhD supervisor - must accompany the application.
• Brief (1 page) CV with background and details of publications if relevant to be supplied.
• Must have an abstract submitted and accepted for presentation
• Hard copies of the letter and CV must also be forwarded to the Secretariat

In supporting Young Investigators, we were delighted by the noble gesture of Prof Stephen Cunnane from Montreal who has declined the financial support we offered him and indicated that this money should go towards supporting a young investigator.
Thankyou Stephen!

There are some exciting new developments for ISSFAL 2006.

Naturally, ISSFAL 2006 will deal with up-to-date scientific issues in the form of plenary lectures and concurrent sessions. In addition to the normal invited plenary lectures, 36 of the most exciting submitted abstracts will be selected to be presented in two plenary poster sessions, where the presenters have 5 minutes to present their hot new data to the entire scientific audience.

As well as the exciting topics normally expected at ISSFAL meetings such as sessions on lipids and inflammation, fats and cholesterol, LCPUFA and child development, there are also some special concurrent sessions planned including Lipidomics ; Dietary Fats and Bone Health ; Enteral and Intravenous Lipids ; and Novel Lipids.

The final day of the meeting will also be a highlight with the final plenary session addressing the very topical issue of communicating the risks and benefits of dietary fats. Keynote discussants will address such issues as fats in margarine, arachidonic acid requirements in child health and the risks and benefits of fish consumption.

Program News:
The Cairns meeting is going to be the place to hear hot-off-the-press data. The results of a number of major clinical trials and cohort studies will be unveiled at the meeting in the areas of preterm nutrition, cardiovascular disease and nutrition in childhood and adolescence.

Plenary Poster Sessions:
An added feature of the Cairns meeting will be two plenary poster sessions. For these sessions, presentations are selected from the pool of submitted abstracts by the Program Committee. Up to 36 abstracts selected as outstanding will qualify for a 3 minute oral presentation and a poster.

Young investigators:
There are up to 70 awards for young investigators (students and investigators less than 5 years since graduation) in the form of free conference registration. Applications will be considered with Abstract submission. Full details are available on the Abstract Submission & Funding page on the website.

Abstract deadline:
April 10 2006.

Visas.
All visitors to Australia require a VISA. Please check with your travel agent