The IVth Conference of The Scandinavian-Baltic Society for Parasitology (4th CSBSP)

"Parasites and infectious diseases in a changing world"

Dear participants,

The IVth biennial Conference of the Scandinavian-Baltic Society for Parasitology (SBSP)  will take place in Norway, hosted by the Natural History Museum as one of the conferences celebrating the 200 anniversary of the University of Oslo. The Welcome reception will be held at the Natural History Museum, Tøyen, Sunday evening June 19th, the main conference will take place at Georg Sverdrup’s House, Blindern Campus 20^th - 21^st, and the post-conference tour immediately the day thereafter, 22^nd of June 2011.

The meeting will bring together parasitologists from the Nordic and Baltic countries, and also from elsewhere in the world, to facilitate exchange of information and to encourage and support the establishment of collaborative projects. We are especially keen to approach and encourage parasitologists who may not have attended previous SBSP conferences to participate and hopefully also apply for membership in the society.  This conference will provide a forum to present and discuss new research pertaining to parasitic diseases and to integrate these discussions within the context of wider aspects of parasite transmission and veterinary and wildlife diseases.

Please find the details concerning the submission of Abstracts to the conference and information on the Social Events. The Final Registration Form is open for registration. Close to fifty persons, including students have signaled their intention on the Pre-registration Form to present talks or posters at the 4^th Conference of the SBSP; 17 have expressed an interest in the post-conference tour. These data have helped us to set registration costs for members, non-members, students and accompanying persons which we have tried to keep to an absolute minimum, especially for student members.

Parasites continue to have an enormous impact worldwide on animal and human health, and in the environment. The 4^th Conference of the SBSP is intended as an important forum for the discussion and dissemination of new research on infectious agents and evolving diseases in this rapidly expanding field. The theme "Parasites and infectious diseases in a changing world" will encompass the broad field of research in parasitology and infectious diseases on diverse topics from wildlife, veterinary and human diseases to biosystematics and biodiversity, genomics and functional biology of parasites. The meeting will also focus on the dynamics and integrated nature of the interactions between hosts, parasites and the environments. This conference will thus become a fruitful arena for exchange of new findings, research questions and state-of-the-art techniques. As you will see, the listed invited speakers cover a diversity of themes and will complement the oral presentations in the different thematic sessions. The poster sessions will also be an important aspect of 4^th Conference of the SBSP to encourage discussion and collaboration. Competitive travel awards for students and postdoctoral scientists are offered, in addition to awards for the best student presentation.

We hope that this 4^th Conference of the SBSP celebrating the 200 anniversary of the University of Oslo will be a must-attend premier conference this year for both SBSP members and non-members whatever their research specialities. Let you also attract by the charm of the lively capital of Oslo in June that will provide a perfect ambience for all participants both under and after the conference. We indeed look forward to seeing you all in Oslo, June 19^th to 22^nd 2011.

The local organizing committee

Please do not hesitate to contact the commitee if you have any questions.