January 11, 2008

To the members of the Society on NeuroImmune Pharmacology,

As most of you know, our 13th Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City was an absolutely terrific combination of excellent science and an outstanding locale. The program offered symposia on clinical aspects and basic mechanisms involved in the development of disease following HIV infection; stress responses in immunity; signaling mechanisms involved in responses of immune cells to opioid and cannabinoid drugs; the neuropathogenesis of drugs of abuse in the context of HIV infection; the development of HIV vaccines and other novel therapies in drug abusing populations; and much more. Many of us took advantage of the opportunity to enjoy some late-season skiing on the slopes at Park City, the Canyons, and Brighton. Utah skiing is amazing, especially for those of us who work so hard to find decent powder in the East. Our very generous host, Dr. Bob Donahoe, also provided a tour of the stunning landscapes in the nearby Moab region of Utah.

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of Guy Cabral (Chair of the Meetings Committee) and John Madden (Conference Director and Society Treasurer), along with the committed members of the Meetings Committee, our meetings continue to improve and attendance continues to grow.

Our 14th Annual Conference will be held March 12-15, 2008 in Charleston, South Carolina. This fascinating historic city should be another excellent venue for our meeting, and the program is composed of a balanced set of contributions from basic and clinical investigators with interests in immunological and pharmacological aspects of neuroinflammation, neurodegeneration, modulation of immune and neuronal function by drugs of abuse, signaling mechanisms, and recent advances in the development of novel treatment strategies for AIDS patients. As usual, the Meetings Committee has provided a number of opportunities for younger scientists to present their work, and participate in a session on grant writing, in which experienced members of the NIH NIDA extramural program will be present.

It is important to mention the stunning success of the Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology. Under the guidance of Dr. Howard Gendelman, the Journal has grown substantially, and we have now successfully joined the indexing of PubMed, Medline, and the other major scientific indexing services. Attaining this status is not a simple or easy matter, and we all owe Dr. Gendelman our appreciation for his masterful efforts in moving our Journal to this level in record time! I am certain you are all aware that the quality of the science in the Journal continues to be first-rate. Efforts are underway to expand the Journal further, and more details of the ongoing efforts along these lines will be released in the next few months. In the meantime, we must all remember that the success of our Journal depends on all of us. We must continue to support the Journal by submitting our manuscripts, and citing JNIP papers in our publications.

Visit the website https://www.editorialmanager.com/jnip/ to find instructions to authors. Finally, it is important that all of our members be active participants in our Society. We would like to invite all of you to participate in the various workings of the Society. We need more hands (and minds) to do the work of organizing our meetings, assembling newsletters and other mailings, contributing to various aspects of the website, and more. PLEASE VOLUNTEER! You may contact me, or any of the other officers of the Society, and we will be very happy to accommodate your interests.

Thank you, and see you in Charleston!

Thomas J. Rogers
President
Society on NeuroImmune Pharmacology