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Last updated:

November 06, 2006

African Society of Human Genetics

AfSHG 2006 Conference Announcement

Update: The conference has been held and the report can be found here.

The 4th Annual Conference of the African Society of Human Genetics will be held in association with the 2006 meeting of the Ethiopian Medical Association. In line with one of the aims of the African Society of Human Genetics [to collaborate with and support the activities of existing societies in Africa], this conference will provide a forum for the interaction of two major African scientific and medical organizations.

The aims of the conference are to:

• Consolidate the gains of the previous conferences of the African Society of Human Genetics by increasing its membership and range of activities including the establishment of an online Journal – The African Journal of Human Genetics (Afr J Hum Genet)

• Bring attention to the promise of genomic tools in elucidating the pathophysiology of communicable and non-communicable diseases including malaria, HIV/AIDS, hypertension, diabetes and cancer

• Facilitate the application of human genetic variation in understanding the genetic basis of drug response and human migration patterns.

• Provide opportunities for African scientists to participate in the global information revolution by taking advantage of the global informatics program of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute.

• Increase awareness of science, particularly that of genetics among community leaders and the general public in Africa.

Keynote speakers include Kari Stefansson, deCODE Genetics; Sir Walter Bodmer, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford; David Goldstein, IGSP Center for Population Genomics and Pharmacogenomics, and; David Bentley, Solexa, Inc. 

Topics of the plenary sessions include: Genomics of Communicable Diseases in Africa, Understanding Human Ancestries, Genomics of Noncommunicable Disease, Applications of Human Genetic Variation, Ethics of Genetic Epidemiology Research and Informatics. The provisional program can be found here.

The conference will include a tour of Addis Ababa and  visit to the National Museum to see the remains of the famous Lucy (Australopithecus afarensis, estimated age:3.5 million years)

Registration for the 2006 Meeting is still open.  The 2006 conference registration fee is US $50 for individuals from developing countries and US$ 100 for those from Europe or North America. 

To register, go to the online registration form and fill in your details.  Payment can be made in either of two ways:

(1) By a check drawn on a US bank and mailed to: African Society of Human Genetics, Attention: Shirley Freeman, National Human Genome Center, 2041 Georgia Avenue NW, Suite 615, Washington, DC 20060, USA.

(2) On site at the conference.

Please, if you cannot send a check drawn on a US bank, do not send other forms of payment as they cannot be cashed by the society at the present time. Just wait to pay onsite at the conference.

Abstract submission is now closed and presenters have been informed of the acceptance of their abstracts. 

Information about conference venue Registration and important dates Program