WHAT'S NEW - Updated 06/10/09

DOWNLOAD UPDATED SCHEDULE HERE

Last Day of Credit Card (Online) Registrations is Thursday, June 11, 2009 for the AOAC Meeting in Tacoma, WA June 17, 18, 2009. Onsite registration by check or cash will still be available at the meeting site. For form see Registration page at left. Workshop registrations only in advance unless prior approved (see below).

Lab Spaces Still Open as of 6/10/2009 - A few lab spaces are still open for the Food and Water Contaminants Workshop and the Dietary Supplements Workshops. Please email James_Hungerford@hotmail.com now to ask for update about space and/or confirm your registration, and if approved by Jim submit registration form (from Workshops page) to him at above email.

Late Poster Submissions Still Accepted On-site for Competition - But not for Printed Program (submission details on Posters web page at left) All posters will be posted on our web site.

Keynote Speakers and Seminar Speakers details posted - Please see our new Keynote Speakers and Seminars page at left.

SUMMER WORKSHOPS ON ANALYSIS OF FOOD AND WATER CONTAMINANTS AND DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS: LABORATORY TRAINING OFFERED WITH PACIFIC NW AOAC



This Summer the Pacific Northwest Section is offering 2 workshops, one on food and water contaminants such as melamine and cyanotoxins and common seafood contaminants, and another on dietary supplement DNA authentication and antioxidant potential. These hands-on laboratory training events are unique offerings and our Annual Meeting is designed to fortify the lab sessions with analytical, research, and regulatory information. Please join us for these events in Puget Sound, June 2009!

As the chair of our section I invite Microbiologists, Chemists, Toxicologists, Biochemists, Molecular Biologists and others to join us in beautiful Puget Sound for the these events including the 29th Annual Meeting of the Pacific Northwest Section of AOAC INTERNATIONAL.

We address a broad and interesting spectrum of topics in multidisciplinary method development and validation for health protection and environmental concerns - The Pacific Northwest venue also hosts, besides our leading aviation and software industries and a thriving seafood industry, many centers of science and technology, such as university and industry leaders in cutting edge biotechnology, health protection research, and even renowned centers of natural medicine such as Bastyr University. Analytical method development and validation in these areas and others is as inherently multidisciplinary as it is crucial to human health and to the success of industry. These areas are relevant to our region as well as North America and indeed the global community.

Our theme this year is Validation Science to Ensure our Safety in a Changing World. This theme reflects changes due to globalization, increasing fraud and safety issues due to economic pressures, environmental changes, continuing interest in organic produce and dietary supplements, the coming wave of nanoparticle-based products, and changes in analytical methodology. Validation Science is the bedrock of AOAC’s 125 year history, and refers to a bullet-proof and more in-depth look at analytical methodology, ensuring that method ruggedness is investigated along with differences between labs and between instruments. Our meeting strives to marry state of the art methods with validation science.

The Annual Meeting will be held at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington on June 17-18, 2009. The Section is committed to serve as a primary resource for timely knowledge exchange, networking, and high-quality laboratory information for Northwest scientists, each year including participants from across the United States and Canada, and most recently has extended our reach to Europe, Asia, and the Southern Hemisphere through international training activities. The overall purpose of the meeting is to foster the exchange of ideas on recent research findings and environmental and human health protection efforts. We are putting together a diverse program that will interest microbiologists, chemists, biochemists, toxicologists, among others from academia, regulatory agencies, and industry. Although we have an increasing number of overseas attendees, we also continue to attract many from North American universities, federal, state and provincial research stations, private labs, and government agencies, representing a broad array of interests and disciplines. The Annual Meeting is a tradition in the Pacific Northwest since it began in 1981.

The Meeting will begin with an international group of keynote speakers and progress into specialized seminars. Speakers will discuss topics such as rapid tests for microbes and microbial toxins, the impact of water quality on food safety, microarrays, chemical instrumentation, bioactives in dietary supplements, flow-field flow fractionation and its application to nanotechnology and biotechnology, among other topics. Brief biographies of the keynote speakers and abstracts of their presentations will be posted on our website. The Seminars will include presentations on Microbiology, Dietary Supplements, Pesticide and Industrial Residues, Seafood Contaminants; Soil and Environmental Chemistry. The program will also include methods validation training.

Call for Posters - Last year we had a successful inauguration of our poster session. This will highlight the latest scientific research in related fields and other areas of interest. We will also have a Vendor Expo (an exhibition of scientific equipment, supplies and services) along with associated vendor posters. Please also see our Call for Posters. Student participation is encouraged with rewards for best student poster.

Banquet speakers are also a popular part of our program, with world class presentations ranging from killer whales to Native American fisheries and even hurricanes. This year we are pleased to present “In the Land of Camas and Cedar: American Indian Plant Medicines of the Pacific Northwest” by Terry Maresca, MD.

To offer a choice to attendees, the registration fee will be for either one day or two days of the Meeting. The retirees will get a 50% discount on registration fee. The students will pay only $25 to participate in the Meeting. Pleasant and affordable Accommodations, including free broadband access, will be available in the dormitory at the University of Puget Sound.

If you have any suggestions and/or would like to present a paper, please let me know. I look forward to seeing you in Tacoma. Our attendees have told us that our meeting is a rewarding experience and also offers valuable training opportunities.

James M. Hungerford, Ph.D., Chair, Pacific Northwest Section of AOACI