Please join us in June 2012 at the University of Puget Sound
For two unique conferences and laboratory training opportunities
2012 Annual Meeting of the Pacific Northwest Section of AOAC International
Our theme this year:
Modern Analytical Methods for Health Protection in the 21st Century
University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA, USA
June 20th and June 21st 2012
In the 21st century many challenging threats to human health have emerged. These include, among others, terrorism on a global scale, natural disasters such as the tsunamis in Southeast Asia and Japan, increasing toxic algal blooms due to climate change, recurring outbreaks due to bacterial contamination of produce, and contamination of water and soil. Even the pristine Pacific Northwest has not been immune, in 2011 the site of the first outbreak of diarrhetic shellfish poisoning in the US, and an important monitoring point for radiation exposure following the Fukijima nuclear reactor breach. Globalization of trade, assistance to developing countries, and the rapid expansion of information sharing due to pervasive electronic communication are important themes everywhere. In the Pacific Northwest they are addressed by state of the art research and increasing international collaborations from institutes addressing human health on a global scale. Our AOAC Pacific Northwest Section meeting will include seminar sessions on food and water analysis, addressing microbiological and environmental and bio-analytical chemical methods for man-made and natural toxins. On site laboratory training on molecular methods in microbiology and chemical analysis topics will also be included. The Section meeting is co-chaired by James Hungerford and Carlos Abeyta, FDA, Bothell, WA. It will also share venue and some subject matter with an international meeting on marine and freshwater toxins.
At the same venue:
Marine and Freshwater Toxins Analysis
Third Joint Symposium and AOAC Task Force Meeting
University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA, USA
June 18th – June 22nd 2012
This international meeting on analytical methods for the marine and freshwater toxins will include sessions on shellfish toxins and fish toxins. Our Puget Sound venue is timely due to the 2011 emergence of diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP) here in the Pacific Northwest, the first outbreak of DSP in the US. A full day will be devoted to the (DSP implicated) okadaic acids and other lipophilic toxins. Paralytic shellfish toxins will also be covered, including coverage of recently approved official methods. Exciting progress has also been made on rapid tests for ciguatoxins, and cyanotoxins are now getting renewed focus in the US. These and other marine and freshwater toxins will be covered; onsite lab sessions on rapid tests for seafood toxins will address shellfish toxins and also histamine in finfish. Offsite training on LC-MS/MS methodology for lipophilic marine toxins will be available the following week on June 25 and 26, 2011 at the Washington State Public Health Lab near Seattle. Reduced rates for conference attendees and/or students will be available. The conference is co-chaired by James Hungerford, FDA, USA and Ana Gago-Martinez, Univ. Vigo and EU Reference Laboratory, Marine Biotoxins, Spain.