The 2000 Meeting will be held at the Sheraton Atlanta Hotel (formerly, Radisson Hotel Atlanta). The hotel is located at 165 Courtland and International Boulevard, in the "heart" of downtown Atlanta. Reservations must be made no later than 4 weeks in advance of the meeting to guarantee rooms at the special convention rate.

You may make reservations by phone (800-833-8624), or by returning the Hotel Reservation Form by FAX or mail directly to the Sheraton Atlanta Hotel. When calling, please indicate that you are attending the AANP meeting to qualify for discounted room rates.

After May 8, 2000, rates are not confirmed and rooms will be confirmed on a space-available basis only.

Special per-night room rates for meeting attendees (excluding 14% State Sales Tax):
      Single occupancy     $110
      Double occupancy     $120
      Triple occupancy     $130
      Quad occupancy     $140

The increasing numbers and diversity of abstracts being presented at our annual American Association of Neuropathologists meetings has made it more difficult over the past few years to conduct concise, interactive Poster Discussion Sessions. The original objective of these Poster Discussion Sessions was to provide poster authors with the opportunity to present to a critical audience in a less formal setting than the Platform Presentations. For junior members and fellows, this had the added advantage of providing experience in verbally presenting their work at a national meeting. While fulfilling this objective in some cases, the discussions were found to be cumbersome and overly lengthily in other sessions.

After polling members of the AANP, including officers and members of the Program Committee, the consensus was that we should discontinue Poster Discussion Sessions. It was felt that the emphasis should be placed on poster presenters being available at their posters during designated periods so that more interactions can occur between viewers and presenters in the presence of the poster. Second, it was felt that questions from people viewing the posters should at least initially be directed towards the first author of the poster, especially if the individual is a junior member of the Association or a trainee. The opportunity to interact individually with other meeting attendees and to respond to comments and criticisms from a poster viewer is an important aspect of the Meeting experience for our trainees.

Hence, for the Atlanta meeting of the AANP in June 2000, there will be no poster discussion sessions. Platform discussions will remain unchanged. Poster presenters are urged to be present at their posters during designated times. We are staggering times for presenters in an attempt to reduce congestion in the poster viewing areas and to provide some time for the poster presenters themselves to visit and discuss other posters in their same session. Presenters with EVEN numbered posters should be at their posters and available for viewer's questions for the half-hour before the coffee break and ODD numbered poster authors should be at their poster for the half-hour after the coffee break. These times are 9:00-9:30 and 10:00-10:30 for the morning sessions and 2:45-3:15 and 3:45-4:15 for the afternoon sessions.

This year, 190 abstracts have been accepted for platform and poster sessions. Two platform sessions will be conducted concurrently and there will be two poster sessions (morning and afternoon) on each day. Abstracts will be published in the May, 2000 issue of the Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology and the program will be posted on the AANP web site (www.aanp-jnen.com) by mid-March.

No more than 10 minutes of speaking time will be allowed for each platform presentation. This will be followed by a 5 minute time period available for questions and discussion from the audience, with a total of 15 minutes allotted to each presentation at a platform session. Please be aware that Platform chairpersons are instructed to interrupt the speaker, if necessary, to adhere to the time constraints. This will be done (1) to make sure that there is adequate time for questions, and (2) to insure that later speakers in that same platform session have the full time allowance for their presentations. Strict adherence to the time limits and platform schedule also allows members of the audience to move between sessions and catch all presentations in which they are interested.

Each platform presentation should include a brief introduction (preferably with the hypothesis clearly stated), a statement of methods, a summary of the data, and a conclusion that states how the current study advances the field.

It is the hope of the Program Committee that stimulating dialogue will be generated after each platform presentation. To facilitate audience involvement, presenters should repeat questions from the audience that may not be heard by everyone. The chair-person(s) also may elect to assist by repeating questions from the audience that they feel need clarification.

The display panels for the poster sessions will consist of 4' x 8' (1.23 x 2.46 m) poster boards mounted horizontally on a pedestal at a convenient viewing level. At the top of your poster there should be a heading indicating the title, author(s) and institution(s). The lettering for this section should not be less than 2.5 cm (1") high. A copy of the abstract, in large typescript, should be posted in the upper lefthand corner. Studies alluded to in the text must be referenced. Remember that your text and illustrations will be viewed from distances of 3 feet or more. All lettering should be at least 3/8" (~1 cm)

high, preferably in bold font. Keep everything as simple as possible. Block lettering may be used to add emphasis and clarity. Captions should be brief and labels few and clear. It is helpful if the sequence to be followed in studying your material is indicated by numbers, letters or arrows.

Additional suggestions for effective poster presentations may be found in the following reference: Woolsey JD: Combating poster fatigue: how to use visual grammar and analysis to effect better visual communications. Trends in Neurosciences 12(9): 325-32, 1989.

Please take your own push-pins (preferably 5/8" long) to the meeting. Thumb tacks are not adequate to fasten your display to the poster boards. PUSH-PINS WILL NOT BE PROVIDED.

The morning poster sessions are from 8:00- 12:00 and the afternoon are from 2:00-5:30. There will be no poster discussion sessions this year (see page 2), but even numbered poster authors should be at their poster the half-hour before the break, and odd numbered posters the half hour after the break to facilitate discussion with other interested members. Members are responsible for disseminating this information to their residents, fellows and guests.

"Authors of abstracts that have been published as full length papers are reminded that they are responsible for informing the Secretary-Treasurer's office of this prior to the meeting. Abstracts of previously published papers are not eligible for the Association Awards."

The Special Course for the Atlanta meeting, The Hippocampus in Health and Disease, has been organized by President Suzanne S. Mirra and Bradley T. Hyman. The program will include the following topics and speakers:

The American Association of Neuropathologists is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to sponsor continuing medical education for physicians. The Association certifies the Special Course as a continuing medical education activity and meets the criteria for 6 credit hours in Category I of the Physician's Recognition Award of the American Medical Association.

The annual business meeting, to be held on Friday, June 9, and Saturday, June 10, will begin promptly at 12 o'clock noon on both days.

A reception for the attendees and guests will be held at the Sheraton Atlanta Hotel on Friday evening. There will be hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar. Admission is $10 for faculty/staff and $5 for students/residents/fellows. Those who wish to attend may submit payment with the pre-registration form, or may purchase tickets at the time of the meeting.

Dr. Mary Case, Professor of Pathology at Washington University and Chief Medical Examiner of St. Louis County, will present the Saul R. Korey lecture, entitled Neuropathology and Forensic Pathology: A Natural Synergism.

Slides and protocols for the Annual Diagnostic Slide Session may be purchased for $40 in U.S. currency. Foreign checks, including Canadian, must be issued through an American Bank with a proper routing number. Please make checks payable to "Diagnostic Slide Session" and mail to:

Leroy R. Sharer, M.D.
Department of Pathology
New Jersey Medical School
185 South Orange Avenue
Newark, NJ 07103

Phone 973-972-4770
Fax: 973-972-5933

Dr. Mirra's Presidential Address, entitled The Neuropathology of Alzheimer's Disease: A Gray Matter, will be presented on Sunday morning June 11. In addition, Dr. Douglas C. Wallace (Atlanta, GA) will speak on Mitochondrial Genetics and Neurodegeneration, and Dr. Maria Grazia Spillantini (Cambridge, UK) on Tau, Alpha-Synuclein, and Neurodegeneration. As part of the Symposium, the Matthew T. Moore Distinguished Lecture, entitled The Neuropathology of Drosophila, will be presented by Dr. Seymour Benzer (Pasadena, CA).

The 78^th Annual Meeting of the AANP has been booked for June 19-24, 2002 at the Denver Marriott City Center, 1701 California St, Denver, CO.

The XIVth International Congress of Neuropathology will be held September 3-6, 2000 in Birmingham, UK. The meeting will feature Plenary and Scientific Sessions by distinguished speakers, as well as workshops for in-depth discussions. The preliminary program of the meeting, as well as the most recent meeting information is posted on the Congress web site, www.neuropathology2000.co.uk.

Deadline for receipt of abstracts is March 17, 2000. Abstracts may be submitted on-line (preferred), or on an abstract form, available from the Congress Secretariat, listed below.

Some highlights of the Congress include:

• Tau and a-synuclein in Alzheimer's disease and related disorders.
• Muscle disorders with genetic defects of "structural" proteins (dystrophies and some congenital myopathies)
• Cerebrovascular disease and trauma
• Molecular genetic abnormalities in gliomas
• Neuropathology of psychoses
• Prion diseases in the 21^st century
• Pathogenesis of demyelination and its consequences for remyelination
• Neurodevelopmental genetics and embryo nal tumors of the nervous system
• Myelin pathology and hereditary motor-sensory neuropathies
• Inflammatory disorders of the CNS
• Oxidative stress and mitochondrial factors in Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
• Stem cells and neurotransplantation

For information about the Congress, and registration and abstract forms, contact:

Congress Secretariat ICNP 2000
c/o Concorde Services Ltd
4B 50 Speirs Wharf
Port Dundas, Glasgow G49TB
Scotland UK

Tel +44-1411-33- 0123
Fax +44-141-133- 0234
E-mail: info@neuropathology2000.co.uk

The 2000 directory of members will be sent out with your July copy of the Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology. According to the Association's policy, members who have not paid their 2000 dues will not be listed.

The Association is working with Allen Press to post the membership directory on the AANP web site. The content will be similar to the printed Directory and will include: name, degree, department, institution, address, city, state, zip/ postal code, phone, fax, and e-mail. Several issues remain to be resolved, including whether or not Directory access should be available to anyone who logs on to the site, or whether it should be restricted to members only. The latter is considerably more labor intensive and more expensive. Potential options will be discussed at the Business Meeting in June, and we welcome your comments in this regard. Only those individuals who indicated their preference to be included in the internet directory, will be included.

Please send your new address, including, phone, fax, and e-mail address directly to the Office of the Secretary-Treasurer. Notification to the Journal alone will not update the Association records or Directory listings.

2001
Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza
Chicago, IL June 21 - 24, 2001

2002
Marriott Denver City Center
Denver, CO June 19 - 24, 2002

(1) REGISTER by mailing or by faxing the Meeting Registration Form to the Secretary-Treasurer:

American Association of Neuropathologists
Office of Secretary-Treasurer
Joseph E. Parisi, MD
Department of Lab Medicine & Pathology
Mayo Clinic
200 First Street SW
Rochester, MN 55905

FAX: 507-284-1599

(2) RESERVE your hotel room by contacting the Sheraton Atlanta Hotel by phone (800-833-8624), or by faxing or mailing the hotel reservation form to the hotel directly.