• Submit your abstract (as of October 17)
• Register for the meeting (as of October 17)
• Make hotel reservations (as of October 17)
• Book airline tickets
• Request visa

• Award Nominations* Due
  * Travel Grant Applications Due January 12, 2009

• Deadline to submit abstract and $70 non-refundable abstract processing fee
• Deadline to withdraw or make changes to a submitted abstract

• Travel Grant Applications Due
  * Award Nominations Due November 14, 2008

• Deadline for Early Registration. You may register online after this date; however, your registration will be at the higher fee.

• Online -- click here
   
• By Mail – download PDF form and mail to:
  IMMUNOLOGY 2009
  Registration Office
  9650 Rockville Pike
  Bethesda, MD 20814-3998
   
• By Fax – download PDF form and fax to:
  IMMUNOLOGY 2009
  Registration Office 
  301-634-7008

REGISTRATION FEES
 

Payment of Fees
Registration may be paid by check or credit card (Visa, MasterCard or American Express). Checks must be written on US or Canadian banks (US Funds only). Checks should be made payable to “AAI ”. Purchase Orders will NOT be accepted.

U.S. Registrants
If you register prior to March 16, you will receive your badge and program in April. If you register online after March 16 but prior to April 1, you will receive only your badge in the mail – you may pick up your program at the meeting. If you register online after April 1, pick up your badge and program at the meeting.

International Registrants
All international participants may pick up their badge and program at the meeting. No materials will be mailed in advance.

On-Site Registrants
On-site registration and badge/publication pickup will be available at the Washington Convention Center beginning May 8 and continuing through May 12.

Graduate Student Registration (including all AAI Student members)
You must have a department head or research advisor certify your student eligibility. If registering online, enter the name and email address of your department head. If registering at the meeting, bring your student ID card or a letter signed by your department head. “Student” will be indicated on your badge. Postdoctoral fellows, hospital residents, interns, and laboratory technicians do not qualify as students and must pay the full member or nonmember rate.

Undergraduate Students, High School Students, and High School Teachers
Registration will not be accepted in advance. Participants must register onsite in Seattle. In order to receive a complimentary registration onsite, please bring a student/teacher ID card or a letter signed by your department head, research advisor, principal, or teacher.

Refunds
The badge, receipt, and a letter requesting a refund of the registration fee must be received by April 7, 2009. Please send to:

Oral Presentation Guidelines

Speaker Ready Room -- Room 613 - Washington Convention Center

The Speaker Ready Room will be open Friday, May 8 – Tuesday, May 12. 

All speakers should check their presentations in the Speaker Ready Room at least 4 hours in advance to verify they will be presentable on the computers provided.  Presenters electing to use their own Mac computers for presentation must ensure equipment compatibility (see below).

Presentation Information and Instructions

·         Session rooms will be equipped with a data projector and a PC, as well as a lavaliere microphone, table microphone and aisle microphone.

·         Speakers should arrive in the session room ½ hour before their session begins. Please note: session rooms do not have Internet access.

·         When preparing your presentation, please use standard fonts (e.g., Times New Roman, Arial, Verdana, and Tahoma). Only those fonts provided in the basic installation of Windows are included on the computers in the session rooms. Unusual fonts may not translate. If you are using a font that is not standard, it should be embedded into your PowerPoint presentation. Microsoft provides a utility to determine if a font can be embedded -- click here.

·         PC’s will be provided in all of the session rooms. If speakers have presentations on a Mac, the A/V Team will work with them to transfer their presentation from their Mac to the PC to make sure it is functional before their session begins. Ample time must be allotted for this conversion. Mac users MUST come to the Speaker Ready Room at least 4 hours prior to their presentation.

·         Bring your presentation on a Windows readable USB flash drive or CD-ROM. DVDs may be used but need to be tested.

·         Test standard presentations at the Speaker Ready Room at least 4 hours in advance of speaking.

·         Include any external files utilized, e.g. movie files, in the same folder as your presentation. Copy the entire folder to the USB flash drive or CD ROM/DVD.

·         Test your presentation on a separate PC compatible computer to ensure that the fonts are standard and components such as movies are included rather than merely linked in your presentation.

·         The operating system on the session room PCs will be Windows XP Professional, and software will include: Microsoft Office XP, Adobe Acrobat Reader, QuickTime*, Windows Media Player, Flash Player. 
 

·         Due to additional processing time that may be required, ALL Quick-Time users must come to the Speaker Ready Room at least 24 hours before their session to test their presentation.

We recommend that presenters bring a backup of their presentation on an alternative storage medium to cover the possibility of luggage loss, theft, and/or incompatibility.

You do not need to bring your own laptop to the meeting room. However, if you would prefer to use your own laptop for your presentation, the A/V Team will work with you to get it connected in the session room. IMPORTANT: If you intend to use a Mac during your presentation, you must bring a doggle adapter, which allows the data signal to be compatible with our LCD projectors. THESE ADAPTERS WILL NOT BE PROVIDED AT THE MEETING.

If you have any questions or concerns about using your personal laptop during your session, please do not hesitate to contact our A/V specialist, Steve Mirsky atSteve.Mirsky@freemanco.com, before the meeting.

Slide or overhead projectors will not be provided.

• 4 complimentary exhibit hall passes for each 10x10 booth reserved
• Sponsorship of a welcome reception in the exhibit hall on Friday, May 8th
• Sponsorship of coffee breaks in the exhibit hall to attract attendees
• Exhibitor workshops on site
• A product briefing in the hall theater
• Purchase of the attendee list
• And much, much more.

For a complete list of exhibitor benefits and exhibit hall sponsorship opportunities see the 2009 Exhibitor Prospectus.

• To view the Exhibit Hall Floor Plan, click here.
• To view the Exhibit Booth Contract and AAI Rules and Regulations, click here.

AAI is joined by the following guest societies presenting two-hour symposia in special disciplines. Participating guest societies are as follows (click links to view corresponding session information):

• American Association of Veterinary Immunologists (AAVI)
• American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (ASBMT)
• American Society of Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR)
• American Society of Transplantation (AST)
• Association of Medical Laboratory Immunologists (AMLI)
• British Society for Immunology (BSI)
• Canadian Society for Immunology (CSI)
• Chinese Society of Immunology (ChSI)
• International Society for Interferon and Cytokine Research (ISICR)
• International Society of Neuroimmunology (ISNI)
• Japanese Society for Immunology (JSI) (invited)
• Singaporean Society for Immunology (SSI)
• Society for Glycobiology
• Society for Leukocyte Biology (SLB)
• Society for Mucosal Immunology (SMI)
• Society for Natural Immunity (SNI)

Individuals Requiring Assistance
This meeting is accessible to all individuals. For accommodation of any special need, contactcesler@faseb.org in advance of the meeting. For details regarding scooter rentals, please visit www.scootaround.com or telephone Scootaround Mobility Solutions at 1-888-441-7575.

As part of security procedures, many applications for visas are sent to the State Department for a security review. The website for the State Department is http://travel.state.gov/visa.

You can also visit the "International Visitors Office" website athttp://www.nationalacademies.org/visas.

Scientists traveling to the United States are advised to apply for a visa as early as possible (at least three months or more before visa is needed). To determine the earliest that you may apply for a visa, please check with your local U.S. consulate or embassy by visitinghttp://travel.state.gov/visa/questions_embassy.html.

Because of the number of visas being processed and the need for thorough review, visa processing can take 8 weeks or longer, especially for those countries that are on the State Sponsors of Terrorism List. Attendees from these countries should start the application processat least 6 months or more in advance of the meeting.

Registration refunds will not be issued after April 7 for denied visas.

To assist you with the Visa application process:

• Ask for a letter of invitation to attend at least four (4) months prior to the meeting (see below for further information).

• Apply for visa well in advance. For countries that are on the State Sponsors of Terrorism List, the State Department suggests applying for a visa six (6) to eight (8) months in advance.

• Provide your entire trip itinerary, including travel to any countries other than the United States, at the time of visa application.

• If completion of travel plans is contingent upon early approval of the visa application, specify this at the time of the application.

• Provide proof of professional status.

• Provide meeting brochure and letter of invitation.

• Provide evidence that you are intending to return to your country of residence. This includes such things as:
  ▪ family ties in current country of residence 
  ▪ property ownership 
  ▪ bank account(s) 
  ▪ an employment contract or statement from employer showing that position will continue after the dates of the meeting

• Requirements vary by passport-issuing country and citizenship (not merely residency).

PASSPORT INFORMATION

VISA Problems

• Visa applicants whose applications have not been approved 30 days after the interview should complete an on-line questionnaire for assistance. The questionnaire can be found at http://www7.nationalacademies.org/visas/Visa_Questionnaire.html. You will be asked to name the meeting (IMMUNOLOGY 2009) and explain the purpose of your visit.

• Click HERE to view a step by step guide to the visa application process.

• Click HERE for information regarding visa wait times.

Requesting an Invitation Letter

For security purposes, letters of invitation may only be sent to individuals who have registered for the meeting. Once your registration is complete, please contact Josie Leftwich atleftwich@faseb.org to request a personalized letter of invitation.