A Welcome Message from the Local Organizing Committee
It is our great pleasure to welcome you to Japan for the Second World Conference on Kisspeptin Signaling in the Brain. All the participants of the First Conference may still recall pleasant memories of that Meeting as well as of Cordoba, the beautiful ancient city of Spain. Needless to say, the First Conference was quite successful in integrating ideas from so many scientists devoted to kisspeptin study, and all of us enjoyed stimulating discussion with so many kiss friends for 3 days.
Time flies. Since then, there has been an enormous advance in kisspeptin research. We now have genetic models developed for this research, along with a number of experimental tools, such as antibodies, genes, agonists and antagonists. Various concepts of kisspeptin physiology have also emerged over the past 3 years. The research has expanded from mammals to nonmammalian vertebrates, such as fish and amphibians. On the other hand, we still feel that many issues must be addressed and resolved before we can understand the regulatory mechanisms of reproduction or other functions, in which kisspeptin neurons play a key role. All of this has encouraged us to hold the Second Kiss Conference in Japan to have friendly and vigorous discussions on the kisspeptin issues we are facing now. The Conference will focus on various aspects of the kisspeptin neurons related to kisspeptin signaling in the brain. To this end, we are working hard to make this Second Conference a fascinating, worthwhile opportunity for all of us in the kiss community to get together.
We selected the Ito International Research Center Convention Hall at the University of Tokyo as the convention venue. Prof. Yoshitaka Oka of the University of Tokyo has been working hard on the arrangements for the Meeting over these past several months. Finally, we are happy to tell you that this is one of the first international conferences held in the Hall, the construction of which will be completed in November 2011. The Hall is designed and equipped with a large auditorium to accommodate all the participants and a neighboring large space for poster session and discussion with beverages. It also has several other meeting rooms and places to eat, and the place is perfectly designed for international conferences. The University of Tokyo is conveniently located in the center of Metropolitan Tokyo with good access to and from the Narita and Haneda International Airports and Bullet train stations.
We hope that many of you will visit Tokyo for this upcoming Conference November 6-9, 2012, to renew friendships and further kiss research.
Kei-ichiro Maeda, DVM, PhD
Chair of the Local Organizing Committee
September 1, 2011
