International Conference on Recent Trends in
Atherosclerosis and 25th Annual Conference of The Indian Society for Atherosclerosis Research
(ISARCON-2012)

 September 01 – 03, 2012

 Organised by
Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology
in collaboration with
CAS in Marine Biology
Annamalai University
Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, INDIA

Dear Colleagues,
          The Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Annamalai University is organising  ‘International Conference on Recent Trends in Atherosclerosis and 25th Annual Conference of the Indian Society for Atherosclerosis Research (ISARCON-2012) from September 01 – 03, 2012. Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain the biggest cause of death worldwide, and have increased at an astonishingly fast rate in low- and middle-income countries. The percentage of premature deaths due to cardiovascular diseases range from 4% in high-income countries to 42% in low-income countries.  The World Health Organisation report ‘Global atlas on cardiovascular disease prevention and control’ states that CVDs are the leading cause of death and disability in the world. Although CVDs are preventable, they continue to rise mainly because preventive measures are inadequate.  It is estimated that by the year 2030, almost 23.6 million people will be affected from CVDs, mainly from heart disease and stroke.  Hence, there is an obligation to prevent this catastrophe in point of fact by tailoring effective treatment strategies.

Host Department:
Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology

Arriving at Chidambaram
            Chidambaram is located 240 km South of Chennai in Tamil Nadu.  Chennai is connected to all major Indian cities and a number of International cities by air and also to all major Indian cities by rail and road.  Both the rail and road connect Chennai to Chidambaram.  The rail connection from Chennai is from Egmore, which is located 12 km from Chennai airport.  Pre-paid taxis are available from the airport to Chennai Egmore railway station. The road connection from Chennai to Chidambaram is also good.  The main bus terminal is located at Koyambedu which is 15 km from Chennai airport and 12 km from Chennai Central/Egmore railway station.  For local transportation, taxis and autorickshaws are available. The state Government buses run from Chennai to Chidambaram every half an hour from Koyambedu.  The traveling time from Koyambedu/Egmore (Chennai) to Chidambaram is around 5 hours. During September, the temperature at Chidambaram will be around 25-30°C.  Accommodation will be arranged to all delegates in the University Guest House and nearby hotels at Chidambaram.

Places of Interest
Nataraja Temple (2 kms from University)
The Nataraja temple built during the eleventh century is one of the most celebrated of the South Indian shaivite temples. The temple located in the middle of the Chidambaram town sprawls an area of 40 acres. Inside the walls are four Gopurams (Towers) embellished with numerous sculptures presenting various religious scenes and parables. The presiding deity of the temple is represented by air, one of the five elements and is known as Akasa Lingam.

Poompuhar (30 kms from Chidambaram)
Poompuhar, once the biggest port on the East coast, was at its peak of glory under the earlier Chola kings.  The Kaveri, merging with the bellowing sea, was known as Puhar but due to the exquisite beauty of the port town, it came to be called ‘Poompuhar’.

Pichavaram (16 kms from Chidambaram)
Pichavaram ranks among the most exquisite scenic spots with abundant and varied tourism resources. The backwaters which are interconnected by the Vellar and Coleroon offer abundant scope for water sports-rowing, kayak and canoeing. The Pichavaram forest not only offers waterscape and backwater cruises but combines another very rare occurrence, the mangrove forest trees permanently rooted in a few feet of water. The Pichavaram mangroves are considered among the healthiest mangrove occurrence in the world. Pichavaram consists of a number of islands interspersing a vast expanse of water covered with green trees.

Puducherry (70 kms from Chidambaram)
Puducherry, which is 70 kms from Chidambaram was a French establishment. There are a number of tourist spots of interest. Aurobindo Ashram, the place where Shri Aurobindo lived and gave discourses is situated in Puducherry.

Dr. Nilanjana Maulik, University of Connecticut, Connecticut, USA
Dr. Naranjan S. Dhalla, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
Dr. Kailash Prasad, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
Dr. A. R. Jayakumar, University of Miami, Miami, USA
Dr. Hitoshi Nakamoto, Saitama University, Saitama, Japan
Dr. Vicente Andres, Spanish National Cardiovascular Center, Madrid, Spain
Dr. Minoo Shahidi, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Dr. Irfan Rahman, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, USA
Dr. R. Sivakanesan, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
Dr. Mohammad A. Rashid, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh

Dr. Jayshree Bhattacharjee, Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi
Dr. N. Chidambaram, Annamalai University, Chidambaram
Dr. Ritu Singh, Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi
Dr. M. E. Yeolekar, NEIGIHMS, Shillong
Dr. Niranjali Devaraj, University of Madras, Chennai
Dr. Rama Gopalan, University of Madras, Chennai
Dr. S. R. Gupta, Amrutha Health Care Centre, Tirupati
Dr. S. Karutha Pandian, Alagappa University, Karaikudi

Dr. Naranjan S. Dhalla, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
Dr. Nilanjana Maulik, University of Connecticut, Connecticut, USA
Dr. Kailash Prasad, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
Dr. Chuanfu Li, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
Dr. Fabio Coppede, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
Dr. Jamal Mustafa, East Carolina University, Greenville, USA
Dr. Periannan Kuppusamy, The Ohio State University, Ohio, USA
Dr. Sampath Parthasarathy, The Ohio State University, Ohio, USA
Dr. Parinandi, The Ohio State University, Ohio, USA
Dr. Nihal Ahamed, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA
Dr. Lucia Migliore, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
Dr. Paul K. Ganguly, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Dr. Shaw-Fang Yet, Institute of Cellular and System Medicine, Zhunan Town, Taiwan
Dr. Yuan-Xiang Pan, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA
Dr. Igor Pogribny, National Center for Toxicological Research, Jefferson, USA
Dr. Guo-Chang Fan, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, USA
Dr. A. R. Jayakumar, University of Miami, Miami, USA
Dr. Vicente Andres, Spanish National Cardiovascular Center, Madrid, Spain
Dr. Minoo Shahidi, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Dr. R. Sivakanesan, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
Dr. Mohammad A. Rashid, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh
Dr. M. Balasundaram, AIMST University, Malaysia

List of probable speakers from India

Dr. Jayshree Bhattacharjee, Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi
Dr. Ritu Singh, Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi
Dr. M. E. Yeolekar, NEIGIHMS, Shillong
Dr. Niranjali Devaraj, University of Madras, Chennai
Dr. S. R. Gupta, Amrutha Health Care Centre, Tirupati
Dr. S. K. Verma, JIPMER, Pondicherry
Dr. Yamini B. Tripathi, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi
Dr. S. Dwivedi, University of Delhi, Delhi
Dr. M. G. Sridhar, JIPMER, Pondicherry
Dr. Yogeshwar Shukla, Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, Lucknow
Dr. M. K. Unnikrishnan,  Manipal University, Manipal
Dr. C. Rajamanickam, OSHO Biotech, Madurai
Dr. E. Padmini, Bharathi Women’s College, Chennai
Dr. A. Geetha, Bharathi Women’s College, Chennai
Dr. D. Brindha, PSG College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore
Dr. R. Parvatham, Avinashilingam University, Coimbatore
Dr. P. R. Padma, Avinashilingam  University, Coimbatore
Dr. Subir Kumar Das, West Bengal University of Health Sciences, Kolkata
Dr. R. Kokilavani, Kongunadu Arts and Science College, Coimbatore
Dr. Rosalind Marita, Nicolas Piramal Pvt. Ltd. Mumbai

Focus areas of the conference

●   Role of phytochemicals in cardiovascular diseases
●   Recent trends in epidemiology, biochemistry and experimental medicine in cardiovascular diseases
●   Recent trends in clinical and interventional cardiology
●   Relationship between diabetes/hypertension/renal complications and cardiovascular diseases
●   Inflammation and atherosclerosis
●   Angiogenesis and vascular remodeling
●   Experimental trends in atherosclerosis
●   Phytochemical analogs, drug designing and drug delivery systems in heart diseases

ISAR Office Bearers

President                      :          Dr. Jayashree Bhattacharjee
President Elect              :          Dr. N. Nalini
Vice-President              :          Dr. J. Gambhir
Secretary                     :          Dr. Ritu Singh
Joint Secretary             :          Dr. P. Subramanian
Treasurer                     :          Dr. Anupam Prakash

Abstract submission

Abstracts for oral/poster presentations are invited in MS Word File in the following format:

Title         :       14 point bold, capitals and centered.
Author(s) :        Name and address in 12 point, normal, centered, followed by e-mail ID of the presenting author in 10 point, normal and centered.  Name of presenting author should be underlined.
Text         :       12 point, single space, normal and justified.
        Abstracts should be typed in Times New Roman style font only and text of the abstract should not exceed 300 words. References and acknowledgements in the abstract must be avoided.  Properly checked abstracts should be submitted to the conference e-mail ID:  isarcon2012@rediffmail.com
        In addition, two hard copies of the abstract should be submitted to the corresponding address (to the Convener) of the conference.  Student delegates (presenting authors) need to attach an authorization letter from research supervisor/head of the department with hard copies of abstract.  Poster presentation will be through posters not exceeding 1 m ×1 m size.

LCD facility will be available for oral presentation.

Corresponding address:

ISARCON - 2012
BEST ORAL PRESETATION AND BEST POSTER AWARDS

            In order to encourage young scientists (especially the student participants) and to recognize their meritorious and significant contributions by way of their presentations and deliberations, the following number of awards will be proffered at the time of ISARCON 2012 to be held at Chidambaram

For research scholars

Young Investigator awards    -  2
Oral Presentation awards      -  3
Poster awards                      - 5

In addition, the following number of travel awards is also instituted to embolden student participation:

Travel awards                     -  5

For PG students

Poster awards                       - 3

A maximum of 10 abstracts received from the PG students will be selected by the selection committee for display in the poster session and THREE of the best posters will be selected and awarded in the conference.