NIH (USA) has given us a grant for providing travel support to young scientists for attend the 5thIDS meeting. The applicatnts who received the travel support from this funding have been informed. We thank NIH warmly for this support.

India is witnessing one of the most tragic times of this century, with the Gujarat earthquake. I would like to thank those who have expressed their concerns and sympathies for the victims of the earthquake in Western India. It is really sad that the Earthquake in the Western Indian state of Gujarat has cost so many lives. Most of the damage was in the town called Bhuj close to Pakistani border. Tremors also caused damage and loss of lives in Ahmedabad, the main city in Gujarat. We convey our sympathies to friends and relatives of victims of this natural calamity.

CHENNAI (MADRAS) IS MORE THAN 2500 KMS AWAY FROM THE EPICENTER AND WAS NOT AFFECTED BY THE EARTHQUAKE AT ALL. THERE HAS NEVER BEEN AN EARTHQUAKE IN MADRAS.

Please read all the information about this earthquake at the Following website: http://www.unicefusa.org/alert/emergency/indiaeq/

Those of you willing to make donations can do so online at the following website
IN INDIA: http://pmindia.nic.in/funds/nrf.htm

For other online donations visit the following websites: IN USA:
http://www.cnn.com/2001/US/01/29/quake.aidagencies.ap/index.html

OUTSIDE USA:
http://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/south/01/30/quake.aid.agencies/index.html

Looking forward to seeing you all in Chennai.

Instruction to 5thIDS abstract authors submitting full papers for publication in ANYAS

The editorial board of the New York Academy of Sciences has come forward to publish the proceedings of the 5th IDS, to be held in Chennai, in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences (ANYAS). This issue will appear 4 to 6 months after the conclusion of the 5th IDS. Delegates who have submitted abstracts already by the early deadline and those delegates who have submitted late abstracts are requested to submit their work for publication in the ANYAS which is indexed and will appear in Medline and other searchable databases. All papers submitted for publication in ANYAS will be reviewed and accepted after the review process.

I would request that you read the instructions for publication in ANYAS to submit you paper at the conference venue, where we will have a stall in the exhibition area. If the time is too short for you to get your paper ready for submission at the conference, you can send it to me before 15th March, 2001, at my address given in the enclosed author instruction.

Looking forward to receiving your manuscripts

Click here to download the instruction to authors.

AIRPORT SHUTTLE INFORMATION

Airport Shuttle transportation will be available for the delegates staying at:

• Park Sheraton at USD 5 per person or USD 10 per car.
• GRT Granddays-Days INN at USD 5 per person or USD 10 per car.
• Kings Park Hotel at USD 5 per person or USD 10 per car.
• Taj Coromandel Hotel - free shuttle transportation provided by the Hotel.

Please find the instruction for the authors presenting theer work at the 5thIDS as:

1. Oral presentation
2. Poster Discussion
3. Poster display

The conference venue has been changed to a better hotel giving extra amenities for delegates. The new venue will be Hotel Taj Coromandel in the downtown area, that provides state of art facilities. We will transfer hotel accomodation made at Le Meridian to Taj Coromandel automatically. All the delegates will be informed about the details by SITA World Travels. We are also moving delegates booked at Trident Hotel and Radisson Hotel to Park Sheraton Hotel. These Delegates will be informed by e-mail about the change. However there will be no change to those delegates who had opted to stay at Park Sheraton or Days Inn-GRT Grandays.

The editorial board of the New York Academy of Sciences will publish the proceedings of the 5th IDS, to be held in Chennai, in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences (ANYAS). This issue will appear 4 months after the conclusion of the 5th IDS. Delegates who have submitted abstracts already and those delegates submitting late abstracts will be requested to submit their work for publication in the ANYAS which is indexed and will appear in Medline.

The details and instructions for submission for publication in ANYAS will be given to you at the conference and will also appear on this website within a week.

Those who have not yet submitted the abstracts, are requested to submit abstracts in the 'Late abstracts' category, and the abstract form for this is the same as the early abstract form, which is available under the link 'downloads'. Please use the word format and submit your abstract as an attachment and send it to: sanjeevi.carani@molmed.ki.se

Deadline for Sightseeing Tours Extended till January 1, 2001. The deadline for booking the 2 pre tours and 3 post tours have been extended till January 1, 2001. The detailed day-wise program is available at the conference website. The dates of tours have been announced keeping in mind that delegates have to be at the meeting on 13th afternoon. If you have any questions or need clarifications on Tours and Hotel accomodation, please contact:

Mr.S. Swaminathan,
Manager-Tours,
Sita World Travel (I) Ltd.,
A34 Chesney Nilgiri,
#54 Ethiraj Salai,
Chennai - 600 105, India.
Phone: +91 - 44 - 8270985 / 8252943
Mobile: +91 - 98410-27778
Fax: +91 - 44 - 8252947.
Email: sitamaa@vsnl.net

Peptor Ltd of Israel will sponsor the preconference satellite symposium on "Current status of LADA or slowly progressive Type 1 diabetes". This symposium will be held on 13th February, 2001 between 1400 hours and 1600 hours.

• Program of this symposium

Abstracts submitted for the 5thIDS was reviewed by an abstract review committee consisting of 21 reviewers. Each abstract was read by 3 reviewers. The scores given by the reviewers and the recommendation they gave for selection of abstracts for oral presentations were used to select abstracts for Oral presentaions and Poster discussion.

• List of Reviewers
• List of Abstracts selected for Oral Presentation
• List of Abstracts selected for Poster Discussion Session

British Airways (the official airline for the 5thIDS) office in Chennai (Madras) India, is offering a special deal for American delegates coming for the 5thIDS. Please be early to avail this offer. These prices cannot be guaranteed after 15th November, 2000. Click here to read all about the offer.

The dealine for early registration is now extended till 10th November, 2000. The registration form is available in the link 'downloads'. Download the form, fill it in and send it to the addresses given at the top of the form. Remeber to send it in time to avail the low registration fee. If you are a member of the Immunology of Diabetes Society or would become a member of the IDS society, you are entitled to the IDS member's fee. The membership form is also available under the link 'downloads'.

Here are the dates of various Pre and Post conference tours:

• Golden Triangle - Pre tour : Feb 08 to 12, 2001
• India Nepal Tour - Pre tour : Feb 08 to 12, 2001
• South India delight - Post tour : Feb 17 to 21, 2001
• South India temple tour - Post tour : Feb 17 to 20, 2001
• Wildlife tour of Bandhipur Park and Mudumalai Sanctuary : Feb 17 to 19, 2001

British Airways has agreed to be the official airline of the 5thIDS meeting in Chennai (Click here for the details of the offer). As an official airline, they will offer 15% discout on the published fare in world traveller and club class. BA says this offer will be cheaper than what is offered by the travel agent. The offer is valid between February 4 to February 26, 2001. The offer is valid for the conference delegate and accompanying spouse. Stopovers in Delhi and Bombay are allowed. Tickets have to be purchased only at the BA offices worlwide. Please quote the following reference when booking: "CIC*115/29". Click here for the addresses of the BA offices world wide. ( http://www.britishairways.com/inside/wrldwide/contact/docs/rs1.shtml )

We welcome Bayer (USA) as one of the sponsors of the 5th IDS. Their contribution will be used to give travel grants for young investigators to present their work at the 5th IDS.