Dear fellow AfSHG members,<br> <br> I have been asked to serve as the International Genetic Epidemiology Society (IGES) Ambassador to Africa. My charge as an ambassador is to help IGES promote the field of genetic epidemiology in Africa. In this email I would like to tell those of you who have not heard of IGES about the Society.<br> <br> The IGES website is <a rel="nofollow" class="moz-txt-link-freetext" target="_blank" href="http://www.geneticepi.org/"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1210160681_2">http://www.geneticepi.org/</span></a>. <br> In brief, IGES members include geneticists, epidemiologists, statisticians, mathematicians, biologists, bioinformaticians, and students interested in the research of the genetic basis of diseases and complex traits. The field is a marriage between genetics and epidemiology. Membership benefits include reduced registration fees for the annual IGES conference, a subscription to <u>Genetic
Epidemiology</u> (the official IGES journal), and an opportunity to interact with scientific peers worldwide. The next IGES conference will be held this coming September in <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1210160681_3">St. Louis, Missouri, USA</span>.<br> <br> I recognize how cost prohibitive it may be for African scientists to travel to the U.S. or <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1210160681_4">Europe</span> (because I know how expensive it is for me to travel to Africa!), so I am currently advocating for travel scholarships and/or reduced membership costs for African scientists. I am also open to any suggestions you may have, and I will refer those to the
IGES leadership. I have heard that there may be a program whereby IGES members can donate their <u>Genetic Epidemiology</u> subscriptions to scientists abroad, and I would be happy to know your ideas on how to implement that. <br> <br> Please contact me if you have any questions!<br> <br> Best regards,<br><br>Cathy Stein<br> <br> <br> <pre class="moz-signature">-- <br>Catherine M. Stein, Ph.D.<br>Assistant Professor<br>Division of Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology,<br> Tuberculosis Research Unit, and<br> Center for the Modern Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases<br>Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics<br>Case Western Reserve University<br>office: <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1210160681_5">(216) 368-5631</span><br><br><a rel="nofollow" class="moz-txt-link-freetext" target="_blank" href="http://epbiwww.case.edu/faculty/stein.html"><span class="yshortcuts"
id="lw_1210160681_6">http://epbiwww.case.edu/faculty/stein.html</span></a> </pre>