The Vitamin D Workshop, founded 30 years ago, is partnering with the National Cancer Institute to co-sponsor the event, which will be held at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) campus.
The purpose of this meeting is to bring together two groups of scientists, those who research cancer prevention and treatments with scientists who research Vitamin D, or more specifically, the steroid hormone form of vitamin D, 1,25-dihydroxy-vitamin D, also known as Hormone D. In 1967, Norman's laboratory at UC Riverside discovered that vitamin D is converted into this steroid hormone by the body.
Many laboratories are working on drug forms of Hormone D for treatment of some cancers, particularly prostate cancer and leukemia, Norman said. "There is also much interest in what is the proper amount of the parent vitamin D - not the hormone - that an average individual should receive each day."
Norman's laboratory is currently involved in better understanding the molecular mechanisms of how Hormone D generates biological responses.
A distinguished professor of biochemistry and biomedical sciences at UCR, Prof. Norman has served as one of three principal organizers of the Vitamin D Workshop, which has held an international meeting every three years, alternating between Europe and the USA. The Workshop celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2003 at the 12th Vitamin D Workshop in Maastricht, The Netherlands. The next Vitamin D Workshop will be held April 7-12, 2006 in Victoria, B.C., Canada.
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Contact: Kris Lovekin
kris.lovekin@ucr.edu
951-827-1597
University of California - Riverside
20-Oct-2004