Dear Colleagues, Please take a moment to read this letter and renew your membership or, if you have never been a member of IDS, please seriously consider joining. The ID Society is the only organisation that provides a forum for state-of-the-art "Keystone"-type meetings focussed on the immunology of diabetes. The most recent IDS Meeting in Chennai, convened by Carani Sanjeevi, reached new heights with outstanding scientific presentations and Workshops, and overall organisation. New initiatives of the Society will include expanded Workshops on autoantibody isotypes and subclasses, novel T-cell technologies and virus assays, and guidelines, eg on clinical trials for diabetes prevention. The Society is actively seeking to increase its membership and strengthen its position internationally, and to work cooperatively with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), NIH, Immune Tolerance Network (ITN), national diabetes organisations and the Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies (FOCIS). There has never been more interest in the immunology of diabetes. Islet autoimmunity has become a basic research paradigm, preclinical diagnosis, prediction and prevention of type 1 diabetes is a realistic goal, and advances in transplantation and stem cell research offer new hope for restoring beta-cell function. Members of the ID Society have been instrumental in driving research in these areas and the Society has played a key role in implementing this research and its clinical application.
Membership in the IDS will provide you with a large number of benefits:
Scientific Meetings
State-of-the-art meetings at least every 2 years. Recent meetings were 1995, Orvieto, Italy; 1996, Canberra, Australia; 1998, Chicago, USA; 1999, Fiuggi, Italy; 2001, Chennai, India. The next Meeting will be in Denver, USA in October 2002, followed by Bristol, UK. You are entitled to a registration fee discount and travel scholarships are available to young researchers. Active participation in Workshops between and at Meetings is encouraged.
Journals
You will receive the Newsletter, IDS News, with information on current IDS activities. You will also receive a complimentary yearly subscription to either Diabetes/Metabolism Research and Reviews or Clinical Immunology.
Internet Site
Our Web site, www.immunologyofdiabetessociety.com, with all information pertinent to the Society and its activities is updated regularly. A current list of members is maintained. News, information on Workshops and links to other useful sites are available.
Please return your Application Form by fax, or post to the address indicated. You are strongly encouraged to renew your membership, or to join, and to encourage your colleagues to join. Sincerely,
Len Harrison MD IDS President	Desmond Schatz MD IDS Secretary
PS: The IDS still needs serum for the Diabetes Autoantibody Standardisation Program in which you can participate free of charge. We are still looking for at least another 50 samples. Fifty cc of serum is required. If you are able to provide samples, please contact Polly Bingley at polly.bingley@bristol.ac.uk for instructions on sample handling. There will also be a presentation by the best labs at the American Diabetes Association Annual Meeting in Philadelphia at the Marriott on Sunday June 23 Rm 404 at 7:30 pm.