April 23, 2008 The 14th Meeting of the Pacific Rim Association for Clinical Pharmacogenetics (PRACP) was held in Busan, Republic of Korea, on April 9-11, 2008, as the 2008 International Conference on Pharmacogenomics. This conference was hosted jointly with the Korean PharmacoGenomics Research Network (KPGRN) and the PharmacoGenomics Research Center (PGRC) at Inje University. The meeting attracted broad participation from academic scientists, clinicians, regulatory experts, biomedical publishing companies and the pharmaceutical industry representatives. Young scientists and trainees were well represented at the meeting, with strong attendance from Korea, China, Japan and other Pacific Rim nations. On behalf of the PRACP, I would like to thank the Co-Chairperson Professor Sang-Goo Shin and Professor Min-Soo Lee and members of the Organizing Committee for their important contributions. The Organizing Committee developed an outstanding scientific program in close collaboration with the PharmacoGenetics Research Network (PGRN), USA. Professor Michel Eichelbaum opened the conference with the Plenary Lecture on “Pharmacogenomics in the Translational Research and Personalized Medicine”. The distinguished Plenary Lectures were delivered by Dr. Lawrence J. Lesko “Successes in Pharmacogenomics: Progress to Date and Future Opportunities”, Professor Siegfried Kasper “Integrated Approach in the Treatment of Depression and Anxiety Disorder” and Professor Dan M. Roden “Pharmacogenetic Approaches to the Study of Abnormal Cardiac Rhythm”. An important theme in the conference was on translational research in pharmacogenomics in order to bridge the gap between molecular discoveries and applications at the bedside. The conference presentation format was comprised of 11 symposia: 1. Genome Structure & Variation in Pharmacogenomics Research 2. Pharmacogenomics of Drug Disposition 3. Translational Pharmacogenomics (I): Pharmacotherapy in Neuropsychiatry 4. Translational Pharmacogenomics (II): Cancer Chemotherapy 5. Translational Pharmacogenomics (III): Respiratory and Cardiovascular Pharmacotherapy 6. Current Application of Pharmacogenomics in Drug Development & Regulation 7. Pharmacogenomics Based Personalized Pharmacotherapy 8. Confounding Factors of Pharmacogenomics: Ethnicity and Others 9. Pharmacogenomics Research in Asian Countries: Regional to Global Networking 10. New Paradigm of Pharmacogenomics: to be alone or together 11. Mini Session: Translational Research in Pharmacogenetics: Linking the Practice of Ethics with Translation in Biosciences. Together with the workshops in the conference, 44 outstanding speakers from across the world presented cutting-edge research on pharmacogenomics, and more than 600 participants attended the conference. In addition to the invited speakers, there was a poster presentation for free communications and exchange of ideas. The travel awards were provided to six selected participants who submit the most meritorious abstracts in the poster category. Considerable attention was given to the clinical significance of genetic variation in drug metabolism, molecular drug targets and population-to-population variation in drug efficacy and safety. The conference brought together a critical mass of leading investigators, clinicians, government and industry representatives from various countries to address emerging challenges and opportunities in the field of pharmacogenomics. The state of the art scientific program was complemented by an exciting social program. Busan had famous scenic natural landscapes including a coastline with beautiful beaches, islets and towering mountains. The Council elected me again as the PRACP President for the 2008-2009 term to maintain our momentum, along with Professors Vural Ozdemir (Secretary-General; the Chair, the Bylaws Committee), Kazutaka Shimoda (Treasurer, Chair, the Membership Committee), Bryn Williams-Jones (Treasurer), Junichi Azuma and Norio Ozaki (Co-Chair, the Scientific Committee), and Min-Soo Lee (Chair, the Academic and Public Affair Committee). A full list of the PRACP Councilors is posted on the home page. Our society has a long standing history of leadership in the field of pharmacogenetics since its inception in Kyoto in 1990. The origins of pharmacogenetics and the PRACP rest on inter-ethnic and population differences in drug efficacy and safety. Availability of molecular pharmacogenetic biomarkers now presents unprecedented exciting opportunities to better understand the mechanisms of population variability in medical therapeutics. By its very nature, progress in science is a dynamic process that also requires sustained enthusiasm and momentum. The next meeting of the PRACP will be held in Hong Kong on October, 2009. Professor Vivian Lee will chair the meeting. Please visit the PRACP home page for detailed meeting information that will be available in the near future. The subsequent PRACP meeting will take place in Montreal, Canada (May 2011, to be co-chaired by Professors Vural Ozdemir and Beatrice Godard). In closing, I would like to thank our members and colleagues who made PRACP2008 a successful and productive meeting. I look forward to seeing you all in Hong Kong in 2009! Yours truly, Toshiyuki Someya, MD, PhD President, Pacific Rim Association for Clinical Pharmacogenetics Editor-in-Chief, Current Pharmacogenomics and Personalized Medicine Professor and Chair, Department of Psychiatry Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences 757 Asahimachidori-ichibancho, Chuo-ku, Niigata 951-8510, Japan