in conjunction with the Tenth Anniversary Celebration of Asian Journal of Andrology　

　　Hosted by

　　 Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica (SIMM), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS),　　Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU),Asian Society of Andrology (ASA) ,Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Medical University

　　With the warm applause of all participants, the Third Asia-Pacific Forum on Andrology (3APFA), in conjunction with the Tenth Anniversary Celebration of Asian Journal of Andrology (AJA) was successfully and fruitfully completed at the International Conference Hotel Nanjing, Nanjing, China on October 10-13, 2009.

　　Bathing in the temperate breath of the golden season, world renowned andrological experts, scientists, doctors and participants coming from every corner of the world gathered together at the international Conference Hotel Nanjing on the 10th of October for the forum that is held every four years. On behalf of the whole committee of 3APFA, professor Yi-Fei Wang, Chairman of 3APFA, Senior Advisor of Medical School, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Executive President of ASA, Editor-in-chief of AJA, former President of Chinese Society of Reproductive Medicine, kicked off the three-day congress with a splendid welcome remark. The congress was greatly honored to have invited professor David de Kretser, Governor of Victoria, Australia, former Director of the Monash Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne; professor David J Handelsman, Director of ANZAC Research Institute and Deputy Editor-in-Chief of AJA; professor J Anton Grootegoed, former President of International Society of Andrology; professor Timothy M Farley, Medical Officer of Department of Reproductive Health and Research, World Health Organization. Professor Yong-Lian Zhang, academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences, head of Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences and others as key note speakers. Many Chinese experts doing research abroad also attended the forum.

　　The forum was organized by Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica (SIMM), Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Nanjing Medical University, hosted by Asian Journal of Andrology and Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Medical University. It also gained strong support from the World Health Organization, International Society of Andrology, and Society of Reproductive Medicine, Chinese Medical Association.

　　With the theme of Environment, Life Style & Genetic/Epigenetic Factors and Men's Health, there are several important sessions and lectures dealing with this topic, such as “Biomedical and social determinants of men’s health”, “Male circumcision and HIV prevention", “Post-meiotic gene expression in spermatogenesis”, “Gene-environment interaction and male reproductive function” and “Environmental risk to male reproductive health”, all of which triggered a lively discussion among participants.

　　In addition, hot topics including Men's Health: Global and Regional Perspectives, Sperm Biology and Fertilization, Male Infertility and Assisted Reproductive Technology, Male Sexual Dysfunction, Male Ageing, Androgen Deficiency and Therapy, Prostate Diseases and Prevention, Diagnosis & Treatment of Prostate Cancer, Environment Hazards to Men's Health, Prevention of Life-threatening STDs/HIV Infections, Prevention of Overpopulation and Male Contraception, Alternative/Traditional Medicine and Andrology also drew great attention and active response from the participants. More than 30 international andrological experts were invited as keynote speakers to present their latest research results and share with every participant their unique insights in men’s heath problems. The congress had a total attendance of about 600 participants, and 400 abstracts submitted to the forum.

　　In order to narrow the distance between scientists and the public community, the forum also held a special Public Consultation activity in Nanjing, establishing a face-to-face dialogue platform between basic and clinical andrological experts and the citizens of Nanjing. This activity was warmly welcomed by the public and media

　　Launched in 1999, Asian Journal of Andrology was thrilled to celebrate its tenth birthday at the forum. Constantly sticking to its tenet “Located in Asia, Facing the world”, AJA emerged from unknown and has turned into a famous journal enjoying worldwide prestige. with its impact factor increasing all the way from the initial 0.827 in 2002 to 2.059 in 2008.

　　Three days is short, but the conversations and communications achieved at the forum are endless. We look forward to a more exciting and successful Forum on Andrology in Asia-Pacific areas in four years.