Sexually transmitted infections impact >14 million Americans annually.  This field is truly multidisciplinary, encompassing clinical infectious disease, outpatient gynecology, molecular diagnostics, public health epidemiology, and behavioral science.  In the past decade, major advances have been made in all of these areas, especially in the implementation of molecular diagnostics as \'standard\' for STD diagnosis, and the development of effective behavioral interventions.  The behavioral and biological relationship between STD and HIV transmission is widely accepted.  Despite these advances, new challenges appear--such as the rapid increase in STDs among homosexual men, or recent political challenges to scientifically grounded STD interventions.  This volume will provide a review of current topics in this exciting field, and will address new developments in epidemiology/surveillance, diagnostics, outreach interventions and therapy