COMS

Our understanding of the genes and mechanisms controlling the formation of the lymphatic vasculature has improved a great deal during the last decade. The availability of molecular markers and animal models with various degrees of lymphatic defects has been instrumental to the progress in this field. Also, work in the last few years had led to a better understanding of the functional roles of this vascular system in health and disease. Furthermore, recent work has also unraveled additional functional roles of the lymphatic vasculature in fat metabolism, obesity, inflammation, tumor lymphangiogenesis, and the regulation of salt storage in hypertension.

The 2012 Gordon Conference on Molecular Mechanisms in Lymphatic Function & Disease will bring together an outstanding group of basic and clinically-oriented interdisciplinary scientists to discuss their latest progress in a wide range of topics in this rapidly advancing field of research. The program contains sessions about lymphatic vascular development, lymphatics and inflammation, lymphangiogenesis and cancer, lymphatic-related diseases such as obesity, hypertension, immune suppression, congenital and secondary lymphedema, and therapeutic approaches. The goal is to discuss new insights into the cellular and molecular mechanisms mediating lymphatic development and function, and the design of new interventions against pathological conditions affecting the lymphatic vascular system.

The Conference will bring together investigators who are at the forefront of their field, and will provide opportunities for junior scientists and graduate students to present their work in poster format and exchange ideas with leaders in the field. Some poster presenters will be selected for short talks. This conference is intended to provide a unique format for the exchange of ideas and information, to discuss the latest research findings and technical advances in a collegial atmosphere.

The 2012 conference also features a pre-conference Gordon Research Seminar (GRS), organized by postdoctoral scientists, that will be oriented towards junior investigators to provide them with background on common mechanisms involved in protein transport, to discuss their ongoing research projects, and to facilitate interaction and networking with their peers within this scientific community. We fully anticipate that the talks, discussions, poster sessions, and other informal interactions at this GRC and GRS will contribute to advancing our understanding of molecular mechanisms of protein trafficking, which is essential to both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.

The 2012 conference on DNA Damage, Mutation, & Cancer is designed to address diverse research areas focused on DNA damage, mechanisms of mutagenesis and genetic instability, and the relationships between genetic instability and human cancer. Cutting edge research will be presented on the molecular mechanisms involved in the repair and processing of DNA lesions, genome instability, and cancer etiology. Topics to be covered include DNA structure and mutagenic mechanisms, telomere biology and genetic instability, DNA repair deficiency syndromes and cancer, pathways for damage repair or tolerance through lesion bypass, chromatin-mediated genomic instability, and promising strategies for targeting DNA repair pathways in cancer therapy.

The invited speakers, who are at the forefront of their respective fields, come from a variety of disciplines, and the program will be designed to allow ample time for discussion following each presentation, as well as during the poster sessions. The conference will strongly encourage the presentation and discussion of unpublished results. We will also provide an opportunity for junior investigators to present short talks on exciting topics to be selected from submitted abstracts. We anticipate that productive scientific exchange at this conference will significantly impact cancer research and result in establishing novel multi-disciplinary collaborative efforts.

The 7th Annual Oxford RNAi Conference, RNAi2011, will address the biology and application of RNA interference, and welcomes proposals on endogenous and exogenous roles of small RNAs in gene regulation, health and disease

HDL Satellite meetings are an established feature of the triennial ISA meetings and regularly attract many of the leading researchers in the field.

The objective of this HDL satellite symposium is to provide a forum for presentation and discussion of state-of-the-art knowledge of the biology and biochemistry of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and of recent developments in therapeutics directed to modifications of HDL metabolism and function. The program will reflect the many recent exciting developments in this field and will include invited presentations by many leading researchers in the field. Additional oral presentations will be selected from submitted abstracts and poster sessions will also form an integral part of the scientific program.

With the help of all attendees, we'll try to cover the significant developments and the different perspectives in the field. In addition to invited presentations by leaders in the field, exciting abstracts will be selected for oral presentation, and stimulating posters will be selected for presentation as part of a hot topics session. We will have ample discussion after each talk, during the poster sessions, and during afternoon walks on the old cities of Toscana.

This year, the conference will be held in conjunction with the Myelin Gordon Research Seminar, which will focus on myelination and remyelination in the CNS . The Myelin GRS will provide an informal venue for the next generation of myelin researchers to meet, present cutting edge research, and forge collaborations.

In addition to presentations by invited speakers, abstracts will be selected for shorter oral presentations for each session, ensuring that the program includes a breadth of exciting new topics emerging in the period just preceding the conference.

Strong emphasis will be placed on presentation of unpublished data and extended discussion times tackling the cutting edge of the field. Poster sessions will also be given high priority. Applications will be accepted from a diverse mix of established investigators, junior PIs, postdocs and graduate students. There will also be a satellite GRS meeting for postdocs and graduate students prior to the main GRC.

The research on chemokines has considerably accelerated and spread from initially few principal centers to thousands of institutions worldwide. Hence, nowadays it is hard to predict ahead of time in which laboratories the hottest and the coolest chemokine discoveries of 2012 will emerge. In anticipation of such discoveries and to conform with the spirit of the Gordon Conference, calling to showcase cutting edge unpublished data, we allocated even more speaker slots to the late breaking and short talks selected from abstracts. These should complement invited lectures by top scientists covering biochemistry of chemokines and the cellular responses to them, in vitro and in vivo mechanisms of chemokine induced migration, chemokines in immune organogenesis and immune organ function, chemokines in infection and immunity and the contribution of chemokines to the disease pathogenesis, including cancer.

During the last several years a new generation of young scientists joined the research on chemokines. Students and post-docs constitute now the most numerous group of Chemokine GRC participants. The traditional GRC format provided for their top notch and broad ex cathedra education, but not necessarily fostered their most active participation. This hiatus was addressed and, with considerable pride and excitement, we are announcing that Chemokine GRC 2012 will be twinned for the first time with the Chemokine Gordon Research Seminar, a satellite meeting for young bench scientists, post docs and students, which will take place May 26-27, 2012. This meeting will allow young chemokine researches to interact in an informal setting, exchange ideas, gain confidence as speakers and achieve higher personal visibility. Moreover, it will provide a forum for their concerted mentoring by the most outstanding chemokine scientists.

Our GRC will be returning to Il Ciocco, resort tucked away amidst Toscana Mountains, in the heart of a fascinating land, rich in history and culture, warm, hospitable and welcoming. Despite Il Ciocco being not only one of the most beautiful, but also largest GRC venues, its capacity is finite and only first 200 registered participants will be able to attend the Chemokine GRC, 2012. Our last GRC was oversubscribed with long waiting lists and considerable disappointment for those at end of the queue who could not attend. To assure your participation please register early!

We look forward to seeing you in Il Ciocco in May 2012 and hope that the combination of cutting edge science, passionate scientific debate and relaxing atmosphere of Il Ciocco will be conducive of a successful meeting!

Antal Rot and Andy Luster

Invited speakers will discuss and evaluate critically new findings on (1) the structure of the molecular machinery underlying excitation-contraction coupling, (2) the rapid calcium signaling important for excitation-contraction coupling as well as the slower calcium signals that are important for regulating other processes in striated muscle, (3) the effects of human disease-causing mutations, fatigue and aging on excitation-contraction coupling (4) the roles of both the primary players and the accessory proteins of the triad junction in excitation-contraction coupling, (5) the role of calcium signaling in adaptation, and disease progression, and (6) the development and implementation of new methods to probe muscle excitation-contraction coupling and signaling.

In addition to the invited speakers, the organizing committee will select several poster presenters to give short talks during the formal sessions. The conference will stimulate discussions and will provide a forum that will give young and established investigators the opportunity to meet and interact and exchange their opinions on various topics of the meeting. By bridging basic science, translational and clinical studies related to the mechanism of muscle diseases, this meeting will foster new research directions and scientific collaborations moving the field forward into the future.

NADPH oxidases of the NOX family have in recent years been shown to comprise the predominant source of reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by most types of cells. It is abundantly clear that the science in this field is moving very rapidly, with many exciting advances in understanding of the basic biochemistry and cell biology of the NOX family of enzymes, particularly the contrasting properties and functional roles of the seven discrete isoforms comprising the family. Moreover, NOX-generated ROS are directly involved in a wide range of both physiologic and pathologic processes. Many linkages between NOX enzymes and disease pathogenesis are being elucidated and this knowledge is dramatically accelerating advances in the identification of new and often unexpected therapeutic targets and development of disease-modifying pharmacologic agents. The NOX Gordon Conference program has been clearly established as the top forum for the presentation and discussion of the latest advances in this field. Thus, the 2012 NOX GRC/GRS meetings promise to be timely, exciting, and paradigm-challenging.

The program for the meeting has been developed around the theme of "NOX Biology and its Translation to Human Disease and Therapy." The preliminary conference program comprises nine scientific sessions, four with basic themes and five with a disease-oriented translational emphasis, including one session devoted entirely to recent exciting advances in the development and testing of small-molecule NOX inhibitors. Each session features a discussion leader and three to four speakers, plus a few young investigator presentations to be selected from among an anticipated ~100 poster abstracts. There will be ample time for vigorous discussion after each talk. The GRS program will feature speakers selected from among trainee abstracts, as well as career development components and mentoring by senior scientists. Attracting a diverse group of participants is a major priority, as reflected for example in the high prevalence of women scientists (35%) listed in the preliminary GRC program.

To this end, the 2012 meeting will bring together world leaders and early stage investigators to facilitate the exchange of ideas and accelerate the pace of research in the signal transduction field. Sessions will cover recent advances in the study of heterotrimeric G protein and protein kinase signaling pathways, how these pathways contribute to disease, and how they might be targeted through translational research. There will be a strong emphasis on dissecting the molecular mechanisms of signal transfer and on new technologies being brought to bear on formerly intractable problems. Other sessions will include cutting-edge research in lipid mediated signaling pathways and desensitization mechanisms.

Two types of meetings focus on C.elegans research. The International C.elegans meeting, organised once every two years in the USA, covers all aspects of C.elegans research. The large size (over 2000 attendees) and diversity of the International meeting does not allow easy discussion or interactions among groups who share interest in particular research areas. To fill this gap, C.elegans “Topic meetings” are held in alternate years with the International meetings. These are focused meetings on particular aspects of C.elegans biology. Topic meetings provide a vibrant and exciting arena for discussion of current research, and the sharing of new ideas, methods, and reagents.

Evolution was clever enough to come up with an excellent system of cellular decision makers, but the system can be cheated in the most mischievous way arthritis, cancer, diabetes, obesity, malaria, neurodegenerative disorders and many more can be caused by stray proteolytic enzymes and their inhibitors. Understanding the structures and functions of proteases, watching proteases in action, and approaching their intricacies in the protease web is a must but more so, it is a hope for designing new drugs and better therapeutic treatments based on translational research. On the bright side of life, proteases enable development and maintain physiology. Proteases and their inhibitors are clearly sustainable, they are vital.

Topics of focus for the 2012 meeting include molecular mechanisms and cell biology of endocytic and degradative pathways, as well as their role in human health and disease. Sessions will cover molecular features of endocytic membrane traffic such as coat formation, membrane tubulation, and cell physiology including endosomal and lysosomal membrane traffic, autophagy and formation and function of specialized lysosome-related organelles. Other sessions will focus on the roles of endocytic pathways in infection and immunity, diabetes and metabolism and development. The conference will continue to feature a session on 'New Directions' in which novel technical and conceptual developments in the field will be discussed.

The meeting will be divided into nine half-day sessions, comprising a mixture of invited speakers and those selected from abstracts. Attendance by under-represented minorities, students, postdoctoral fellows, junior faculty, and faculty from primarily undergraduate institutions is encouraged. If you are a student or postdoctoral researcher, it is very important to identify the principal investigator of your laboratory in your application. This conference is usually oversubscribed, so early application is advised with a suggested deadline of April 1, 2010, after which the conference may be filled. Applications received after the conference is full will be assigned to a waiting list.

Prior to and in association with the Gordon Research Conference, new in 2012 there will be a Gordon Research Seminar on Lysosomes and Endocytosis, in which students and post-doctoral researchers can present their work to each other and attend instructional seminars prior to the arrival of senior investigators. Interested trainees are encouraged to view the GRS web site and consider attending.

A main goal of the meeting is to stimulate detailed discussions among all attendees, giving rise to new ideas and directions for the field. Interactions are promoted by programming a generous amount of time for discussion sessions and by providing opportunities for informal gatherings at meals and in the afternoons and evenings. The 2012 meeting will be held at Mt. Holyoke College in idyllic Western Massachusetts. Mt. Holyoke College is within easy driving distance from Boston's Logan Airport, and a shuttle bus will provide transportation prior to and at the conclusion of the meeting. Travel awards are available for selected postdoctoral associates, graduate students, and minority participants.

As initiated in 2010, the main Conference in 2012 will be preceded by a weekend meeting planned by and for pre-doctoral and post-doctoral trainees.

The meeting will convene approximately 45 speakers representing key areas of post-transcriptional gene regulation, with a total of 150-180 participants. The program will consist of nine morning or evening sessions that will broadly address cutting-edge issues in the following areas: Nuclear RNA Metabolism: The Transcription Connection; Bioinformatics: Gene Expression and RNAomics, including the evolution of RNA-processing signals and factors; RNA Splicing Catalysis, Regulation and Fidelity; Non-coding RNAs; RNA Transport and Localization; RNA Turnover, including nonsense-mediated mRNA decay and other types of quality control; Translational Control; RNA and RNP Structure; and RNA-processing Dysfunctions in Disease. Short talks will be chosen from abstract submissions. In addition, small (<50 posters) poster sessions on four late afternoons will enable all participants to contribute to, and learn about, the above-mentioned topics. Free early-afternoon and late-evening periods, and meal times, will also stimulate discussion. While the quality of science will be high, the atmosphere is aimed to be relaxed and interactive. Four poster prizes will be awarded: two to graduate students, and two to post-docs.

The Conference will bring together investigators at the forefront of their research field and will provide many opportunities for junior scientists to present their work and exchange ideas with leaders in the field. In addition to regular talks, a group of poster presenters will be selected to give short oral presentations. The collegial and inter-disciplinary atmosphere of this Conference, with programmed discussion sessions as well as opportunities for informal gatherings in the afternoons and evenings, provides an excellent opportunity for scientists from different disciplines to develop collaborations.

Early efforts of the single molecule community were almost entirely focused on developing new techniques. Now, and in large part due to this conference, single molecule techniques are rapidly occupying a central role in biological research at all levels. This transition was made possible by the availability and dissemination of robust techniques that use fluorescence and force probes to track the conformation of molecules one at a time, in vitro as well as in live cells. Single-molecule approaches have changed the way many biological problems are studied. These novel techniques provide previously unobtainable data on fundamental biochemical processes that are essential for all forms of life. The ability of single-molecule approaches to avoid ensemble averaging and to capture transient intermediates and heterogeneous behavior renders them particularly powerful in elucidating mechanisms of the molecular systems that underpin the functioning of living cells. Hence, our conference seeks to disseminate the implementation and use of single molecule techniques in the pursuit of new biological knowledge. In addition, the conference provides for a modern training ground for young scientists that wish to learn how to conduct interdisciplinary research.

The 2012 Conference will present major recent advances on a wide range of topics related to synaptic transmission including vesicle fusion, structure function relationships, novel forms of plasticity and integration of synaptic function into neuronal networks. The Conference will bring together a diverse group of investigators who are at the forefront of their field, and will provide ample opportunities for junior scientists and graduate students to present their work in poster format and exchange ideas with world-class leaders in the field. Some poster presenters will be selected for short talks. In addition, keynote lectures will be delivered by two outstanding scientists whose work on synapses and networks is both highly influential and complementary. Past participants have lauded this GRC for the high quality of unpublished data being presented and for the collegial and interactive atmosphere where scientists at all levels felt welcome to join in the discussion of recent advances in synaptic physiology.

This conference is in its fourth cycle after three very successful meetings in the U.S. and Italy in 2006, 2008 and 2010. The highly international flavor of this meeting is reflected in the U.S.- and France-based chair and vice chair, respectively, and a diverse range of speakers from around the globe. Topics will include disulfide bond formation in intraorganellar protein folding, chemical biology of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and action, and how perturbations in the localized reactive oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur redox environment can alter signaling and lead to disease. Significant emphasis will be placed on cellular signaling dysfunction from environmental stresses and their link to cancer development. Participation by junior researchers in this conference will also be enhanced through a preceding Gordon Research Seminar with keynote speaker Mike Marletta and speakers and discussion leaders chosen from among the graduate student and postdoctoral community in this field.

The Conference will bring together investigators who are at the forefront of their field, and will provide opportunities for junior scientists and graduate students to present their work in poster format and exchange ideas with leaders in the field. In addition, some poster presenters will be selected to give short talks in the different sessions. The collegial atmosphere of this Conference, with extensive discussion sessions as well as opportunities for informal gatherings in the afternoons and evenings, provides an ideal setting for scientists from different disciplines to exchange ideas, brainstorm and discuss cross-disciplinary collaborations.