The 2009 Gordon Conference on Evolutionary & Ecological Functional Genomics will present cutting-edge snapshots of ways in which genomics approaches are being used to study adaptation of organisms to changing environments, genome evolution and population genetics, as well as the role of genomic evolution in the evolution of complex phenotypes. In particular, several of the talks this year will highlight "global change genomics" and evidence for evolution at the molecular and phenotypic levels in response to climate change. A diversity of sessions will highlight recent results from natural as well as experimental populations, and will cover both non-model and model species. There will be an exciting balance between ecologists using genomics to study adaptation in rapidly evolving systems, as well as genomicists turning large-scale sequence, expression and functional assays to study variation among populations and species. Several sessions will emphasize recent findings on plant ecological genomics. Other topics will include the evolutionary genomics of infectious disease; microbial metagenomics; population genomics of model species (such as humans, Drosophila and yeast); and the genomics of speciation.

The conveners, Scott Edwards (Harvard) and Loretta Johnson (Kansas State University) have invited approximately 25 world-class speakers in these diverse areas, all of whom will be presenting at this particular Gordon conference for the very first time. Many are young investigators with exciting new systems to discuss whereas we also have several established leaders of the field. The conveners are committed to assembling a diverse conference and are actively applying for funds to allow graduate students and others to attend. Although attendance at Gordon conferences is by application, we intend to admit as many as we can on a first-come-first serve basis, and the limit for this particular conference is 165 attendees. We hope to see you there!

A central objective of this Biology of Aging Gordon Research Conference is to stimulate discussion of the interdependence of genetic, functional and environmental interactions in determining and potentially combating negative consequences of age-related changes and diseases. This includes investigations of structure and function that characterize normal aging and biochemical, genetic and physiological understanding of mechanisms of aging. Critically important for human wellbeing are investigations of the adverse changes that are risk factors, which contribute to or accompany age-related disease states in humans and animal models. Over the last several years a rudimentary understanding of some aging mechanisms have been generated. In organisms such as yeast, C. elegans and Drosophila, molecular genetic studies have defined many of the genes that determine life span and identification of which gene expression changes functionally associate with aging are underway. In rodents, many biochemical pathways strongly associate with aging and life span. These are now being confirmed and further studied using knockout and transgenic strategies. The insulin/insulin-like growth factor pathway appears to be an evolutionarily conserved mechanism that controls longevity and investigations into specific aspects of metabolism are revealing key effectors and potential targets. Thus, our field is continuing to mature as we develop a deeper understanding of aging mechanisms applicable across species and develop strategies to intervene in these processes in order to extend lifespan and health span.

The underlying goal of the program is to encourage participants to critically evaluate the latest insights into the aging process from the molecular to the whole organism, defining rational approaches to health span extension. There will be an emphasis upon aging at the integrative level and consideration of inflammation as a pleiotropic effector of the pathology associated with aging. Lifestyle, genetic, and pharmacological interventions will also form a significant element of the meeting program.

This meeting explores the function of neural circuits, defined as the mechanisms by which assemblies of neurons generate perception, neural states and behavior. Neuroscience has historically focused on understanding the nervous system one neuron at a time. Yet, most nervous systems are composed of enormous numbers of neurons and connections. The general rules by which these complex circuits operate are practically unknown. In analogy to the Crick-Watson model of DNA, or the Hodgkin- Huxley model of the action potential, there could be a relatively simple solution to a large variety of computational problems that the nervous system solves. This "circuit problem" remains a major challenge and is the primary focus of our Gordon conference.

Eight sessions will examine the multidisciplinary analysis of different neural circuits, including their developmental, cerebellar, spinal, limbic, auditory, taste/olfactory, striatal, somatosensory, visual and cognitive manifestations. Molecular genetic techniques have created powerful paradigms in species such as c. elegans, Drosophila, zebrafish and mice, which may provide insight into higher order function in birds, primates and humans alike. The strength of our meeting lies in its comparative aspect, since it is likely that evolution has conserved similar strategies for processing information and generating mental states and behavior.

A common thread is the study of the computational strategies used by these different circuits. Moreover, the role of plasticity will be addressed in all of these systems, since the operation of neural circuits cannot be understood without their modification on different time scales. The last few years have also seen major progress in the cellular and molecular manipulation of the nervous system. Special Hot Topics sessions will emphasize optical probing of neural circuit dynamics and epigenetic modifications by experience.

Modern Neuroscience encompasses research at tremendous breadth of scale, from the function of channels, to psychophysical or ethological analysis of behavior. While there are conferences that cover each of these levels, a “black box" approach from molecules to behavior often ignores the essential workings of the circuit, which may conceivably be the key level where the function of the nervous system is actually organized. Our meeting deliberately spans many levels and systems, focusing on the analysis of circuits.

An exciting aspect is the highly international nature of this endeavor to foster cross-fertilization between the represented fields, as indicated by our list of speakers. In the spirit of the Gordon Research conferences, the meeting will be highly interactive. Concise cutting-edge presentations will be followed by intense discussion both during the sessions and ensuing free time. All speakers are encouraged to stay for several days, so that participants may have plenty of opportunity for interaction. Besides scheduled talks, exceptional short talks may be selected from amongst the abstracts submitted by participants.