Search Results
Chemical Senses: Receptors and Circuits (C7)
15-Mar-2009 -
19-Mar-2009
Tahoe City
California
USA
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"The goal of this Keystone meeting is to bring together both pioneers and newcomers to the neurobiology of the chemical senses to discuss the development and function of neuronal circuits that underlie the perception of odorants, tastants, and pheromones. In the decade since the identification of molecular receptors for chemosensory stimuli, the field is increasingly moving toward questions of how sensory circuits are assembled during development and how they function in mediating chemosensory perception. Researchers are elucidating the molecules and mechanisms that pattern connections from the periphery to the brain. Using electrophysiological and imaging techniques, information processing is being studied mostly at the periphery. However, there is little information about how information is propagated from lower pathways to the cortex (or equivalent) and other higher brain regions. This meeting will highlight recent results using developmental, electrophysiological, functional imaging, and behavioral approaches to elucidate how chemosensory signals are processed in invertebrate and vertebrate model systems, ranging from nematode, fruit fly, zebrafish, mouse, rat, non-human primate to human. "
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Registration Deadline: 17-Nov-2008
http://www.keystonesymposia.org/Meetings/ViewMeetings.cfm?Meetin
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Immunologic Memory and Host Defense
08-Feb-2009 -
13-Feb-2009
keystone
Colorado
USA
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"Immune memory has a critical role in mediating protection against infections as well as potentiating certain allergic and autoimmune diseases. Hence a thorough understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating adaptive immune memory will have important clinical application. In this regard, there has been great progress in understanding how the innate immune response influences adaptive immunity. Furthermore, improved methods to visualize immune responses in vivo, characterize the phenotypic and functional properties of adaptive immune responses and how lymphoid and non-lymphoid compartments influence the maintenance of such responses has substantially improved our understanding in this area. However, major hurdles still relate to difficulties in eliciting sustained T cell responses sufficient to mediate protection in humans with current vaccines. The goal of the meeting will be to focus on basic mechanisms for how T and B cells are programmed to induce and sustain immunity. The program is designed to integrate information from mouse, non-human primate and human studies to encompass all relevant areas related to control of memory T and B cell responses. In summary, this meeting should facilitate translational research that will impact vaccines and interventions for infectious disease, cancer and autoimmune/allergic disease. "
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Registration Deadline: 08-Oct-2008
http://www.keystonesymposia.org/Meetings/ViewMeetings.cfm?Meetin
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PI 3-Kinase Signaling in Disease (Z3)
22-Apr-2009 -
27-Apr-2009
Olympic Valley
California
USA
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"The PI 3-kinase signaling pathway controls multiple physiological processes including cell growth, cell proliferation and cell movement. Dysregulation of this pathway in cancer, inflammation and heart disease has led to the emergence of PI 3-kinase as a promising therapeutic target. One of the most exciting developments in this field is the discovery of new PI 3-kinase inhibitors. The balance between modulating PI 3-kinase activity in pathophysiological setting, whilst avoiding unwanted side-effects, is the subject of intense debate. In addition, as PI 3-kinase is a member of a multigene family, the rationale for inhibiting individual isoforms or multiple isoforms of PI 3-kinase is constantly changing. This meeting aims to bring together scientists and clinicians from academia and industry to discuss the opportunities and liabilities of targeting the PI 3-kinase pathway in disease, drawing on human pathophysiology and genetics, mouse models and preclinical data with new PI 3-kinase inhibitors."
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Registration Deadline: 23-Dec-2008
http://www.keystonesymposia.org/Meetings/ViewMeetings.cfm?Meetin
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Genome Instability and DNA Repair (C6)
01-Mar-2009 -
06-Mar-2009
Taos
New Mexico
USA
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"DNA damage repair and the DNA damage response overall are critical to the organism for both tumor suppression and the propagation of genomic information to subsequent generations. Tremendous advances have occurred in the last several years which have enlightened our understanding of the DNA damage response in all organisms and the derivation of genomic rearrangements, including in mouse and human. This meeting will highlight recent advances. Programmed DNA damage and its repair will be presented in sessions on the immune system and meiosis and germ cell development. Mechanisms of DNA repair will be presented in sessions on homologous recombination and non-homologous end-joining. Genomic rearrangements arising from sequence repeats and repetitive elements will also be presented."
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Registration Deadline: 04-Nov-2008
http://www.keystonesymposia.org/Meetings/ViewMeetings.cfm?Meetin
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Mammalian DNA Repair
08-Feb-2009 -
13-Feb-2009
Ventura
CA
USA
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The Mammalian DNA Repair Gordon Research Conference meets biannually. Unlike the larger conferences in this rapidly expanding field that meet regularly but less frequently, the Mammalian DNA Repair GRC does not attempt to be comprehensive in its coverage of the multiplicity of DNA repair processes and their biological importance but rather highlights recent major advances in selected key areas. As evidenced by a number of rare human genetic diseases involving DNA repair defects and by mouse models, DNA repair processes are now understood to be critical for maintaining genomic stability and genetic integrity and function in the face of abundant endogenously generated DNA damage as well as the typically low environmental exposures to genotoxins. A number of recent research advances using these systems place DNA repair squarely at the crossroads of cancer and aging, and mechanistic understanding of key processes is progressing rapidly. The 2009 conference will emphasize new themes in the area of the DNA damage response. Specifically, we will emphasize 1.) crosstalk among the six major DNA repair pathways 2.) the coordination of multiple pathways (NER, HR, and TLS) in DNA crosslink repair 3.) the importance of post-translational modifications (i.e., phosphorylation, Ubiquitination, and acetylation) in regulating the assembly and function of DNA repair complexes and 4.) the emergence of new diagnostic biomarkers and DNA repair inhibitors, such as PARP1 inhibitors, in cancer therapy.
Presentation of unpublished results will be strongly emphasized in instructions to all speakers, and interactive discussions involving all conferees will be actively encouraged. Broad participation will be facilitated through the selection of short talks from submitted abstracts, including those from postdocs and graduate students. Early application with submission of abstracts is strongly encouraged in order to aid in selection of conference participants and short platform talks.
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Registration Deadline: 18-Jan-2009
http://www.grc.org/programs.aspx?year=2009&program=mammdna
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Barrier Function Of Mammalian Skin
09-Aug-2009 -
14-Aug-2009
Waterville Valley
NH
USA
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The 11th Barrier Function of Mammalian Skin Gordon Research Conference is scheduled for August 9-14, 2009 at the Waterville Valley Resort in New Hampshire, USA. This conference represents the primary international research forum on the mammalian barrier, and is focused on the biophysical, biological, and clinical aspects of both normal and diseased barrier formation and function. The organizers have assembled an excellent program, with an outstanding list of speakers and discussion leaders to address the diverse aspects of current barrier research. To further insure that recent novel perspectives are highlighted, a "Hot Topics/Young Investigators" session is again scheduled, wherein six-to-seven presentations will be given by young scientists on their most-recent research.
This popular conference is generally fully- to over-subscribed, which makes it possible to accept an optimal mix of attendees from academics, industry and government, as well as a mix of young and established scientists. Submitted abstracts will be used not only to assist with consideration for conference participation, but also for the selection of presenters for the "Hot Topics/Young Investigators" session. The organizers also are making a concerted effort to recruit speakers and encourage attendees from around the world, particularly from Asia, Eastern Europe, and Former Soviet Union countries.
The 2009 Barrier Gordon Conference promises to provide new insights into the origin, function, maintenance, and repair of the mammalian skin barrier, including the penetration of drugs and exclusion of toxins and pathogens. The resulting exchange will hopefully lead to immediate, practical consequences for patients with skin and other disorders. To accomplish this goal, an array of important topics has been selected, with individual sessions and/or selected presentations devoted to: Molecular regulation and matrix signaling in barrier formation and regeneration; Insights into barrier structure and function from IR, deuterium NMR, & CARS spectroscopy; Membrane lipid transport and ABC transporter proteins in lamellar body formation and skin barrier function; Skin biophysics and biomechanics; Skin as a psycho-sensory barrier organ; Other barriers/other worlds: lessons from lung, GI, and bile barriers; Clinical dimensions of defective barriers in skin disease and repair; Anti-microbial and innate barriers; Protease regulation in stratum corneum structure, function, and disease; and Barrier electrophysiology. To complement these diverse themes, three evening poster sessions are scheduled, with up to 30 presentations each to be organized by topic. The always-entertaining Thursday evening debate returns with the topic: Math vs. Mouse: Percutaneous penetration & modeling.
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Registration Deadline: 19-Jul-2009
http://www.grc.org/programs.aspx?year=2009&program=barrier
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Glycolipid & Sphingolipid Biology
07-Feb-2010 -
12-Feb-2010
Ventura
CA
USA
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The Gordon Research Conference on Glycolipid and Sphingolipid Biology, the eleventh in this series, promises to be an exciting and instructive meeting on the cutting edge of the field. Important areas of focus will include: role of these lipids in membrane structure and function, regulation and structure of the enzymes of glycolipid and sphingolipid metabolism, involvement of these lipids in cellular transport mechanisms, role of bioactive sphingolipids in signal transduction, cell regulation, and in diseases such as neurodegeneration, diabetes, and cancer. In addition the meeting will cover exciting new developments in Lipidomics and sphingolipidology, including mass spectroscopy, systems biology, model organisms, knockout mouse models and translational sciences. 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 southern California beaches.
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Registration Deadline: 17-Jan-2010
http://www.grc.org/programs.aspx?year=2010&program=glycolipid
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Proteolytic Enzymes & Their Inhibitors
02-May-2010 -
07-May-2010
Lucca (Barga)
Italy
Italy
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We are at the end of the beginning in understanding protease biology… Every protein in all forms of life undergoes proteolysis, making proteolysis the most important post-translational modification of proteins in the proteome. Rather than being primarily involved in degradation, proteases have equally or more important roles as efficient processing enzymes of many bioactive mediators such as cytokines, growth factor binding proteins, chemokines, their receptors and specific protein anchors for these molecules. Limited and specific processing of bioactive mediators can lead to profound alterations in cell behaviour resulting in shedding of cell surface molecules, mobilization of proteins in different cellular compartments, activation and inactivation of signalling molecules - sometimes converting activity from agonists to antagonists, cell death, and for certain proteins, exposing cryptic biologically active epitopes and neoproteins from precursor molecules of unrelated function. Plants, microorganisms and viruses similarly utilize proteolysis for essential functions and in pathogenic species often utilize proteases as virulence factors. In addition proteolytic activation or inactivation of other proteases and inhibitors links many proteases in a proteome to form an interconnected ‘Protease Web’, the net activity of which moulds the proteome, dynamically regulating homeostatic, physiological and host defence responses. Hence, dramatically increased knowledge of the physiological functions of proteases is required in order to then understand the roles of proteases and inhibitors in pathology and so devise rational targeting strategies for therapeutic intervention with new generations of antiproteolytic inhibitor drugs. Implicit in these goals is the discovery of protease substrates and their binding partners in vivo, and to image their activity in living systems. These diverse and important functions potentially explain the paradoxical positive and negative effects of proteases in diseases such as cancer, arthritis, and neurodegeneration that led to the realization that whereas some proteases are important drug targets, many others are anti-targets, having beneficial host protective roles. Hence, the results of some disappointing protease inhibitor drug trials can be so understood, while at the same time sharpening the goals for effective new drug treatments of disease based on scrupulous target validation, identification of antitargets and countertargets and innovative new chemistries. On this backdrop, the 2010 Proteolytic Enzymes and Inhibitors Gordon Research Conference will present the most recent and innovative research in proteases and their inhibitors in a multidisciplinary manner and in a new program format. Moreover, many new and establishing investigators have been invited to present their work alongside those from established laboratories. Several short talks are reserved for trainees that will be selected from the poster abstracts and a few full speaker slots have been held for the latest breaking stories. Together with the recreational and culinary activities possible at the 5 Star Il Ciocco Hotel and Resort in Northern Tuscany, I hope this ensures a vibrant, interactive, enthusiastic and fun meeting that features the most innovative protease research of our time. In Italy 2010, the processing functions of proteases will be emphasised with respect to interconnections of the proteases with signalling networks that alter overall cell behaviour. The future outlook and potential for anti-proteolytic drugs will be discussed throughout the meeting in relation to new discoveries on the positive and negative roles of proteases in disease. With many aspects of the structural biology of proteases and inhibitors now well established, it is time to turn to innovative methods of studying and resolving the dynamic nature of proteases in catalysis and in vivo by new imaging techniques. Embracement of proteomics by the protease field has, in general, been slow due to significant technical challenges. Hence, establishing the roles of proteases by system-wide level investigations remains in its infancy, but will be a hot topic of discussion now that several approaches are now robust enough to profile substrate processing in tissues in a multiplex manner and to image proteolytic activity in mouse models of disease. It is hoped that these discussions and presentations will further nucleate the field to research the roles of proteinases and their impact on the substrate degradome in physiological processes at a system-wide level as an essential prerequisite to understanding their role in pathology. [1]Dr Klaudia Brix and I invite protease researchers to gather in the Tuscan sunshine in the spring of 2010 at the first Proteolytic Enzymes and Inhibitors GRC to be held at Il Ciocco Hotel and Resort, Lucca (Barga), Toscona, Italia. [2]Chris Overall Chair, 2010 Proteolytic Enzymes and Inhibitors GRCReferences Visible links 1. mailto:K.BRIX@jacobs-university.de 2. mailto:CHRIS.OVERALL@ubc.ca
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Registration Deadline: 11-Apr-2010
http://www.grc.org/programs.aspx?year=2010&program=protenzyme
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DNA Damage, Mutation & Cancer
21-Mar-2010 -
26-Mar-2010
Ventura
CA
USA
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Cells sustain DNA damage from both endogenous and external sources and they have evolved elegant machinery to repair this damage. Deficient or aberrant repair results in mutations that can lead to cancer. The 2010 conference on DNA Damage, Mutation, and Cancer will present cutting edge research into biochemical, molecular, and cellular aspects of DNA repair, mutagenesis, and cancer. Topics that will be covered include chemistry and recognition of DNA damage, mechanisms of DNA repair, tolerance, and lesion bypass, conformational dynamics, epigenetics of DNA repair, mouse models of human cancer, transcriptional and translational mutagenesis, and the use of DNA repair as a target for cancer therapy. The invited speakers, who are at the forefront of their fields, come from a variety of disciplines including chemistry, biochemistry, cell biology, and evolutionary biology. The conference will strongly encourage the presentation and discussion of unpublished results. We will also provide a platform for junior investigators to present short talks and these will be selected from the abstracts. We expect that the scientific exchange at the conference will impact cancer research in significant ways and result in establishing new multi-disciplinary collaborative efforts.
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Registration Deadline: 28-Feb-2010
http://www.grc.org/programs.aspx?year=2010&program=dnadamage
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Molecular and Cellular Biology of Immune Escape in Cancer
07-Feb-2010 -
12-Feb-2010
Keystone
Colorado
USA
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It is now widely recognized that the immune microenvironment of a tumor provides critical support in determining its progression versus dormancy or destruction. To gain immune benefits the tumor must evolve mechanisms of immune escape. Study of this crucial process requires cross-fertilization between molecular cell biologists and tumor immunologists who do not tend to interact. This problem is also integrated with the problem of cancer inflammation that has captured the attention of tumor biologists focused on transgenic mouse models and clinical settings. Thus, we propose a unique conference ﾖ the first of its kind ﾖ to integrate perspectives from a diverse set of researchers in cancer, immunology, and molecular therapeutics and to focus specifically on immune escape and tumor-induced immune suppression as a multidisciplinary problem. Cancer is initiated by the accumulation of genetic and epigenetic changes in a normal cell, but its progression depends on the stromal and immune microenvironment of the initiated cell. While intrinsic signals within the initiated cell drive neoplastic transformation and genomic plasticity, extrinsic signals delivered by immune cells are critical in dictating whether progression versus dormancy or destruction of an initiated lesion takes place, and also whether metastasis may occur. The high degree of genomic plasticity in cancer cells permits them to develop sophisticated ways to prevent the immune system from recognizing and eliminating tumor cells. It has become increasingly clear in recent years that abnormalities in the immune system that are induced by tumors not only hamper natural anti-tumor immune surveillance but also limit the efficacy of immunotherapy and even traditional chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Thus, tumor-induced immune abnormalities may not only impact the clinical course of disease but also the prospects for its therapeutic management. Recent results indicate that we are on the verge of a real breakthrough in our understanding of how tumors thwart the immune system and how correcting immune escape could vastly improve cancer therapy. However, at present the available mechanistic information presents a somewhat convoluted picture that includes some seemingly contradictory elements. While this situation is a natural stage of development in the field, there is nevertheless a pressing need to define key questions and organize their development in coherent ways that can speed improvements in cancer therapy.
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Registration Deadline: 07-Feb-2010
http://www.keystonesymposia.org/Meetings/ViewMeetings.cfm?MeetingID=1038&subTab=summary
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Adipose Tissue Biology
24-Jan-2010 -
29-Jan-2010
Keystone
Colorado
USA
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The study of adipose tissue has evolved over the years from merely being a passing note in most physiology texts to now playing center stage in the etiology of most metabolic diseases. This shift was assisted by early studies exploring the molecular signals and gene expression changes that dictate the differentiated state of a cell, for which the adipocyte was a model. Such studies led to the discovery of PPARgamma as one of those key regulators of adipogenesis, and later the realization that it was the pharmacologic target of the glitazone class of anti-diabetic agents. Further seminal studies from The Jackson Laboratories on mouse genetics of obesity paved the way for the discovery of adipocyte-derived regulatory hormones (ﾓadipokinesﾔ) such as leptin and its receptor. These in turn ushered in the current state of vigorous investigation dissecting the molecular pathways of satiety and other aspects of signaling cross-talk between adipose tissue and other organs. The updated view of adipose tissue as a bona fide endocrine organ has been further extended to include it as a potential reservoir of stem cells for tissue engineering and an integral player in inflammatory status and insulin resistance. This meeting will cover these and other topics of the adipose biology field, including the role of angiogenesis in adipose tissue expansion; the white fat-brown fat debate; the contribution of the circadian clock to the hormonal and neural signals that coordinate food intake and activity for metabolic balance; and the connections between central and peripheral signals involved in the unanticipated lipodystrophic disorders resulting from such therapeutic regimens as antipsychotics and anti-retrovirals. A series of hot-topic sessions and short talks from submitted abstracts are also planned.
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Registration Deadline: 24-Jan-2010
http://www.keystonesymposia.org/Meetings/ViewMeetings.cfm?MeetingID=1043&subTab=summary
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PI 3-Kinase Signaling Pathways (X2)
13-Feb-2011 -
18-Feb-2011
Keystone
Colorado
USA
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The PI 3-kinase signaling pathway controls multiple physiological processes including cell growth, cell proliferation and cell movement. Dysregulation of this pathway in cancer, inflammation and heart disease has led to the emergence of PI 3-kinase as a promising therapeutic target. One of the most exciting developments in this field is the development of new PI 3-kinase inhibitors that are currently entering the clinic. The balance between modulating PI 3-kinase activity in a pathophysiological setting, while avoiding unwanted side effects, is the subject of intense debate. In addition, as PI 3-kinase is a member of a multigene family, the rationale for inhibiting individual isoforms or multiple isoforms of PI 3-kinase is constantly changing. This meeting aims to bring together scientists and clinicians from academia and industry to discuss the opportunities and liabilities of targeting the PI 3-kinase pathway in disease, drawing on human pathophysiology and genetics, mouse models and (pre)clinical data with new PI 3-kinase inhibitors.
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Registration Deadline: 14-Dec-2010
http://www.keystonesymposia.org/Meetings/ViewMeetings.cfm?MeetingID=1081
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Stem Cells, Cancer and Metastasis (C4)
06-Mar-2011 -
11-Mar-2011
Keystone
Colorado
USA
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Several concepts regarding the origins of cancer and metastasis have converged in recent years. In particular, special interest has focused on the possibility that tissue specific stem cells and cancer cells displaying the properties of these cells play fundamental roles in the malignant process. These concepts have been supported by studies of mouse models in which predictable patterns of tumor spread and access to both primary and metastatic lesions has allowed molecular analyses. With regard to primary tumors, emerging evidence suggests that important cancers, including those in the colon and brain, may arise directly from mutated progenitor cells that display deviant differentiation within "stem cell-niches". Tumors appear also to contain stem-like cancer cells that are both necessary and required to propagate the disease. These findings overlap with observations of metastasis that suggest tumor dissemination may be driven by critical changes in tumor cell differentiation, including epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), and the migration of malignant stem cells to "pre-metastatic niches". We believe the time is ripe for a joint conference that will bring together scientists and clinicians with interests in stem cell biology, cancer and metastasis. The meeting will provide a forum for exchange of information and insights between these rapidly moving fields. In addition to increasing the sharing of key scientific approaches we believe this conference will galvanize collaborative efforts among disparate research communities to address several key outstanding questions: (i) What is the relationship between normal and malignant tissue stem cells? (ii) What is the relationship between cancer stem cells and the so-called "metastatic precursor", that is capable of indefinite proliferation at the new metastatic site? (iii) What are the interactions between stromal and stem-like cancer cells in primary and metastatic disease sites? How do these interactions facilitate disease propagation and metastatic spread? (iv) How should we monitor in vivo the biology of stem-like cells in primary tumors and metastasis? (v) What are the optimal approaches to target therapeutically stem-like cancer cells in primary and metastatic disease? By focusing on these questions, we aim to elicit exciting fundamental biological discussions with significant translational application.
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Registration Deadline: 06-Jan-2011
http://www.keystonesymposia.org/Meetings/ViewMeetings.cfm?MeetingID=1079
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