The Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Molecular Pharmacology is one of the most popular forums for the gathering of scientists from academia, government, and industry to discuss recent, cutting-edge advances in signal transduction research, receptors and other drug targets. The main focus of the 2009 Molecular Pharmacology GRC will be on membrane receptors and G protein-mediated signaling since other areas of interest in molecular pharmacology are covered by other conferences. The proposed program seeks to integrate basic and translational aspects of research and to encourage cross-fertilization among different approaches. The goal of the conference has been, and continues to be, to advance progress by providing an integrated approach among important "growth areas" in Molecular Pharmacology. The GRC on Molecular Pharmacology convenes every two years. To strengthen the international nature of the Molecular Pharmacology GRC, in 2003 it was decided (by a vote of the attendees) that the conference should alternate between Ventura, California and a GRC location in Europe. The 2009 Conference will be its 21st edition and it will take place at the Il Ciocco Conference Center in Barga (Pisa), Italy.

Three main aspects will be covered by the 2009 conference: i) structural features of receptors and monitoring of receptor function at the single molecule level, ii) signaling and regulatory networks in physiological settings and pathophysiological conditions (e.g., cancer, viral infections, endocrine and cardiovascular disorders, smell), and iii) pharmacology of the brain and metabolism, in particular in animal models. Many of the speakers and discussants are leaders in the field; some are more junior investigators. Session Chairs have been chosen for their contributions to the field and demonstrated history of promoting active exchange of information with younger participants at the meeting. Poster sessions organized by topic will be an integral part of the meeting. All participants who are not speakers or session chairs/discussants will be asked to present a poster. Our general goal for the 2009 Conference is to continue the focus on cutting-edge research, encouraging cross-fertilization of ideas and techniques, supporting the participation of junior scientists, and importantly, by insuring diversity among speakers in terms of career stage and venues in which the scientists work.

Despite significant research investments into the detection of explosives and other contraband, including drugs, there has only been incremental progress over the past ten years. Key age old problems continue to persist and present a challenge to the detection community.

Sampling is considered to be the underpinning technique for identification and subsequent detection of illicit substances. Without effective sampling, the target analytes cannot be transmitted to the detector, and the detection technique is rendered effectively obsolete. Are we using the correct substrates for sampling particulates, aerosols and vapours? Are we employing the optimum sampling methodology with respect to the sensor in use?

What exactly are we trying to detect? Is it the target analyte itself, a pattern of signals/signatures, or an anomaly against a complex background of similar signatures? Are we trying to detect several target substances? Is selectivity, sensitivity or both the most important factor(s) for assisting with detection of key signatures and patterns?

How do we determine which signal to look at against a complicated and cluttered background? Can we remove the clutter by statistical algorithms to enhance the resolution of an image or quality of a spectrum? How do we know when to disregard the noise?

We recognise that these challenges may not necessarily be unique to illicit substance detection, they may well be encountered routinely in other scientific disciplines e.g. medical, pharmaceutical, environmental, and materials science to name but a few. We would like to learn from the wider scientific community how they may have overcome these obstinate problem areas.

We aim to engage with policy makers and government, so that the requirements can be better understood, and to engage with academia, small businesses and industry to identify the main constraints in conversion of concept laboratory based technologies into operational field robust equipment.

This conference will present cutting edge, previously unpublished, innovative research in these and other key areas, including standards, biological based detection, new materials, novel sources and detectors. We encourage international participation from a variety of scientific backgrounds, to share their views and ideas, in order to provide a unique forum for debate, discussion and to really drive progress in illicit substance detection.

The 2009 Gordon Conference on ‘Cellular Osmoregulation and Mechanotransduction’ will present cutting edge research on the molecular and cellular aspects of osmotic and mechanic stress in cells ranging from simple microbes to complex plant and mammalian systems. Mechanisms of osmosensing, signal transduction and cellular regulation will be presented from the biophysical and molecular (structural genomics) to the cellular (systems biology) perspective. As mechanotransduction is not only key to cellular osmostasis but also plays a role in human hearing and touch, and involves sensing of forces such as osmotic pressure, membrane stretch, vibration, and touch, these areas are included in the program. The Conference will bring together a collection of researchers 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. The collegial atmosphere of this Conference, with programmed discussion sessions as well as opportunities for informal gatherings in the afternoons and evenings, provides an avenue for scientists from different disciplines to brainstorm and promote cross-disciplinary collaborations in the various research areas represented.

Themes for the different sessions:

Osmosensing and transduction
Mechanism of mechanotransduction
Structural analysis of osmoregulatory channels and transporters
Physiological and genetic aspects of osmotic stress
Osmoregulation in different environments
System analysis of cell volume regulation (omics)
Physics of mechanotransduction
Biophysical chemistry of (macro)molecule-water interactions

The Gordon Conference on Microbial Adhesion and Signal Transduction attracts a diverse group of speakers with interests and research programs spanning the most fundamental and actively investigated topics in current microbiology. Themes covered in the conference include (but are not limited to) bacterial-bacterial interactions and communication, bacterial and protozoan interactions (both symbiotic and pathogenic) with animal and human hosts, gene regulation and regulatory networks, cell signaling and information processing, cell structures and assembly, cell biology, and microbial evolution. A central goal of this conference is an in-depth examination of selected examples of well studied model microbial systems in the areas mentioned. However, newly discovered and less well studied microbial systems will be highlighted. The invited speakers represent a variety of scientific disciplines and include geneticists, biochemists, immunologists, cell biologists, animal and plant physiologists, chemists, theoreticians, engineers, and computer scientists. This diversity, coupled with the intimate setting provided by the GRC, makes an ideal venue for interaction between scientists trained in widely different fields and serves to promote interdisciplinary collaborations.

This is the seventh conference in a highly successful series which has endeavored to bring together established salivary and exocrine gland investigators, both basic and translational with promising more junior scientists and experts from associated fields. As the preeminent multi-disciplinary conference in the exocrine biology field, the overarching goal is to identify, discuss and prioritize the important future research directions pertinent to understanding the physiology and pathophysiology of exocrine glands and their secretions. In particular, to facilitate and strengthen collaborations between groups with differing strengths, but with intimately related interests, the conference will highlight the topical issues shared with researchers working in salivary and other exocrine glands including pancreas, lacrimal and lung. To these ends, the topics covered will include the molecular mechanisms involved in exocrine gland development and apoptosis, signal transduction, gene regulation together with protein and fluid secretion. The role dysregulation of these processes play in the initiation and progression of "exocrineopathies" such as Sjogrens syndrome, dry eye and pancreatitis will also be a particular feature. To encourage the participation of young investigators we intend to award a number of travel fellowships for students and postdoctoral fellows based on the quality of their submitted abstracts. To be considered for a travel award, abstracts must be submitted by Jan 2, 2009.

The insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) are essential regulators of normal somatic growth during childhood and are critical agents of tissue repair and regeneration throughout the lifespan. IGFs also may play deleterious roles in human disease, including potentially facilitating the survival and metastasis of cancer cells, contributing to the chronic vascular defects in diabetes mellitus, and possibly exerting a negative impact on aging. The focus of the 2009 Gordon Research Conference on Insulin-like Growth Factors in Physiology and Disease will be on these disparate functions of the IGFs, with an emphasis on the molecular and biochemical basis of IGF actions in the contexts of aging and regenerative medicine, cardiovascular biology, cancer, and metabolic disease. These topics and others will be presented by leading scientists in these fields. There will be additional opportunities for discussions during poster presentations and short talks, which will spotlight the research of new investigators, post-doctoral scientists, and graduate students, as well as during informal gatherings in afternoons and evenings. Keys goals will be to understand mechanisms of regulation of IGF production, to elucidate the signal transduction pathways mediated by the IGF-I receptor that control the different effects of the IGFs, and to discern the multi-factorial roles of IGF binding proteins in both physiological and pathological contexts. An additional emphasis will be on defining new opportunities for therapeutic interventions that will enhance the positive physiological actions of the IGFs and blunt their negative effects.

The Gordon Conference on Signal Transduction within the Nucleus will be the third one of a series held every other year. This conference provides an outstanding forum to present and discuss new findings for how signaling pathways participate in the regulation of nuclear processes. The unique angle established in the past meetings is the synergy gained from participants taking interdisciplinary approaches to connect signaling pathways to nuclear functions. This will be strengthened and enhanced in the 2009 meeting. Elucidating the mechanisms by which nuclear enzymes and macromolecular machines contribute to allowing an organism to respond and survive in an ever-chaning enviroment will be essential to gain a full understanding of the nuclear dysfunctions that contribute directly to disease processes, including cancer biology and genetic disorders.

The meeting will convene approximately 35 invited speakers representing key areas of nuclear signal transduction, with a total of 150 participants. The program will consist of morning and evening sessions that broadly address cutting-edge issues in the following areas: nucleo-cytoplasmic signaling, nuclear lipid signaling, nuclear receptor signaling, agonist-induced nuclear lipid and carbohydrate metabolism, chromatin regulation, DNA damage/repair pathways, nuclear organization and spatial architecture, nuclear membrane dynamics, RNA processing and export, and control of nuclear division. Small, intensive poster sessions will be convened in the later afternoons, allowing all participants to contribute to and learn about these topics. Informal discussions among established and junior principal investigators, postdoctoral fellows, and students will be stimulated during early-afternoon and late-evening breaks. We anticipate that this will be a highly novel meeting that offers the opportunity for investigators studyiing many newly discovered signaling pathways and nuclear functions to be connected.

The 2009 GRC-sponsored meeting on Antigen Cross Presentation will present cutting-edge research in the cellular and molecular pathways that regulate the transfer of antigens from the cells of the body to the professional antigen-presenting cells of the immune system. The focus of the conference will span several diverse scientific fields, including cell biology, cell death, dendritic cell biology, protein folding, lipid biophysics, signal transduction, antigen processing and presentation, and imaging. The conference will feature both basic and translational researchers, 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. The structure of this conference, with programmed discussion sessions as well as opportunities for informal gatherings in the afternoons and evenings, and its remarkable location will provide a unique environment for scientists from different disciplines to brainstorm and promotes cross-disciplinary collaborations in the various research areas represented. Advances in this field will facilitate the strategic manipulation of the immune system in the setting of vaccination, tumor immunotherapy, and chronic viral infections, as well as defining new approaches to the regulation of autoimmunity.