The 2009 Viruses and Cells Gordon Conference, the premier conference in the field of virology, will cover all aspects of virus infection, from entry into the cell through replication and assembly, to uncovering the molecular basis of pathogenesis, to prevention and therapy. The 2009 meeting will held at the GRC conference site, Il Ciocco in Barga, Italy from June 7-12, 2009.

The invited speakers will present cutting edge findings on the dynamic interactions of viruses with the cells and organisms they infect as well as host counter responses to infection. Topics will include: entry and receptors; assembly, budding and release, dynamics of cellular trafficking, viral replication & gene expression, immune response & pathogenesis, cellular inhibition of virus replication; innate immune response & virus counter response; exploiting host functions, and epidemiology, prevention & therapy. Discussion leaders, who are expert in the topics covered in each session, will lead lively and open discussions following each presentation. In addition to the invited speakers, shorter talks will be chosen from among the abstracts that are submitted for poster sessions at the time of registration. Selections will be made to highlight exciting new developments in virus research with the emphasis on the selection of younger scientists for these presentations. The evening poster sessions are a prominent and important aspect of this conference providing yet another opportunity for participants to present and discuss their research findings in a congenial atmosphere. The conference will bring together investigators at the forefront of the field, young investigators launching their independent research careers, as well as postdoctoral fellows and graduate students and investigators from industry to discuss new ideas and to foster collaborations.

Viruses have self-organizing, symmetrical, and monodisperse architectures. These structures are dynamic and, in some cases, the dynamics are regulatable. These properties make viruses successful parasites. A growing community of scientists in diverse fields has now turned the tables on viruses, taking advantage of viruses as therapeutic vectors, imaging agents, scaffolding for nanostructures, components in larger constructions, and as microreactors. There have been tremendous advances in the design of new materials by using biological self-assembly and concepts derived from biological models. The underlying science has been investigated by mathematicians, physicists, chemists, material scientists, and biologists. This diversity is a strength because of the breadth of perspectives but poses challenges because of the poor communication between disciplines. The field is changing at a pace that will be hard to maintain unless we find a common ground. The goal of this conference is to bring together, for a first time, the physical, biological, and materials perspectives that are rapidly shaping the field of viruses as physical functional systems.