2015 Red Cells Gordon Research Conference & Gordon Research Seminar

Gordon Research Conferences, East Greenwich RI

Investigators

Abstract

? DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Stimulating new research in red cell biology and enhancing the pipeline of new investigators in this area is essential for human health. Accordingly, we request funds for the 2015 Red Cells Gordon Research Conference and Gordon Research Seminar (GRC/GRS), continuing a series of highly successful meetings that has been ongoing since 1979. As always, the 2015 conference will include established investigators and the most promising new researchers, as well as the next generation of trainees who are working on all aspects of the red cell including its ontogeny, structure-function properties of its unique membrane components, transcriptional and epigenetic regulation of its gene expression including globin gene switching, regulation of iron/heme metabolism, and disorders that result from alterations in these normal processes. Since its inception more than 30 years ago, the Red Cells GRC is the primary research venue for presenting cutting- edge basic science, novel insights into human disease and state-of-the-art methodology related to erythroid cell biology. Last year, we initiated successfully the Red Cells GRS as a companion meeting to provide specifically for trainees a forum for scientific interchange and career mentorship. These combined GRS/GRC meetings will attract an international coterie of leading researchers and provide a lively forum for active participation and discussion within intimate surroundings that facilitate new connections between senior and junior investigators who do not typically interact. The GRS/GRC meetings will be held June 27-28 and June 28-July 3, 2015, respectively, at the Holderness School in Holderness, New Hampshire. We will assemble a few selected senior mentors with about 30 trainees at the GRS and stimulate their participation in the GRC. Immediately thereafter, we will convene a total of 52 speakers and ~180 participants for the GRC. The GRC and GRS will be inclusive with respect to gender, ethnicity and persons with disabilities. The opportunities for informal gatherings at meals and during recreational events in the afternoons and evenings provide a unique and essential avenue for scientists from different disciplines to interact, promoting creative, cross-disciplinary collaborations. By their nature the Red Cells GRS/GRC represent unique opportunities to enhance our understanding of non-malignant blood disorders and stimulate the pipeline of new investigators in this area.