2017 Fertilization and Activation of Development Gordon Research Conference & Gordon Research Seminar

Gordon Research Conferences, East Greenwich RI

Investigators

Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY We request funds to support the 22nd Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Fertilization and Activation of Development. The 2017 GRC will address the range of biological phenomena that impact and accompany merger of the two gametes to initiate development of a new individual. The GRC will present and integrate research across approaches including genetic, physiological, biochemical/biophysical, molecular/cellular, imaging, evolutionary and organismal, and across a range of organisms, revealing conserved mechanisms of fertilization and ways that these can be modified. The topics covered in this GRC are of both fundamental and applied importance in biology and biomedical research. This is supported by the award of Nobel Prizes for research in these areas, including for IVF (2010) and for induced pluripotent stem cells (2012) ? cells that were subsequently shown to be capable of forming gametes (a leader in this latter feat spoke at the 2015 GRC). This GRC is the only meeting worldwide focused specifically on fertilization biology. The field has ?exploded? in recent years, with identification of molecules that mediate sperm-egg recognition and fusion, recognition of roles of the reproductive tract and its products such as exosomes in supporting fertilization, and identification of mechanisms that activate fertilized eggs to transition to embryogenesis. Studies in a range of systems have revealed the key insight that despite superficial differences, mechanistic conservation is greater and deeper than previously appreciated. Allen Spradling (Carnegie Institute), a leader in this realization, will give our Keynote talk on this topic. The recent advent of genome editing methods raises exciting prospects for research in our field, as well as ethical issues that bear thought. These, also, will be a part of this meeting. The GRC will be immediately preceded by a Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) ? the third iteration of this very successful meeting to attract and scientifically nurture young investigators in the field of gamete research and fertilization. Building from our experience with the previous GRS, we will again provide opportunities for graduate students, postdocs and early stage PIs to meet together, along with a selected few senior scientists who have agreed to serve as mentors, to present and discuss their research to and with each other. We intend this GRS to be a continuing, and important, building mechanism for the future of this rapidly moving field. Our goals are to create a forum for presentation and discussion of cutting-edge research and to foster a vibrant and interactive atmosphere to facilitate scientific interactions. This particular GRC has a long tradition of such scientific interchange in a collaborative and supportive manner. As such, it will not simply advance and ?cross-fertilize? the science, but also will provide a supportive environment for young investigators as well as established investigators. As part of this, we will foster and encourage inclusion and participation by members of groups traditionally underrepresented in the sciences: women, minorities, and people with disabilities.