2023 Salivary Glands and Exocrine Biology GRC and GRS

Gordon Research Conferences, East Greenwich RI

Investigators

Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY This proposal requests partial support for the thirteenth Gordon Research Conference (GRC) and the third Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) entitled Salivary Glands and Exocrine Biology: Understanding the Biology of Secretory Function and Diseases of Exocrine Tissues to be held from Back January 29th-February 3rd, 2023, at the Four Points Sheraton hotel in Ventura, CA. The GRC will include plenary sessions on exocrine gland development, regenerative approaches, functional relevance of salivary proteins, membrane functions in exocrine glands, understanding the etiology of autoimmune disease, targeting inflammation to retard disease pathogenesis and current topics in exocrine gland:pathogen such as SARS-CoV2 interactions. Invited speakers for the GRC will include eminent scientists from academia, industry and government and talks will include both senior and junior scientists from diverse fields who will present current unpublished research findings on subjects identified by previous meeting organizers and attendees as of greatest interest to the field. Several keynote speakers will be invited to deliver seminars on stem cell therapeutics, clinical genomics and clinical trials for Sjögren's disease, a common autoimmune disease that affects exocrine glands and negatively impacts the quality of life of patients for whom no suitable and effective therapies are available. A noteworthy feature of this GRC will be continuation of a GRS to be held just prior to the GRC, first offered in 2017, that will invite only speakers who are graduate students and postdoctoral associates in a wide variety of laboratories worldwide. These junior scientists at the GRS will also attend the GRC where many of them will be chosen to give seminars that will be included in the plenary sessions. In addition, poster sessions will be held daily at the GRC to enable all attendees to present and discuss their data in an open forum. The overall goal of the GRC and GRS will be to foster scientific exchanges and engender research collaborations in disciplines that are viewed as having a major impact on the development of novel strategies to improve human health. Specific Aims in line with the NIDCR mission include: 1) to present a program of topical interest to scientists in academia, industry and government and to assemble junior and senior investigators in a pleasant setting where they will have opportunities to discuss unpublished findings before a knowledgeable audience and engage in a wide range of critical research discussions; 2) to offer a GRS to be attended by graduate students and postdoctoral associates who will present their novel research findings before an audience of their peers and; 3) to emphasize presentations on state-of-the-art methodologies of interest to the exocrine biology field towards the goal of developing innovative approaches to the improvement of human health by preventing disorders of secretory organs.