Gordon Research Conference on Macromolecular Organization and Cell Function to be held on August 6-11, 2000 at Queen

Gordon Research Conferences, East Greenwich RI

Investigators

Abstract

The Gordon Research conference on Macromolecular Organization and CellFunction has met since 1987; this will be the eighth conference in this series. The most recent one met at Queens College, Oxford University, U.K. in September, 1998. This proposal requests partial funding for the next conference, to be held again in Oxford, August 6-11, 2000. This conference focuses on the intracellular organization of cellular components, the principles and mechanisms underlying that organization, and the essential role of such organization in cell function and its regulation. The first conferences concentrated on the role of enzyme organization in metabolic regulation, but the subject matter has been greatly broadened over the years, so that it now includes virtually all aspects of cell function. Macromolecular organization is critical not only for the maintenance of various static cell structures, but also for the dynamic events that are coupled to key processes such as chromatin remodeling, transcription, RNA editing and transport, nuclear import/export, translation, protein degradation, cytoskeletal function, organelle transport, signal transduction, metabolic pathways, and apoptosis. Conference topics include the mechanisms of macromolecular interactions, and the responses of such mechanisms to changes in metabolic or hormonal status. The functional implications of interactions, such as channeling of metabolic intermediates or of signaling molecules, or the translocation of cellular components are of central interest, as are the characteristics of macromolecular complexes, both stable and transient. In previous conferences it has become very clear that many interactions may be altered or even lost when cells or tissues are disrupted for study, and a major interest is the development and application of methods to analyze interactions in the living cell. This is an interdisciplinary conference. It attracts not only experimental scientists with interests and expertise ranging from biochemistry, cell biology, and molecular biology to biophysics, physics, and instrumentation, but also theoreticians and modelers. The interdisciplinary atmosphere produces excellent discussions and scientific interactions that are stimulating and highly valued by the participants. Eighteen excellent speakers and eight prominent discussion leaders have already accepted invitations to participate in the formal sessions of the next conference. A number of slots have been kept open for the most recent developments in this rapidly moving field.