Symposium: Tendon - Bridging the Gap, at the (SICB)Meeting, in Anaheim, California, on January 3 - 6, 2002.

University Of California-Irvine, Irvine CA

Investigators

Abstract

Tendon is a dense, fibrous tissue that connects muscle to bone. It plays a host of biomechanical roles, is architecturally complex, and virtually impossible to repair if damaged. This symposium will address a fundamental shortcoming of current research into the biology of tendon. Organismic biologists have little or no appreciation for clinical, developmental, or molecular aspects of tendon biology, while biomedical researchers are largely unaware of the comparative physiology, evolutionary patterns, and diverse roles of tendon in vertebrates. The goal of the symposium is to bring together researchers from a variety of applied and basic research areas to synthesize the current state of our knowledge of tendon. Participants will also point out new and innovative directions for future research. Speakers will cover a broad range of scale, from the molecular biology of tendon organization, through patterning at the cellular level, and tissue interactions with muscle and bone, to the many roles of tendon in the whole organism. In addition to serving as the basis for the first volume ever devoted to the biology of tendon, this symposium will foster a synergy between tendon researchers in such wide-ranging fields as molecular developmental biology, biochemistry, functional morphology, and biomedicine.