2008 Single Molecule Approaches to Biology, to be held at Colby-Sawyer College, New London, New Hampshire, August 17-22, 2008.

Gordon Research Conferences, East Greenwich RI

Investigators

Abstract

This award provides partial support for an international meeting on Single Molecule Approaches to Biology as part of the Gordon Research Conference series to be held in Colby-Sawyer College, New London, New Hampshire, August 17-22, 2008. This meeting will convene 50 speakers that represent new emerging areas of single molecule research with a total of 170 participants for a five day conference in a relatively isolated setting. The program will have nine sessions that cover cutting-edge technical developments in high resolution and high precision instruments, optical probes, live cell analysis, and theoretical advancement as well as exciting new applications to various areas of biological research. In addition, four afternoon poster sessions give attendants opportunities to actively participate in the scientific discourse. The ability of single molecule approaches to avoid ensemble averaging and to capture transient intermediates and heterogeneous behavior renders them particularly powerful in elucidating mechanisms of molecular machineries: what they do, how they work individually, how they work together, and finally, how they work inside live cells. This conference seeks to bring together innovators in the measurement and manipulation of single molecules with top experts in molecular and cell biology. The intention is to better develop instrumentation and methodology for single-molecule detection, imaging, spectroscopy and manipulation, to better orient the development of single molecule techniques for compelling biological problems, and to better promote the use of the single-molecule approach to generate new biological knowledge. The Gordon Research Conference on Single Molecule Approaches to Biology is a unique vehicle to promote new technology and instrumentation development for single-molecule research and to enhance the exchange of emerging technologies with novel applications for important biological problems. The conference organizers will give preference to woman and minority applicants, junior faculty, postdocs, graduate students, and researchers from institutions serving predominantly minority populations. Half of the four Chairs and Vice-Chairs are women for both the 2006 and 2008 meetings and over 60% of 2006 participants were under 40 years of age. The organizers will continue to accommodate as many young scientists as possible and to select speakers from women and under-represented minorities.