Conference: 2013 CSHL Eukaryotic mRNA Processing Conference tobe held in Cold Springs Harbor, NY on August 20-24, 2013

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spg Hbr NY

Investigators

Abstract

Overview: COLD SPRING HARBOR LABORATORY CONFERENCE EUKARYOTIC mRNA PROCESSING AUGUST 20 - 24, 2013 The proposed conference on 'Eukaryotic mRNA Processing' will convene scientists studying various aspects of mRNA processing, transport, RNA interference, informatics and turn-over. Major advances have recently been made in these areas, and the proposed conference will be a timely event for discussing the latest unpublished results and exchanging ideas, thereby fostering new developments in this rapidly moving field. The proposed 2013 conference will be held in August and is the ninth meeting of a conference that is held every other year at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. The most recent meeting was held in August 2011 and attracted 335 scientists internationally, who are actively investigating various aspects of messenger RNA maturation in eukaryotic cells, using genetic, biochemical, molecular, and cell biological approaches. Intellectual Merit: As in the previous meetings, a major focus will be on nuclear events in mRNA maturation, including mRNA splicing and polyadenylation, as well as the relevance of mRNA maturation to the etiology of cancer, the connections between mRNA maturation steps, the emerging fields of RNA interference and microRNA function and the application of informatics and genome-wide approaches to the analysis of RNA processing. The meeting format will consist of eight plenary sessions and two poster sessions. Each plenary session will be subdivided into two parts (separated by a coffee break) that focus on related but separate topics. This subdivision, successfully piloted at the 2011 meeting, allows us to specifically seek out a broader representation of fields and to recruit a more diverse set of faculty as session chairs. As always, all speakers will be selected on the basis of the submitted abstracts, which will encourage active participation by junior scientists. We will particularly encourage presentation of unpublished work by the students and postdoctoral fellows who are leading these projects, as has traditionally been a hallmark and a unique strength of the Cold Spring Harbor meetings. Broader Impacts: The broader impacts of the proposed activity are manifold. First, they include the scientific implications for other fields beyond eukaryotic mRNA processing of, as discoveries in this field will continue to foster a rapid pace of fundamental discoveries and insights in our efforts to more fully understand gene expression in higher organisms. Second, they also include elements of education, training, resource sharing, and opportunities for interaction and collaboration. In particular, the meeting will provide: (i) training opportunities for junior scientists that will promote the development of presentation skills as well as overall scientific quality and analytical rigor; (ii) an intimate setting that will foster meaningful scientific interactions among scientists at all career levels; (iii) the dissemination of knowledge among multiple strata of research and educational institutions; (iv) sharing of resources, both material and informational; and (v) opportunities for the initiation of collaborations, which can benefit scientists from smaller labs and/or from primarily undergraduate (teaching) institutions who may have fewer resources and more limited access to cutting-edge technologies than do scientists from major research institutions.