Conference: 2023 Sensory Transduction in Microorganisms GRC/GRS: Microbial Signaling: From Molecular Mechanisms to Key Roles in Complex Environments

Gordon Research Conferences, East Greenwich RI

Investigators

Abstract

The 25th Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Sensory Transduction in Microorganisms (STIM) focuses on science that seeks to understand how microbes sense and respond to their environment for maximal survival and success. The broader significance of this project is to promote the communication among scientists from different disciplines and career stages and thereby facilitate interdisciplinary and international collaborations for the study of sensory transduction in microorganisms. The diversity of topics and participants will be a catalyst for developing strategies and collaborations to confront fundamental questions in microbiology research and its applications. This project is of broader importance to agricultural, environmental, and biomedical sectors by providing strategies for therapy including the manipulation of microbiomes. This project has a broader significance, as the conference team is committed to training and mentoring graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, especially underrepresented minorities and women. The associated Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) represents an opportunity for young scientists to run their own meeting, take ownership of the research field and discuss these questions with peers and mentors in a forum that is found rarely at other meetings. One of the most significant broader impacts of the project is to initiate and build long lasting networks and collaborations among talented junior scientists and retain this next generation of scientists in the multidisciplinary field of sensory transduction in microorganisms. Specifically, the involvement of trainees that are historically underrepresented in science, will be emphasized. In addition to learning about cutting-edge research in their fields, trainees will be nurtured in other aspects of their professional development. A special focus will be to support female trainees, trainees from underrepresented minorities, and trainees from disadvantaged backgrounds. The 25th Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Sensory Transduction in Microorganisms (STIM) will be held at the Ventura Beach Marriott in California, January 21st to 26th, 2024, preceded by a Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) for trainees from January 20th to 21st. GRC conferences are well-known for their attributes that promote scientific interactions between participants and expose all to cutting edge science. GRC presentations must emphasize unpublished, recent findings of exceptional significance, creating a stimulating atmosphere. The GRC meeting fosters a sense of community due to the relatively small size, and the fact that all the participants stay together at the same location, sharing meals and leisure time with one another. This structure greatly facilitates casual interactions that reduce the barriers between established and junior researchers. In addition, this STIM conference will be the fourth one that will hold a GRS for students and postdocs. The GRS provides a small, welcoming setting where junior scientists are meet each other, present and discuss their research, and examine preparing for various careers. Results from this project will transform our current concepts of microbial sensory transduction from the levels of molecular mechanism to host-microbe interactions. Participants will present basic and applied research on the mechanisms underlying properties of pathogens and beneficial microbes. The proposed topics will advance and transform our knowledge of the mechanisms used by microorganisms to sense and react to their environment, which will open avenues for the development of novel and innovative strategies for a variety of practical applications. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.