CARDIAC REGULATORY MECHANISMS

Temple University, Philadelphia PA

Investigators

Abstract

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This application seeks partial funding for the Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Cardiac Regulatory Mechanisms to be held at Colby Sawyer College (Colby-Sawyer, NH) on June 6-11, 2004. This GRC has a long history of providing a format for discussion of cutting edge science by talented and productive scientists from different disciplines, all with a common interest in the topic of regulation of the normal and diseased heart. A key objective of this conference is to foster an inclusive, intense, lively and interactive atmosphere that creates productive discussions and exchanges of novel ideas, where everyone is encouraged to participate. The special informal nature of the GRC has through the years been a focal point for the generation of new ideas and for new personal and scientific connections. The GRC is also a place for young and established investigators to have meaningful interactions. This is an exciting time in cardiovascular science because of the advent of novel technologies that allow us to explore the cellular and molecular bases of normal cardiac function and, we are beginning to translate these new findings to a better understanding of disease mechanisms, diagnosis, prevention and treatment. This GRC has had a good mix of fundamental science related to regulation of normal cardiac electrical and mechanical properties, cardiac myocyte cell signaling, and abnormalities in these processes that contribute to cardiac dysfunction. The GRC proposed for 2004 will expand upon these themes to discuss a number of important topics. The conference will start with a session dedicated to the role of Ca in cell signaling and in the regulation of cardiac contractility. The next session will discuss the latest breakthroughs in the structure and function of Ca regulatory proteins and their roles in important cardiac diseases. Sessions on excitation-contraction coupling and rhythm generation will also mix the latest in structure and function with pathophysiological mechanisms. A session on ion channels will have a focus on molecules that traffic channels to specific cellular locations and influence their biophysical properties. One day will be spent discussing the influence of sex (gender) and Ca as modulators of cardiac growth, injury, myocytes death and hypertrophy. A related session will discuss the latest attempts at repairing failing hearts with stem cells or inducing normal patterns of gene expression. A new session for this conference will be devoted to localized signaling complexes within caveolae and lipid rafts. The keynote address at the end of the conference will be given by Dr. Eric Olson on his latest work signaling pathways involved in cardiac growth and hypertrophy. All sessions will include late breaking science (from poster contributions) and as always, there will be ample time for poster sessions and informal interchange.