Fall SBUR Meeting: Membrane Biology in Basic Urology

University Of Central Florida, Orlando FL

Investigators

Abstract

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This application requests funding for the 15th Annual Meeting of the Society for Basic Urologic Research (SBUR) in Miami Beach, Florida from December 1st to 4th, 2005, held jointly with the ESUR. The SBUR is a society of scientists specializing in research on cancers and the biology of the prostate, kidney, bladder, testis, and penis; and in other areas such as autoimmune urologic, infectious, and neuro-urologic diseases. The scientific theme of the 2005 meeting is "Membrane Biology in Basic Urologic Research." The common thread in urologic research is the normal function of secretion and excretion and the disease state resulting from a perturbation of the normal functions. The cell membrane and its contiguous intracellular compartments are the platform where many important molecules act and interact to perform the designed cellular and tissue functions. In the recent past, the SBUR fall meetings have focused on molecular changes (2002 Functional Genomics in the Urogenital System) and tissue interactions (2000 Tissue Interactions in Prostate Cancer). In 1998, the SBUR fall meeting addressed "Advances in Inter and Intracellular Interactions and Their Influence on Organ Function". In 2006, the SBUR meeting will be returning with a theme on Stromal-epithelial Interactions: Paracrine Interactions in Benign and Malignant Urogenital Disease. In 2007, the theme of the SBUR-ESUR joint meeting will be related to functional genomics. The theme of membrane biology with an emphasis of molecular landscaping for the 2005 meeting is both timely and novel. The meeting will highlight new advances in intercellular communications (involving proteins and membrane components), intracellular communications (involving vesicular transport and secretory functions), and metal ions and transport. A session will be devoted to use of model systems in membrane biology research, allowing a whole cell or organism level insight into membrane biology. The meeting program will feature speakers with recognized expertise on important health and human development issues such as diseases related to aging (e.g., various urologic cancers) or the environment (e.g., nutritional factors that cause or can be used to treat the diseases), and the theories and practices of disease prevention and therapy. This meeting's success will have a profound public health impact in the immediate urologic areas as well as the related areas.