Third Intl Symposium on Computational Cell Biology

University Of Connecticut Sch Of Med/Dnt, Farmington CT

Investigators

Abstract

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This grant seeks funds to hold the "Third International Symposium on Computational Cell Biology" to be held March 19-23, 2005 at the Cranwell Resort and Golf Club in Lenox, MA. Computational Cell Biology is an emerging interdisciplinary field that responds to the need for computational methods to analyze and organize the massive amount of complex experimental data on the structure and function of the cell. Whereas other meetings in computational biology focus on bioinformatics and structural biology, this is the only meeting geared specifically to the use of computational modeling applications in cell biology and primarily targeted to cell biologists. The symposium is being organized by The National Resource for Cell Analysis and Modeling (NRCAM), located in the Center for Biomedical Imaging Technology (CBIT) at the University of Connecticut Health Center. The organizing committee consists of Drs. Leslie M. Loew, Director of NRCAM and CBIT, John Carson, co-Director of NRCAM, and Ann Cowan, Deputy Director of CBIT and head of dissemination and training for NRCAM, who chairs the committee. 2 previous symposia, held in 2001 and 2003, provided a venue for cell biologists to interact with theoreticians and computer scientists, and were highly successful in their scientific content, in initiating a new level of communication among different groups of scientists, and in defining the emerging field of computational cell biology. The continuation of this symposium will help to solidify and extend the community of computational cell biologists and continue to bridge the disciplinary gap in cultures among theoretical and experimental cell biologists. The scientific focus of the meeting is on areas of cell biology for which modeling approaches are currently being developed, or that are ripe for computational modeling approaches. Topic at the meetings will encompass a range of cellular mechanisms including regulation of the cytoskeleton and molecular motors, membrane and protein trafficking, regulation of calcium dynamics, signal transduction pathways, and cell cycle control. In each of these areas researchers using highly quantitative experimental approaches and/or applying mathematical modeling approaches will be invited to speak. The meeting format is an intensive mix of platform sessions, poster sessions and small workshops and tutorials. The venue for the meeting is a small resort in the Berkshire Mountains that is limited to a maximum of 125 on-site participants. This setting and meeting size is ideal for facilitating individual interactions and encouraging active participation by graduate and postdoctoral students.