2010 Fibroblast Growth Factors in Development and Diseases Gordon Research Confer

Gordon Research Conferences, East Greenwich RI

Investigators

Abstract

DESCRIPTION (Provided by Applicant): This application requests funding to partially support the 2010 Gordon Research Conference on Fibroblast Growth Factors in Development and Disease, to be held on March 14 - 19, 2010, at the Four Points by Sheraton in Ventura, California. The overarching goal of this conference is to enhance our understanding of the ubiquitous roles of FGF signaling in human biology. Among the topics to be covered in this meeting are: 1) the mechanisms by which FGF signaling governs organogenesis and tissue patterning during embryonic development;2) the role of FGF signaling in adult tissue homeostasis, repair, regeneration, and angiogenesis;3) the emerging roles of the endocrine FGFs in the regulation of glucose/lipid/bile acid metabolism, and energy homeostasis, as well as in phosphate/vitamin D homeostasis;4) crosstalk between FGF signaling and other morphogenetic pathways, including Wnt, Hedgehog, and BMP signaling pathways;5) aberrant FGF signaling in developmental/hereditary diseases, including skeletal syndromes, hearing loss, and hypogonadism;and 6) roles of FGF signaling in various cancers. The five-day conference will be convened in a relatively isolated setting, with 36 invited speakers as well as approximately 15 speakers selected from abstracts that represent current areas of FGF research, and a total of approximately 135 participants. At least one third of the speakers will be women, and female scientists as well as individuals from minority groups will be particularly encouraged to participate. The program will kick off with three featured talks: The first presentation will give a historical update on the discovery of FGFs, the second will summarize the current knowledge on the FGF family, and the third talk will introduce the recently discovered endocrine FGFs. Eight sessions will follow that broadly address structural and biochemical aspects of FGF signaling, as well as the roles of FGFs in organogenesis and tissue patterning, in development and disease of the nervous and sensory systems, in glucose/lipid metabolism and phosphate/vitamin D homeostasis, in the pathogenesis of hereditary/developmental diseases, in tissue repair and regeneration (including stem cell biology), and in tumorigenesis. Reflecting the pleiotropic functions of FGF signaling in human biology, FGF researchers encompass a wide range of scientific disciplines, including structural biologists, biochemists, cell biologists, endocrinologists, developmental biologists, geneticists, pharmacologists, and clinicians. Consequently, the majority of FGF investigators do not attend other common meetings. Thus, the significance of this application is that this Gordon Research Conference on FGFs in Development and Disease will provide an interdisciplinary forum for new as well as established basic researchers, clinicians, and scientists from industry to discuss the latest results, exchange ideas, foster interdisciplinary collaborations, and shape future avenues of research. PROJECT NARRATIVE: The health relatedness of this application is to provide a forum to define and tackle questions pertaining to the human development, metabolism, tissue repair, and human diseases of the nervous and sensory systems, metabolic disorders, skeletal and reproductive diseases, as well as cancer. Moreover, an emphasis will be placed on how to apply the latest discoveries in the field to develop new therapies for a variety of human diseases.