This application requests support for the annual meeting of the Sun Valley Workshop on Skeletal Biology held in Sun Valley, Idaho, July 31-August 3, 2011. The Sun Valley Workshops have a 40 year tradition and originally grew out of an attempt to provide multidisciplinary training to younger scientists. The Workshops continue to emphasize active participation of junior faculty and students. The Workshops have been successful in promoting interdisciplinary communication, and are unusual in that discussion time equals or exceeds time allotted for formal presentation. The goals of the Workshop are to (1) work toward a multidisciplinary basic and clinical synthesis of molecular, tissue and biomechanical processes related to the pathogenesis, prevention and treatment of bone and joint diseases;(2) develop a dialogue between basic and clinical investigators;(3) provide training workshops for junior faculty and students that help bridge the gaps between disciplines;(4) provide a forum for student training and the opportunity for junior faculty and students to talk with more senior scientists in a small group setting. A partnership between the Workshop and the International Bone and Mineral Society (IBMS) has improved marketing of the Workshop, especially internationally, and provides maximum visibility through IBMS BoneKEy broadcast emails and links on the IBMS website. The 41st Sun Valley Workshop is focused on inflammatory and repair processes in skeletal tissue, and on cellular cross-talk. Numerous opportunities are provided for junior investigators to interact with more senior investigators. The Sunday evening session is set aside for a Plenary Lecture, which is followed by a Poster Session highlighting submitted abstracts, The Monday evening session is devoted to presentations by six ASBMR/Harold M. Frost Young Investigator Awardees. There are plans to advertise and distribute a summary of the workshop, partly using Web-based resources and through publication in BoneKEy.
This Workshop is relevant to public health concerns because it brings a multi-disciplinary group of senior and junior scientists together to discuss the pathogenesis and treatment of inflammatory disease such as rheumatoid arthritis, as well as mechanisms of cartilage and bone repair, the latter including fracture healing. Other sessions involve cellular signaling mechanisms that are important to prevention of bone and cartilage disease. It provides vertically-oriented information, from the basic science to clinical pathology, to practitioners and scientists who may not be completely familiar with all aspects of these diseases of public health concern.
