Sunscreen use today is directly attributable to deep-thinking Physicists decades ago who discovered that radiation can damage cells and can even cause cancer. Curie, Crick, and many other physicists since have used mathematically rigorous approaches to the physics of biology and produced foundational insights that have contributed to various treatments of cancer. Most recently, major advances in computation and nano/micro-fabrication with diverse materials have enabled completely new approaches to biophysical measurements (eg. mechanics, imaging) as well as modeling that will no doubt explain much better the biology of cancer with its altered genomics. Partial support is requested for the new Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Physical Science of Cancer to be held in Galveston, Texas from Feb.5-9, 2017 at the GRC- selected conference hotel (The Hotel Galvez). The overall aim of the conference is to provide a forum for the presentation and discussion of recent advances and new ideas in all aspects of cancer physics, ranging from biophysical experiments on tumors to mathematical modeling. Progress in this field makes it possible to understand physical mechanisms in cancer, and provides an opportunity to treat tumors in ways that are beneficial to human health. The conference will highlight breakthroughs in identifying biophysical properties of tumors such as microenvironment stiffness that affect growth and even genome instability. The conference will also highlight physicochemical approaches for the identification of targets in important anti-cancer approaches, as well as mathematical methods to improve existing or emerging treatments. The long term goal of this new GRC is to contribute to the development and use of methods to extend the range of cancer targets that can be tackled successfully. This will only be achieved by the exchange of ideas amongst the leaders of the field in an environment which fosters new collaborations. The meeting will also provide useful new tools and ideas to assist participants to make progress in their research projects and is expected to promote interest in methods development amongst young physical scientists. Poster sessions and open afternoons will provide multiple, ample opportunities for engagement between investigators at all levels. We anticipate that scientific interactions during this conference will impact cancer research in significant ways and result in establishing productive multi-disciplinary research collaborations. This first Physical Science of Cancer GRC depends on the support of many and will be crucial to the decision of GRC staff to allow a meeting in 2019 and beyond. GRC?s in some fields have been held for many decades, and a biannual Physical Science of Cancer GRC could be key to curing many types of cancer.
Tumor tissue is often palpably distinct, reflecting physical changes at the cellular level, and new genomic analyses of cancer are increasingly math intensive, leading to many additional questions of mechanisms. This just-approved 2017 Physical Science of Cancer Gordon Research Conference (GRC) seeks to provide the first week-long forum for the presentation and in-depth discussion of methodological and conceptual advances in the diverse field of the physical sciences of cancer. Leaders from the field will present their recent unpublished research to an audience of both senior and junior researchers with a long-term goal of increasing understanding for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
