This application requests partial support for the 2013 Molecular and Cellular Biology of Lipids Gordon Research Conference (GRC), a meeting that brings together leading scientists in the lipid field to present and discuss their research and to facilitate research advances. This Lipids GRC has been held every other year for almost 50 years and is internationally recognized as the major forum for the presentation of ground breaking and innovative research in lipid biochemistry and molecular biology. In 2013, the conference will focus heavily on the continuing emergence of lipids in understanding underlying mechanisms involved in the development of chronic diseases like obesity, hepatic steatosis, cardiomyopathy, atherosclerosis, and diabetes. Innovations include the selection of a) speakers who are new to this conference, b) novel topics that have not previously received attention, and c) enhanced opportunities for junior and senior investigators to engage in scientific discussion. New topics include autophagy, G-coupled protein receptors whose ligands are fatty acids, thioesterase metabolism and function, phosphatidate signaling, and microRNAs that globally regulate lipid metabolism. In another 2013 innovation, we will set aside specific tables where junior participants can meet the speakers for lunch. The meeting will be held July 17 - 22 at the Waterville Valley Resort in Waterville Valley, NH, and will include nine lecture sessions and four afternoon poster sessions. Lecture sessions will cover a broad range of topics, including Lipid signals that regulate cell metabolism, New roles for lipases and acyltransferases, Membrane biogenesis and turnover, Cellular lipid metabolism, Fatty acid metabolism, Transcriptional control of lipids, a Spotlight on phosphatidate, and the Genetic regulation of lipids via microRNAs. The >35 speakers in these sessions will describe research done in an array of biological systems, including humans, parasites, zebra-fish, and yeast, using multiple experimental approaches. The talks at the Molecular and Cellular Biology of Lipids GRC, as well as the large and lively poster sessions, traditionally stimulate intense and dynamic discussions among the attendees who include biochemists, cell biologists, geneticists, molecular biologists, structural biologists, physiologists, and physicians. The intimate atmosphere of the meeting, which is limited to 200 participants, enables attending scientists to interact closely with each other. The resulting discussions drive future advances and multidisciplinary collaborations in the field. Participants and speakers have been and will be chosen to reflect international excellence in this medically-relevant area of science, with an ideal balance between youth and experience. The program includes outstanding women and men, and scientists of different ethnicities. Facilities are available to accommodate handicapped individuals.
Lipids such as fats and cholesterol are required for life, but cause heart attacks and strokes when present in excess. It is also now known that lipids also play critically important roles in the development of hyperlipidemia, nonalcoholic fatty liver, insulin resistance and diabetes, obesity, infection and inflammation, and some types of cancer. The 2013 Molecular and Cellular Biology of Lipids Gordon Research Conference will address current issues in lipid metabolism, and how the fundamental processes of lipid synthesis, breakdown, and storage go awry in metabolic, cardiovascular, and other diseases.
