Partial support is requested for the """"""""Proteases in Hemostasis and Vascular Biology"""""""" conference to be held under the auspices of the Summer Research Conference program of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB). This meeting will be the 10th in a series that has been held biennially since 1992 and is scheduled to be held at the FASEB summer conference site in Carefree, Arizona on June 12-17, 2011. The focus of the meeting has evolved from one originally devoted to structure-function studies of thrombin into a broader arena of proteases in hemostasis and vascular biology. Interest in this area has been exceptionally strong and research activity is accelerating based on new insights on the role of proteases and their receptors, substrates and inhibitors in hemostasis, vascular cell signaling, barrier function, embryonic development, bacterial virulence/host defense, and inflammatory diseases, including cardiovascular disease and neuroinflammatory disease. This unique conference has established itself in the field of proteases and vascular biology and enjoys an international reputation for consistently emphasizing unpublished, cutting-edge basic and translational research by investigators with diverse expertise and broad demographics. The meeting has routinely drawn together a powerful mix of premiere established investigators, outstanding young investigators and gifted trainees for intimate, balanced, highly-interactive and synergistic scientific exchanges. Some of the most spectacular recent achievements in the area of proteases in vascular biology were first unveiled at previous conferences and the collegial environment has routinely fostered important new research initiatives. The roster of invited speakers and discussion leaders who have already agreed to participate is impressive and include top investigators in the field. These attendees will enhance the stimulating nature of the environment for all attendees and especially junior investigators and trainees. As in past conferences, a priority of the organizers will be to promote program participation of women and minorities and facilitate attendance by junior faculty, students, postdoctoral fellows and individuals with physical disabilities. The program currently includes a keynote address and 9 sessions devoted to (1) platelet activation/regulation of thrombus formation, (2) biochemistry and cell biology of proteases and their receptors and inhibitors, (3) novel serine proteases and mechanisms coupling proteases to disease, (4) fXII- and fXI-dependent events in vivo, (5) protease signaling and vascular biology, (6) integrated systems controlling vascular permeability, (7) proteases in inflammation and host defense, (8) protease engineering and therapeutics, and (9) protease targets in neurobiology.
Myocardial infarction, stroke, and other forms of cardiovascular disease remain major causes of morbidity and mortality. Recent research advances have revealed an important role of proteases traditionally associated with hemostasis in vascular cell signaling events and inflammatory pathways coupled to cardiovascular disease. The field is poised to make significant progress in defining the mechanisms by which proteases and their receptors, substrates and inhibitors contribute to physiological and pathological processes in vivo and identify novel therapeutic strategies for the treatment inflammatory disease processes. Small, highly interactive meetings are important venues for the productive exchange of the latest research insights between academic scientists, physicians and investigators in industry and for fostering collaborative efforts to advance new therapies into clinical medicine.
