This is a 5-day workshop on the cytoskeleton to be held in Pingree Park, Colorado State University in the summer of 2010, entitled: The Cellular Cytoskeleton: Common Organizing Principles in Mitosis, Motility and Cell Polarization. The main theme of this meeting will be on using quantitative experiments and theory to gain insight into (i) how the behaviors of complex cytoskeletal structure arises from the individual molecules from which they are composed, and (ii) how these dynamic properties of the cytoskeleton are used by cells during mitosis, motility, and cell polarization. The conference will bring together a group of about 60 researchers and graduate students that have an interest, exposure and/or training in interdisciplinary research but who are not necessarily experts in multiples areas or techniques of cytoskeletal dynamics. The workshop will be organized into morning and evening sessions with invited speakers who are experts in cell biology, biophysics, biochemistry, microscopy, genetics and theoretical modeling. The target is more than 30% of women invited speakers and more than 40% women participants. The organizerss will select and provide support for applicants who are minorities and/or persons with disabilities. This conference will fulfill an important goal of broadening graduate student education by facilitating interactions of graduate students from diverse areas with each other. The organizers plan to publish a report summarizing the novel ideas and collaborations that developed during the meeting.
Grant Number PHY-1038087 This grant was for the partial support of an international conference titled "The Cellular Cytoskeleton: Common Organizing Principles in mitosis, motility and cell polarization". The cytoskeleton is what gives cells their shape and rigidity, and generates the forces giving rise to cell motility or cell division. The main theme of the conference was to bring together experimentalists and mathematical and computational modelers who work on the cytoskeleton to collectively discuss our state of knowledge about the common principles behind the cytoskeletal reorganization required for cell movement, cell division and cell polarization. These processes are very important for all living organisms. The conference brought together 43 scientists from the USA and six other countries, including many graduate students. The first day we had an open symposium held on the Colorado State University campus at Fort Collins which was attended by 63 people, several who came from academic institutions in surrounding areas (Denver, Boulder and Laramie). The same evening the 43 registered participants moved to CSU’s Rocky mountain conference center located at Pingree Park, Colorado. The five days of the conference saw intense discussions among the participating scientists, with a lot of synergy between experimentalists and theorists. The conference led to the development of new collaborations including international ones. In the anonymous conference evaluations at the end of the meeting, many of the participants stated that this was among the most rewarding conferences they had attended. The scientific content of the conference was rated by attendees at 9.2 average score on a 10 point scale. All responders ( >50%) stated that they would like to see a conference of this type continue on a regular basis every two to three years.
