This application requests partial funding to support the 1997 FASEB Summer Research Conference on Amyloid and Other Abnormal Protein Assembly Processes, to be held at Copper Mountain, Colorado, July 13-18, 1997. The main objective of this meeting is to bring together clinicians and cell biologists familiar with the biology of abnormal protein deposition with molecular biologists and biophysicists who will ultimately establish an understanding of the molecular basis of these phenomena. The applicants intend this conference to provide a forum to promote increased awareness of protein deposition as a process that is not only biologically relevant but also exhibits significant molecular structure and specificity. The focus is on the underlying molecular basis of amyloid diseases, protein aggregation (especially amyloid and inclusion body formation) and other manifestations of prtein-protein interactions (e.g., domain swapping), as well as potential methods of intervention. The conference attendance will be resricted to 160 participants. Invited speakers will be chosen from among the leaders in these fields, with particular emphasis on under-represented groups. The conference will consist of a keynote address providing a history of amyloid, nine formal sessions of oral presentations, as well as poster sessions and a workshop session, whose topics will include protein and beta sheet structure, protein aggregation during folding, bacterial includsion bodies, prion particles, clinical summaries of major amyloid diseases, structural basis of amyloid formation by peptides, the amyloid pathway in Alzheimer's disease, physical methods for the study of insoluble protein complexes, and factors associated with amyloid in vivo. The format of the FASEB Summer Research Conferences is ideal for stimulating cross-fertilization in developing areas of research; the limited size of the conference, focused meeting schedule and isolated atmosphere all encourage interactions among the participants.
