(Taken from the application): This symposium, entitled """"""""Regulation of Bone Formation"""""""", composed of two conjoint meetings dealing with polypeptide growth factors and transcriptional events is to be held at the Sagebrush Inn in Taos, New Mexico October 16-19, 1998. The meeting is sponsored by the ASBMB and by the ASBMR. There will be joint opening (keynote address) and closing sessions. The remaining portion of the meeting will be composed of four parallel sessions, each featuring two invited speakers. The polypeptide growth factor program will deal with key families of these hormonal regulators including bone morphogenic proteins, transforming growth factor beta, insulin-like growth factors, fibroblast growth factors and parathyroid hormone. The transcription program will include discussions of factors (and the genes they control) that are involved in patterning and the differentiation of chondrocytes, osteoblasts and osteoclasts. The closing session will be devoted to signaling crosstalk, particularly as it affects transcriptional events. This session will feature three invited speakers. The remainder of the program will be made up of shorter presentations selected from the submitted abstracts (with a heavy emphasis on choosing students and postdoctoral fellows). The purpose of the meeting is to achieve a twofold integration of information: 1) to draw together workers interested in structure and function of polypeptide growth factors and their receptors with those studying the transcriptional events that are the downstream modulators of the response and 2) to bring together people interested in growth factor/transcriptional control in a broad variety of biological systems with those individuals interested particularly in bone and cartilage growth. It is expected that the participant population will mirror the distribution of speakers ranging from young, beginning investigators to more senior scientists. The formal sessions of the meeting will be augmented by informal discussions and two major poster sessions (including posters from the platform presenters). The venue and the facilities provide substantial opportunities for both formal and informal interactions amongst the attendees of both meetings. The application seeks support to augment the contributions of the sponsoring societies (as well as some anticipated financial assistance from the private sector) to help underwrite the expenses of the speakers selected from the abstract pool.
