The Gordon Research Conference on Bones &Teeth together with the pre-meeting Gordon Research Seminar will bring together leaders in a variety of disciplines relevant to the study of skeletal and dental disorders and junior investigators and trainees who represent the future researchers in the field. The scientific presentations, formal and informal discussions and poster presentations during the meeting are designed to expand the understanding of the genetic, molecular and cellular mechanisms and processes by which bones and teeth develop, and are maintained, how these processes change during aging and in disease and facilitate thinking towards the development of effective strategies to treat patients with skeletal diseases and repair or regenerate bones and tooth organs. The 2014 meeting will focus on signaling mechanisms that may facilitate translation into specific therapeutic interventions. The collegial and cooperative atmosphere that characterizes a Gordon Conference provides a perfect setting for the intellectual development required for implementation of novel therapies to treat diseases of bones and teeth. The development of therapies based on understanding the developmental and homeostatic signaling control bones and teeth in both healthy and disease states is directly relevant to the missions of multiple institutes including NIAMS, NIDCR, and NIA. We propose to 1) organize state of the art talks focused on unpublished discoveries on signaling mechanisms in bones and teeth, 2) discuss how these mechanism can be translated into therapies, 3) facilitate interactions between trainees, junior investigators, and senior scientists, and 4) foster the involvement of women, under-represented minorities, individuals with disabilities in bone and teeth research.
This is an application for partial support of the 2014 Bones and Teeth Gordon Research Conference (GRC) with associated Gordon Research Seminar (GRS). The theme of the GRC is Translating Signaling Mechanisms into Therapy, while the theme of the GRS is Understanding Developmental Mechanisms for Skeletal Regeneration. The discoveries presented in this meeting will drive collaboration and new directions of research that will enable development of treatments for disorders affecting bones and teeth.
