(Principal Investigator's) The subjects of marine bioorganic chemistry and biotechnology are proposed for a Joint U.S. - Japan seminar to take place in Santa Cruz, CA, during December 14-18, 1998.
The aim i s to bring 16 participants and 6 observers from the U.S., plus 13 participants and 7 observers from Japan together so they can engage in both formal and informal discussions on frontier issues in the field. The seminar will provide an opportunity, not duplicated in other scientific meetings, to exchange information and ideas, to raise and debate questions, and to promote personal contacts between scientists from the two countries. Marine bioorganic chemistr continues to be regarded as an exciting area of research, watched closely by scientists from many disciplines in both chemistry and biology. Interest in marine bioorganic technology is also escalating in both the academic and industrial domain worldwide. Interestingly, a majority of the major labs as well as the new investigators in this field are concentrated in the U.S. and Japan. Frequently, the ideas and techniques developed by academic and industrial research groups in these two countries are extremely influential. Thus, the joint seminar will have a substantial impact on the research being carried out both by U.S. and Japan investigators thereby setting the theme for future directions. The principal areas for discussion will be broad and are as follows: a) chemodiversity of marine macroorganisms; b) marine-derived microorganisms as a resource for unusual metabolites; c) new materials as a focus for marine biotechnology; d) interactions between species mediated by secondary metabolites; e) pharmacological tools from marine sources; and f) mechanisms o marine biosynthesis. The seminar will consist of one-hour presentations in the mornings and evenings, with the afternoons free for personal discussions, presentations of posters or spontaneously formed special interest group discussions. The intent of this format is to maximize the personal contacts developed in a small seminar setting, to foster greater cooperation and collaboration in research and to facilitate the solution of important research problems. The seminar organizers are: U.S. -Professor Phillip Crews, Departmen of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California at Santa Cruz; and Japan - Professor Takenori Kusumi, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tokushima University.
