This conference grant application seeks partial support for a symposium entitled, """"""""Chemistry and Biology of DNA Damage in Cells,"""""""" jointly planned by the Divisions of Biological Chemistry and Chemical Toxicology of the American Chemical Society. The symposium will be held in Philadelphia on August 23, 2004, as part of the 228th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society. The goal of this symposium is to bring together scientists from a number of fields to discuss the latest developments in genetic toxicology with the goal of enhancing our understanding of the relationship between the chemistry and quantity of DNA damage and the cellular response to the DNA damage produced by endogenous processes and environmental agents. A group of outstanding scientists has accepted our invitation to speak on topics covering the chemistry of formation of novel endogenous DNA adducts, new technologies for quantifying DNA damage in cells and tissues, the spectrum of DNA lesions arising under different cellular stresses, the signaling pathways involved in the cellular response to DNA damage, and the relationship between lesion structure and polymerase activity and DNA repair, all with connections to human diseases such as cancer, aging and neurodegeneration. The symposium will be of broad relevance to the research interests of the National Institutes of Health in the areas of environmental health and cancer etiology, as well as the larger community of structural biologists, cell and molecular biologists and analytical and biological chemists. Through travel awards to graduate students and postdoctoral scientists, the symposium will also provide an opportunity for young scientists to explore the fields of chemical carcinogenesis, genetic toxicology, inflammation chemistry and biology, mutagenesis and analytical biochemistry.
