This proposal seeks partial support for a 2008 international meeting on marine bioorganic chemistry as part of the Gordon Research Conference series. The broad and long term goal of the conference is to increase our understanding in the fundamentals on the chemistry of marine-derived organisms and apply these discoveries to problems of human health. The format of the conference is to highlight breaking developments in the field of marine natural products through discussion of exciting new compounds and the exploration of hitherto untapped resources. ? ? The specific aims of the meeting are as follows. 1. To conduct a Gordon Conference on Marine Natural Products that emphasizes new developments in this multidisciplinary field with an emphasis on marine bioorganic chemistry and biotechnology. 2 To have the meeting at Ventura California, California, during February 24 - 28, 2008 organized by an academic chair, Professor Phillip Crews, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California at Santa Cruz; and a pharmaceutical industry vice chair - Dr. Guy Carter, Assistant Vice President Chemical Technologies & Screening Sciences, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals. 3. To bring approximately 150 participants together in a stimulating forum that involves 35 invited speakers. 4. To pursue a program that will facilitate participation by all attendees in both formal and informal discussions on frontier issues in the field. ? ? The significance of this application is that the Gordon Research Conference on Marine Natural Products is regarded as one of the highest profile meetings on this subject. The current trend in marine bioorganic chemistry research is to establish collaborations so that difficult problems can be addressed. The organizational structure of the meeting will provide opportunities for the conferees to forge new collaborative ventures. Another goal for the 2008 conference is to make additional adjustments to further increase diversity among the attendees. We will continue to improve participation by women, minorities, and persons with disabilities. The health relatedness of this application is that many discussions will outline the pathway from basic discoveries of important biomolecules to their future potential as leads for further experimental therapeutics development. ? ? ? ?
