The current proposal for a conference to discuss """"""""Extracellular and Membrane Proteases in Cell Signaling"""""""" will be the 17th in a series of Growth Factor and Signal Transduction (GFST) conferences have been held at Iowa State University since 1988. These conferences have been funded from various sources including federal, state, university, and private agencies. The attendance has varied between about 80 and 150 at each conference with substantial national and international representation. ? ? The purpose of the conference is to explore the role of extracellular proteases in regulating cell signaling. The meeting will bring together speakers who are studying a variety of extracellular proteases and their roles in cell signaling and disease. Our objectives for this conference are to encourage the presentation of the newest findings and to promote intensive exchange of information from disparate areas of the field, discussion of mechanisms, and initiation of new collaborations. ? ? In this conference a series of plenary lectures presented by the key participants will be interwoven with sessions during which some participants will give oral presentations. Other participants will present posters. Oral and poster presenters will be chosen from the submitted abstracts. Plenary talks will be 35 min with 10 min for discussion. Speakers for the workshops will be chosen from the submitted abstracts and will each have 15 minutes to talk with 5 minutes for discussion. These symposia generally attract a large number of students and postdoctoral fellows from across the nation and the world, many of whom present posters or short talks. ? ? To increase the opportunity for interaction among all participants and to maintain an atmosphere of informality, the number of participants will be restricted to a maximum of 150. The program is designed with interaction in mind and with frequent breaks for discussion. Live background music will be included with the dinners and at the reception to promote relaxed and prolonged discussion. The cost of meals is included in the registration and all meals are served in a single dining room. A dessert party is planned for after dinner on the Friday night to provide a means for people to gather and talk in a relaxed atmosphere. ? ? The results of the evaluations from previous conferences in this series show that the greatest strength of these conferences is that they promote discussion and intellectual stimulation. ? ? ?
