The 2019 Gordon Research Conference on Chromosome Dynamics organized by John Marko (Northwestern University, Evanston) and Camilla Bjrkegren (Karolinska Institute, Sweden) will present and discuss cutting edge research on chromosome biology. Chromosomes carry the blueprint of life and aberrations in their structure and function are central to the development of cancer. This national/international meeting will be held in Newry, Maine from June 23-28, 2017. The goal of this conference is to foster exchange of the information and ideas, as well as to encourage new interdisciplinary collaborations. Approximately 175 researchers from the various chromosome sub-disciplines will be brought together. The meeting will feature 3 keynote speakers including two well-established leaders in the field: Prof. Rebecca Heald (UC Berkeley) and Dr. Christian Haering (EMBL, Heidelberg) as well as an emerging leader in the field, Prof. Xindan Wang (Indiana University, Bloomington). Podium presentations will feature invited internationally-renowned experts from top research institutions, including prominent cancer research centers (including MSKCC, Fred Hutchison CC, and NCI itself), as well as younger scientists whose work will be selected from the submitted abstracts. Eight additional platform sections covering all major aspects of chromosomes will be held, including chromosome organization, centromeres and chromosome stability, chromosome biophysics (including researchers from the NCI PS-ON program), genome structure and dynamics, chromosome dynamics and gene regulation, meiosis, chromosome cohesion and compaction, and replication-recombination-repair. This meeting is relevant to the NCI mission because of its emphasis on basic chromosome biology, many aberrations of which are central to the development of cancer. Junior scientists will also have the opportunity to attend a two-day Gordon Research Seminar preceding the Conference. We anticipate that intense scientific interactions during this conference will impact cancer research in many significant ways and help establish productive multidisciplinary research collaborations.
Chromosome aberrations including DNA mutation and altered chromosome number are a hallmark of cancer, but our understanding of the basic biology of chromosomes is incomplete. In order to be accurately transmitted to daughter cells, the DNA on chromosomes must be replicated and partitioned, and all damage to chromosomes repaired to prevent mutations. This meeting brings researchers together from all areas of chromosome biology to discuss their research, exchange ideas, and establish collaborations that will enable the prevention and treatment of cancer and other genetic disorders.
