This proposal requests partial support for two cycles of an international meeting on biomineralization as part of the Gordon Conference series to be held in New London, New Hampshire August 10-14, 2008 and August 8-12, 2010. The broad and long term goal of these conferences is to: 1) increase our understanding of the fundamental mechanisms controlling the development of normal mineralized tissues as well as diseases associated with abnormal tissue development or loss of material and function, and 2) to identify promising technological approaches to treating disease and damage in mineralized tissues.
The specific aim of these meetings will be to convene 40 speakers and discussion leaders who are amongst the leading researchers in critical areas of biomineral research, along with 120 other participants, for a five day conference in a secluded setting conducive to interactive discussions and innovative thinking. The program will include a keynote address and eight focused oral sessions accompanied by extended discussion periods. These sessions have been structured around the following themes: cellular and genetic controls, pathological mineralization, defining macromolecule-mineral contacts and interactions, in vitro studies and models, the link between architecture and function, macromolecular scaffolds for inorganic materials synthesis, tissue engineering, and evolution and structure in marine systems. In addition, four afternoon and night-time poster sessions will provide an opportunity for all participants to contribute to these topics. The significance of this application is that the Gordon Conference on Biomineralization has become the premier component in the regular series of meetings that help to define the most important research directions for this international community of scientists and engineers. The health relatedness of this application is that the discussions will define the critical scientific questions and technological challenges that require experimental resolution in order to impact three areas of human health. These are: 1) skeletal and dental development and related disease, 2) pathologies associated with undesirable mineralization including urolithiasis and arthrosclerosis, and 3) development of nanotechnology-based biomaterials for application to dental and skeletal repair. Project Narrative: The health relatedness of this application is that the discussions of current research in the field of Biomineralization will define the critical scientific questions and technological challenges that require experimental resolution in order to impact three areas of health. These include: 1) skeletal and dental development and disease, 2) pathologies associated with undesirable mineralization including urolithiasis and arthrosclerosis, and 3) development of nanotechnology-based biomaterials for application to dental and skeletal repair. These discussions will create a common focus for researchers from multiple disciplines on identification of the mechanisms of biomineral-related diseases and the development of therapies based on those mechanisms. ? ? ?
