The aim of this proposal is to obtain grant support for the American Motility Society (AMS) Meeting to be held at Wintergreen, Virginia on October 20-24, 1994. The goal of this meeting is to have three and one half days of intensive activities that will bring the clinical and basic scientists together to discuss common interests and progress related to gastrointestinal motility. In keeping with the tradition of the previous AMS meetings, we plan to organize symposia, work shops and state-of-the- art lectures that will bring all the investigators in this field up to date. The AMS symposium also promotes training in GI motility research. We hope to raise funds for several scholarships that will support travel and registration fees for students in clinical and basic science training. Prize winning abstracts win be presented orally to provide an opportunity for the trainees and young scientists to discuss their work with authorities in the field. The AMS is a group composed primarily of gastroenterologists, surgeons, pharmacologists and physiologists with common interests in gastrointestinal motility. For the past decade, the AMS has successfully conducted a series of scientific meetings to present and discuss current topics of research and clinical interests. The society has a membership of more than 300 physicians and basic scientists, and these meetings have provided an important forum to foster a strong collegial relationship between the membership of the society. This grant proposal requests financial support for Basic Science Symposia to be held during the meeting. These symposia are organized by Dr. Andrew Somlyo from the Department of Physiology at the University of Virginia. The topic for the symposia is the """"""""Regulation of Smooth Muscle Contraction"""""""". Five speakers of international repute are being invited to discuss the various aspects of regulation of smooth muscle contraction. In tradition with previous symposia, these lectures are given by the scientists not involved in the area of gastrointestinal motility research. The goal of these symposia is to enhance awareness of the regulatory processes in the smooth muscles of the vascular and gastrointestinal system. This is a critical topic because a number of principles that have been well accepted and applied to the vascular smooth muscles can also be used to study the control and regulation of the GI smooth muscle contraction. The regulatory processes involved in the smooth muscle contraction are important from a physiologic understanding and a therapeutic point of view.
