The Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on the Physics and Chemistry of Micro fluidics will be held from June 9th-14th, 2013 at Il Ciocco in Lucca, Italy. James Landers of the University of Virginia and Paul Yager of the University of Washington will act as co-Chairs, with vice-Chairs Shelley Anna (Carnegie Mellon U) and Jonathan Posner (U of Washington). An underlying thread in this conference is 'Bench-to-Bedside'with sessions on Paper Micro fluidics, Micro devices for Clinical Diagnostics, Micro- and Nano-Systems, Platform Technologies for Global Health, Micro fluidic Flow Control, Centrifugally-driven Micro fluidic Systems, Acoustic Cell Sorting Micro fluidics, Next Generation Sequencing, and Interdisciplinary Training and Career Development. Travel support is for a sub-set of attendees, giving special consideration to junior investigators (i.e., students, postdoctora researchers). GRCs were founded on a discussion-oriented forum that provides a unique opportunity for scientists and engineers to focus on the role of technology in advancing biomedical science. Micro fluidic and nanofluidic technologies fit the bill in providing new tools o study biomolecular interactions that underlie health and disease processes, and provide new quantitative knowledge for understanding the molecular basis of disease and developing new therapies. Many of the sessions overlap with NIBIB- and NHGRI-funded research programs (i.e., fluidic control, diagnostic micro devices, next-gene sequencing)--evidence that micro fluidics and micro engineering are powerful technologies that can be used to facilitate and dramatically improve basic and applied biomedical research. Based on our previous successful GRCs (biennially since 2001), participants will have diverse backgrounds (bioengineering, chemistry, biology, physics, chemical engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, medicine, and materials science). Participants will represent academia, government and industry, with the majority of participants from the academic sector;the GRC encourages interaction among participants from dissimilar backgrounds, and facilitates a continued maturation of micro fluidic technologies to help elucidate complex biological problems.
The Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on the Physics and Chemistry of Micro fluidics for 2013 is subtitled The Fundamentals of Applied Micro fluidics, which infers both fundamental findings on micro- and nano-scale phenomenon, as well as application of micro fluidics will be discussed by thought-leaders in the field. The presentations by thought-leaders in the field will stimulate discussions that, uniquely, will interdigitate with he underlying common theme of the conference, 'Bench-to-Bedside'developments. The link to public health is obvious, as these technologies represent the next generation diagnostic tools used by clinicians, food safety specialists and those involved in national security.
