? ? The fifth Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Environmental Endocrine Disruptors will be held June 4-9, 2006, in II Ciocco, Italy. This purpose of this conference is two fold; first to mark the 30th anniversary of the industrial dioxin accident in Seveso, Italy, an environmental disaster that has resulted in serious disruption of the human endocrine system; second, to highlight the most up-to-date science through discussions of cell signaling pathways that overlap between endocrine disrupters in basic research studies, wildlife and human populations. Speakers will include leading scientists from the US, Japan and Europe, as well as young scientists who have recently reported exciting findings. Endocrine disruptors are now thought to influence the development of not only male and female reproductive systems, but also to be involved in the development and adult functions of numerous organ systems, as well as potentially playing a role in the onset of certain types of cancers. Governments of the United States, Japan and the European Union have enacted laws regulating endocrine disrupters and in the U.S., amendments were passed to the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Food Quality Protection Act, mandating the testing of chemicals found in water and food for endocrine disrupting activity. The Gordon Research Conference (GRC) is an excellent venue for promoting research in this important area of study, as it is the guiding principle of the GRC that the presentations are to be of new, unpublished work and that the discussions are to be open and unhampered. There is a tradition of freely sharing ideas in an """"""""off the record"""""""" atmosphere, without the publication of conference proceedings. This underlying philosophy is very important because the proposed topics are at the cutting edge of science, such as the proposed session on epigenetics. This conference deals with an interdisciplinary subject and as such will bring together a diverse group of international scientists, whose studies range from human subjects, as in the case of dioxin exposure, to wildlife, as well as basic research in established animal models and novel in vitro systems. In addition to the NIEHS, this conference is of potential interest to the Institute of Aging (NIA). The 2006 Program will include sessions on dioxin, epigenetics, cell signaling cross talk, receptor mediated endocrine disruption, comparison of animal experimentation and human exposures, the metabolic syndrome, low dose and J-shaped effects, and stem cells. ? ? ? ?
