Funds are requested to support the travel of participants to the Metals in Biology Gordon Conference to be held January 23-27, 2000, at the Sheraton Four Points Harbortown Hotel in Ventura, California.This multidisciplinary conference is generally considered to be the premiere small meeting covering the fields of metallobiochemistry and bioinorganic chemistry. Since 1962, these meetings have been a forum for the presentation and discussion of forefront research covering all aspects of the roles in metal ions in biochemistry, molecular biology, cell biology, and medicine. The popularity of this meeting led to such heavy over-subscription, with large numbers of qualified scientist being denied acceptance, that the scheduling was changed from biennial to an annual calendar starting in January 1987. Still the meeting remains over-subscribed, despite the greater frequency. The topics to be emphasized at the 2000 meeting include: (1) Supramolecular Chemistry; (2) Ion Transport; (3) Fe and Mo S enzymes; (4) Metals in Medicine; (5) Enzymes with Unique Amino Acid Modifications; (6) Heme Systems (7) B12 Enzymes and (8) Computational Bioinorganic Chemistry. Ample time will be provided for discussion and every effort will be made to include young investigators in the program. The modest sum requested to support this Gordon Research Conference will enable a meeting to be held that has an unusual track record of fostering interest and growth in a topic that impacts a wide cross-section of health scientists. By facilitating the many interdisciplinary interactions which occur in this field between researchers in chemistry, physics, biology, and medicine, the conference plays a key role in encouraging new enterprises in biomedical research. To ensure the best possible program, it is important that the cost of participating in the conference not be an impediment to the attendance of the invited speakers and discussion chairs. Additionally, some funds are needed to support the conference costs of younger investigators in order to open the conference to as wide a range of participants as possible.
