The 2001 Gordon Research Conference on Molecular and Cellular Biology of Lipids will be held July 15 to July 20 at Kimball Union Academy, Meriden, NH. This conference has been held in odd years for over 40 years and is recognized internationally as the most prestigious forum for the presentation of the latest and most significant research in the area of lipid biochemistry and molecular biology. The 2001 conference will continue this tradition of emphasis on the enzymology, biochemistry, and cell biology of lipid metabolism with the additional inclusion of emerging information on the role of lipids in cell function, functional genomics of lipid metabolism, transgenic animal models and the structure of proteins that interact with lipids. Nine lecture sessions are planned, five in the evening and four in the morning, which will be supplemented by afternoon poster sessions in which all participants will be encouraged to present their latest findings. The lecture sessions will cover the following topics: polyphosphatidylinositides and cell function; peroxisome biogenesis and function; animal models for lipid metabolism; structural basis for lipid/protein interactions; lipids in pathology and disease; lipids and vesicular trafficking; regulation of lipid metabolism; lipid microdomains in membranes; and functional genomics in lipid metabolism. The methodology utilized by the list of speakers covers a broad spectrum of approaches including somatic cell and whole animal genetics, crystallography, enzymology, molecular biological manipulation of genomes, fluorescence microscopy, etc. The above breadth of topics and the diversity of techniques employed will attract a diverse group of scientists with a common interest in lipids and lipid metabolism. Participants and speakers will be selected to reflect international excellence in this area of research with an appropriate balance ensuring representation of young scientists, women, and minorities. Proper facilities are available to accommodate handicapped individuals who will also be considered equally in the selection of attendees and speakers. The meeting will bring together the leading scientists in the field to present and evaluate the latest research in the area and is designed to stimulate the widen application of the emerging technologies to the frontiers of lipid research.
