Support is requested for the Gordon Research Conference on """"""""Biological Molecules in the Gas Phase and in Solution"""""""", which will take place during the week of July 31 to August 5, 2011 at Proctor Academy, Andover, New Hampshire. This Gordon Research Conference (GRC) will provide an international forum for discussing fundamental questions related to the structure and dynamics of proteins, peptides, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, and other molecular building blocks of life. One focus of this meeting is the characterization of biological molecules by mass spectrometry and related approaches (including chemical labeling, ion mobility and various dissociation methods). Another emphasis is on the interrogation of biomolecular systems by spectroscopic tools. In addition, the conference will highlight key computational and theoretical contributions. Some of the issues that will be addressed include the following: How do biological molecules behave once they have been deprived of their aqueous environment? How can gas phase methods be employed for obtaining structural information on biological molecules in solution? How do biological molecules interact with water? How do biological molecules behave in solvents other than water? The uniqueness of this meeting stems from its strongly interdisciplinary character, as it brings together experimentalists and theorists working at the interface of chemistry, biology, physics, and medicine. This GRC also provides a perfect opportunity for young scientists to interact with established and emerging leaders in all of these areas. The conference chairs have assembled a cutting-edge program that includes 36 leading scientists, all of whom have confirmed their attendance. In addition to invited oral presentations there will be several poster sessions. The conference program is available on-line at www.grc.org/programs.aspx?year=2011&program=gasphase).
New developments in medicine and public health in the 21st Century are likely to depend on an improved understanding of the structure, dynamics, and function of biological systems at the molecular level. The Gordon Research Conference on Biological Molecules in the Gas Phase and in Solution was created in 2001 to address this need. The 2011 meeting, the sixth in the series, will especially focus on identifying the frontier areas in biology that will benefit from collaborative research involving the biomolecular mass spectrometry, optical spectroscopy, and computational chemistry modeling communities.
