The Gordon Research Conference on Computational Aspects of Biomolecular NMR provides a unique forum for the presentation and discussion of emerging methods at the intersection of experimental Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and computational analysis and prediction. NMR is one of the more versatile methods for the investigation of biomolecular systems, whether these are proteins, nucleic acids, glycans, membranes, or functioning cellular and in vivo systems. The resulting structural and functional information lays an important basis for understanding disease, diagnosing disease, and developing therapeutics that combat disease. Recent advances have allowed application to systems of ever increasing complexity, but only by learning to use new types of data and large amounts of data, and integrating NMR data with data from other methodologies. Computational platforms that handle data efficiently, merge data types, and provide for the use of more limited data sets have become essential in dealing with applications of NMR to advanced problems in structural, dynamical and systems biology. This conference will bring together practitioners in NMR and computational biology for the purpose of promoting the collaboration and education needed to generate these platforms and advance applications to ever more challenging systems. The proposed conference, with 160 anticipated participants from many countries, 30 invited speakers, and 9 discussants will be held June 2-7 at Mount Snow Resort in Vermont. Sessions will be devoted to data-aided macromolecular structure prediction, complementing traditional NOE approaches with new data types, improving data acquisition and analysis, modeling and analyzing molecular dynamics, NMR guided ligand docking, deconvolution of complex metabolic processes and the challenges of larger structures. The prominent list of speakers, along with the intimate format of the conference, will provide unique opportunities for graduate students, postdocs, and those new to this research area, to discuss their research with leaders in the field. Extensive poster sessions, along with promoted talks, will facilitate this process. New this year is a Gordon Research Seminar just prior to the conference. It is organized by and for graduate students and postdocs. While participation by those working in all areas of computational NMR will be encouraged, the Seminar will have a special focus on the study of metabolic systems and the integration of NMR with the associated computational techniques needed to treat metabolomic aspects of systems biology, microbiology, toxicology, genomics and medicine. The Seminar will feature a keynote talk and discussions led by experts in metabolomic NMR, as a complement to oral presentations by graduate students and postdocs. It will provide an excellent opportunity for participants to learn, as well as become familiar with the process of open scientific exchange promoted by the atmosphere of a Gordon Conference.
The function of biomolecular systems is dependent on the detailed structure, dynamics, and interactions of the proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, and lipids that make up these systems. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) is among the few analytical techniques versatile enough to return data on diverse aspects of these systems, but capitalizing on this versatility requires not only data acquisition, but sophisticated computationa methods to analyze and interpret data. The proposed conference and seminar on Computational Aspects of Biomolecular NMR bring together scientists with skills in NMR and scientists with skills in computation to build new partnerships and new tools to translate diverse data types into the fundamental understandings that underlie management of human disease.
