This proposal requests funds to support the Gordon Research Conference on Structural, Functional & Evolutionary Genomics, July 29 - August 3, 2007, at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute Genome Center in Hinxton, UK, and for the subsequent meeting in 2009. The GRC on Structural, Functional & Evolutionary Genomics is devoted to ambitious analysis of biological systems at the broadest scale possible: full genomes and proteomes; full examination of gene and protein function in the context of biological networks; and full use of the power of comparative genomics and evolutionary theory. This GRC is unique in bringing together experts in both the experimental and computational / theoretical aspects of this research. Experimental talks introduce computational scientists to new, promising data sets and empirical results. Computational talks provide experimentalists with new methods and algorithms for revealing the significance of their findings and also offer the theoretical framework that is needed to integrate different types of data. ? ? The broad themes for the 2007 meeting are the evolution of gene regulation, non-protein-coding DNA, and regulatory networks; evolution of networks in the presence of noise; comparative genomics of gene expression; biodiversity and metagenomics; functional genomics; evolution of synthetic life; and contribution of comparative genomics to our understanding of the major transitions in life's evolution. The topics discussed in the meeting have broad relevance to understanding basic human biology. Specific topics including the function of non-coding DNA and the genomic architecture of complex traits are directly relevant to human disease, especially as technologies first developed for model organisms are applied to human. ? ? In addition to the scientific objectives, this GRC, in line with the broad goals of Gordon Conferences, strives to encourage mixing and interactions among a diverse scientific body.
We aim to have representation from senior scientists and those just starting their scientific careers and to include, as much as possible, women and minorities. The GRC has an additional goal of encouraging scientific interchange between the US and Canada, Europe, Asia, and other scientific centers. In that regard, this GRC stands a chance to be particularly fruitful because it will be the first meeting at a new GRC site, Hinxton (UK), a major center of Genomics, Systems Biology, and Bioinformatics for the UK and Europe. ? ? ?
