The Myogenic Centennial Conference will be held in Burlington, Vermont on September 11-15, 2002. From a historical standpoint, this meeting will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the publication of Sir William Bayliss' classic 1902 paper that first described the vascular myogenic response, a physiologic phenomenon that is integral to the control of basal vascular tone, peripheral resistance, blood pressure and blood flow autoregulation. Defined most simply as the intrinsic ability of vascular smooth muscle to generate force in response to intravascular pressure, the physiological importance of this fundamental property - which has been described in arteries, arterioles, veins and lymphatics is well-established. As such, myogenic behavior has a broad impact on vascular physiology (e.g. developmental and age-related changes, gender differences, pregnancy) and pathology (atherosclerosis, diabetes, hypertension, preeclampsia, stroke) and would be of interest to several institutes, e.g. NINDS, NIGMS, and NHLBI. The format of the conference is detailed in the Research Plan, and will include an opening lecture, 24 oral presentations by established scientists that will serve to highlight current knowledge on key issues, two poster discussion sessions that will parallel the themes of the oral sessions and explore some of the more controversial issues and allow younger investigators to present and articulate their work, and two workshops designed to stimulate discussion about the most intriguing new observations and explore the most puzzling and provocative issues relevant to vascular myogenic behavior. The meeting will attract 100-120 attendees, utilizes a format designed to encourage active participation, and includes ample time for discussion in both the group and individual settings. A process has been set up by which information presented at the meeting will be used as a substrate for identifying areas of controversy and future directions in research, and for generating questions that will be addressed in the workshops. The principal goals are to bring historical and physiological antecedents together in a unique and forward-looking conference focused on: (1) updating and integrating our knowledge about the vascular myogenic behavior in light of recent advances in molecular genetics and imaging technology, and (2) catalyzing future collaboration and communication between younger investigators and established scientists.
