This application seeks partial support for the Hemostasis Gordon Conference, which will be held July 11-16 at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. This Gordon Conference series was founded in 1973 and is now held biennially. The 2002 meeting, also held at Colby College, was highly successful, both in terms of attaining its scientific objectives and attracting a fully subscribed meeting. More than 190 scientists from academic, government and industry applied for the 135 slots permitted by the Gordon Conference Organization, and we were ultimately allowed to accommodate 152 attendees. The evaluations by participants were uniformly positive. A program of 38 outstanding speakers has been organized for the 2004 Conference. These speakers will provide state-of-the art lectures on the major topics of hemostasis, including megakaryocyte biology and megakaryocytopoiesis; hemostasis in vivo using transgenic mouse models; regulation of platelet responses; the structure and function of coagulation proteins; von Willebrand factor and thrombotic thrombocytopenia purpura; genetic and genomic approaches to thrombosis; and vascular biology. These represent highly topical areas in the field. Speakers are encouraged to present unpublished observations, and these presentations will undoubtedly lead to lively and in-depth discussions that are slated to last for about half of the presentation times and should extend into the ample free time that organized into the Gordon Conference program. Session Leaders, still to be identified, will help to lead these discussions and encourage broad audience participation. A """"""""hot topics"""""""" session composed of short presentations, selected from abstract submissions, will help to inform the group of latest-breaking information. Poster sessions, held on 4 of the 5 days of the meeting, will complement the program; and, based on past experience; we can anticipate approximately 50 posters. The meeting will be publicized on the Gordon Conference Web and in scientific journals. Participants will be selected from applications submitted on-line, and we will seek to appropriate representation of women and under-represented minorities in the selection process as speakers, session chairs, poster and abstract presenters. The Hemostasis Gordon Conference has been a highly successful and enjoyable meeting, frequently identified as the best meeting attended by participants; and we believe that the current program has the potential to extend this tradition.
