New Optical Methods in Cell Physiology

Ellis-Davies, Graham

Abstract

This proposal requests funds for help to support an international symposium entitled """"""""New optical methods in cell physiology"""""""" to be held on 8-12 September 2010 at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), Woods Hole, MA, USA. This meeting will be the 64th Annual Meeting and Symposium of the Society of General Physiologists (SGP). One of the main purposes of the SGP is to organize an annual meeting on a subject of wide interest to the biomedical research community. Typically, the focus is on area of physiology as it relates to disease. For example, the past three themes have been: Muscle in health and disease (2009), Calcium signaling and disease (2008), and Membrane biophysics of fusion, fission and rafts in health and disease (2007). Periodically, the annual meeting of SGP departs from this format, to focus on the theme of """"""""Optical methods"""""""" (in 1999 and 1984). The past ten years has witnessed technological revolutions in many areas of optical methods that are being used by the biomedical research community. This culminated with the award of the Nobel Prize in 2008 for the discovery and development of green fluorescent protein (GFP). Thus, it seemed timely for the SGP to devote its 2010 Symposium to """"""""New Optical Methods in cell Physiology"""""""". The sub- themes of the conference reflect the many recent exciting developments in this area: (1) Imaging in living animals;(2) Two-photon uncaging;(3) Fluorescent protein technologies;(4) Nanoscopy and single molecule imaging;(5) Channelrhodopsin. The speakers who have agreed to contribute are the leading scientists in the world in each field, lead by Roger Tsien (Nobel Prize, 2008). There has been no comparable small-scale conference on this theme for the past few years, since Cold Spring Harbor dropped their biannual """"""""Imaging Neurons"""""""" conference from their calendar. Thus, we believe very strongly that the proposed Symposium will fill a void in the conference schedule and provide an exciting and timely venue for an update for this important area.

Public Health Relevance

This proposal requests funds to help support an international symposium on """"""""New optical methods in cell physiology"""""""" to be held 8-12 September 2010, at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. This meeting will be the 64th Annual Symposium of the Society of General Physiologists (SGP). The major purpose of the SGP is to host a symposium each year on a different subject of wide interest to neuroscientists, cell biologists, physiologists and biophysicists.