Dr. Marian Stankovich, Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, is supported by the Inorganic, Bioinorganic, and Organometallic Program of the Chemistry Division to enable graduate students to attend the `International Conference on Oxygen Intermediates in Nonheme Metallobiochemistry` at the University of Minnesota on June 23-27, 1996. The conference will be the first international gathering to deal exclusively with the topic of oxygen intermediates of nonheme biological systems and their inorganic models. Nonheme proteins and enzymes play key roles in such diverse functions as environmental detoxification, synthesis of deoxyribonucleotides, synthesis and interconversion of amino acids in mammalian metabolism, protection of organisms from damage by activated oxygen species, and oxygen transport. This conference will provide an opportunity for graduate students and faculty, working in an important area of chemistry involving the function of metal ions in biological systems, to share their results and experiences in the field. A fundamental understanding of these systems is important because these proteins and enzymes play key roles in diverse functions such as environmental detoxification and mammalian metabolism, which impact human health and aging, either directly or indirectly, through their impact on the environment.
