The Gordon Research Conference on Plant Molecular Biology will be held July 16-21, 2006, at the Holderness School in New Hampshire. The conference will be attended by approximately 135 scientists representing a broad cross-section of young as well as established scientists working in academic, government, and industrial laboratories. The 29 invited speakers will discuss various regulatory mechanisms that control many aspects of plant gene expression and function, using a variety of plant species. There will be sessions on how light is perceived, on cellular dynamics, on mechanisms of gene regulation, on development, on plant hormones, on metabolites and how they change in different environments, and on interactions of plants with other organisms. The diverse topics of this meeting reflect the future of plant biology, since great progress in the field will be made when scientists interact with other scientists outside of their own fields of expertise. To encourage participation by junior scientists, several additional speakers will be chosen from submitted abstracts and all poster presenters will have the opportunity to present their posters in short chalk talks. Professors at minority and undergraduate institutions will be encouraged to attend the conference. Funding will help support graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and early career investigators that are participating in the meeting.
