The project is to hold a scientifically stimulating Gordon Research Conference on Plant Molecular Biology at the Holderness School in New Hampshire from July 18-23, 2010. This conference will bring together a range of plant scientists who are investigating basic plant cellular processes in a variety of plant species. The conference will focus on areas of plant research that are key to advancing both agriculture and a basic understanding of plant developmental and biochemical mechanisms. For example, there will be sessions on molecular plant breeding, functional genomics, genomics and natural variation, epigenetics, proteomes and metabolomes, plant hormones, and plant/microbe interactions. This conference will bring together leaders as well as young scientists in a range of disciplines to exchange ideas, and to permit the participants to learn of the latest developments and ideas in diverse areas of plant biology. The broader impacts of this project are to foster progress in plant biology, and particularly, to enable PhD students and postdocs plenty of time for interactions with research leaders in the field. The goal of fostering progress will be advanced by bringing together plant scientists to collectively discuss and explore areas outside of their narrow field of expertise, which should result in the discovery of connections among diverse fields, and in turn to collaborations and further scientific progress. This conference features several speakers at an early stage of their career, as well as opportunities for many more young scientists to interact with established scientists working in academic, government, and industrial laboratories. To encourage participation by junior scientists, additional speakers will be chosen from submitted abstracts, and all participants will have opportunities to present their research.
The Gordon Research Conference on PLANT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY was held at Holderness School, Holderness, NH, July 18-23, 2010. The Conference was well-attended with 143 participants (attendees list attached). The attendees represented the spectrum of endeavor in this field coming from academia, industry, and government laboratories, both U.S. and foreign scientists, senior researchers, young investigators, and students. Of the 143 attendees, 62 voluntarily responded to a general inquiry regarding ethnicity which appears on our registration forms. Of the 62 respondents, 13% were Minorities – 3% Hispanic, 5% Asian, and 5% African American. Approximately 37% of the participants at the 2010 meeting were women. In designing the formal speakers program, emphasis was placed on current unpublished research and discussion of the future target areas in this field. There was a conscious effort to stimulate lively discussion about the key issues in the field today. Time for formal presentations was limited in the interest of group discussions. In order that more scientists could communicate their most recent results, poster presentation time was scheduled. Attached is a copy of the formal schedule and speaker program and the poster program. In addition to these formal interactions, "free time" was scheduled to allow informal discussions. Such discussions are fostering new collaborations and joint efforts in the field.
