The 4th Pan American Plant Membrane Biology Workshop will be held at Asilomar Conference Center, Pacific Grove, CA, USA from May 16-20, 2012. The workshop will include sessions that cover the most important recent breakthroughs in understanding both basic and applied aspects of plant membrane biology. The workshop will focus largely on membrane transport, signaling and trafficking, as these fields are experiencing rapid progress. In addition, the workshop will focus on the membrane transport process of secretion for cell wall synthesis, given current intense focus and interest in biofuels and the development of sustainable energy sources. Another specific focus is the regulation of membrane transport processes in response to abiotic stresses; thus, the workshop should facilitate interactions that accelerate progress in the development of plant varieties that have improved properties for biofuel production and/or that show enhanced ability to tolerate stresses (such as those predicted to increase as a result of global climate change).
A small meeting like PAPMBW provides an outstanding opportunity for interaction of attendees. This meeting is heavily focused on PhD students, postdocs and early-career scientists. Each session is anchored by 1-2 invited speakers and includes talks from 1-2 early-career scientists and 2 PhD students. NSF funds will be used specifically to help defray the travel and registration costs of 20 outstanding graduate students, postdoctoral fellows or early career investigators. Every effort will be made to include women, participants from under-represented groups and scientists from predominantly undergraduate and minority-serving institutions Thus, support from NSF will contribute directly to the career development and educational goals of the next generation of scientists.
The 4th Pan American Plant Membrane Biology Workshop took place in Asilomar, CA from May 16-20, 2012. There were 97 participants, mainly from the United States, Canada and Mexico. The meeting was organized by a committee of 11 with representatives from the US, Canada, Mexico and Chile. The committee consisted of 6 men and 5 women. The meeting focused on membrane transport, signaling and trafficking, with an emphasis on new, rapidly expanding sub-fields such as secretion and cell wall biosynthesis and organization of trafficking pathways. In addition, one session was dedicated to emerging technologies. Thus, the workshop facilitated interactions that should accelerate progress in the development of plant varieties that have improved properties for biofuel production and/or that show enhanced ability to tolerate stresses (such as those predicted to increase as a result of global climate change). Broader Impacts: The funds provided by NSF allowed the participation of 12 graduate students, 5 postdoctoral researchers and 6 early career investigators. Over 50% of travel awardees were women and at least 2 awardees self-identified as under-represented minorities. Each travel awardee had the opportunity to present their work and to interact significantly with other attendees. Thus, NSF support contributed directly to the education and career development of the next generation of plant scientists.
