The study of the musculoskeletal system encompasses a number of interdisciplinary fields, primarily biology and bioengineering, and has ultimate applications in clinical areas including orthopaedic surgery, rheumatology, and radiology. The Gordon Research Conference on Musculoskeletal Biology and Bioengineering (formerly called Bioengineering and Orthopaedic Sciences) has been the premier forum for presentation and discussion of new and unpublished information in the field, and consistently has led to new insights, new interactions, new collaborations, and new research directions. This application seeks partial support for the Eleventh Gordon Conference on this subject, which is scheduled for July 28 August 2, 2002. The previous conference was held July 26 to 31, 1998 at the same site. More than 160 applications were received, from which 133 registered participants were selected for a full capacity conference. The conference was rated as outstanding by the participants. The format of this conference, traditionally held in a small private school in New Hampshire every other summer, provides a unique environment for focused interaction between engineers, biologists, and clinicians. The planning of the upcoming conference has built upon the successful tradition of previous conference, taking a broad approach to the composition, structure, metabolism, and blomechanical functions of musculoskeletal tissues. The theme of the planned conference is Molecular and Cellular Mechanobiology of Normal and Engineered Musculoskeletal Tissues. It will examine factors initiating skeletal development, cellular responses to mechanical stress, the biology of stem cells and their potential for therapeutic use, molecular mechanics and signal transduction, and cell based tissue engineering. It will address mechanoregulation of the growth, homeostasis, and the natural and engineered repair of skeletal tissues, including cartilage, intervertebral disc, tendon, ligament, and bone. The format of the conference remains essentially unchanged. There is ample time for formal and informal dicussions. Investigators ranging from trainees to senior scientists will be encouraged to attend. The change in meeting title was made to more accurately reflect the fact that the traditional theme of the conference is musculoskeletal system.
