Funds are requested for travel, room and board for speakers and session chairpeople at the Gordon Research Conference on Cell Contact and Adhesion, July 2-5, 1985 at the Tilton School, Tilton New Hampshire.
The aim of this conference is to explore the most significant advances since the last such conference two years ago in areas relevant to the understanding of cell adhesion, intercellular communication and motility and defects in these processes which are related to the phenomena of metastasis and invasiveness in malignant cells. The areas upon which this year's conference will focus are the molecular bases of both cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesion; the structure, function and assembly of specialized membrane domains such as gap junctions and desmosomes; membranecytoskeletal interactions, the molecular basis for cellular motile processes; adhesion-mediated morphogenetic processes; and mechanisms of malignant invasion and metastasis. These areas have been chosen for the intense current interest in them and because all have been marked by important recent advances. Moreover, the topics are sufficiently diverse to attract participation by scientists working in a wide range of related disciplines, with an eye toward promoting interaction between individuals whose knowledge covers a broad range of subject matter and techniques. The meeting format has been design to promote both the free exchange of the most un-to-date information and to maximize discussion. There will be about 120 attendees. Two sessions a day have been planned for Monday through Thursday and one for Friday morning. The Thursday evening session has been deliberately left open to accommodate presentations by attendees other than the principal speakers, to permit last-minute insertion of late-breaking developments and to allow a response to specific interests expressed by the meeting participants. The afternoons are reserved for study and discussions of posters, meetings of small groups with closely related interests and informal discussions. Provisions will be available for the display of posters and time will be set aside for those presenting posters to discuss them with interested attendees.
