We are requesting partial support for operation of the Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Second Messengers and Protein Phosphorylation, which has been held annually since the early 70's. Over the years this GRC has been the venue where research leading to several Nobel Prizes was first presented. The meeting is held annually at Kimball Union Academy in Meriden, New Hampshire, which provides a familiar and handicapped-accessible venue to promote open interaction among participants. The 2003 iteration of this GRC will begin on Sunday night June 8 and conclude on Thursday evening June 12. The conference focuses on signal transduction mechanisms that regulate cell growth, differentiation, survival and metabolism. A full understanding of these signaling mechanisms is scientifically and clinically important because their failure plays a direct role in contemporary health problems that affect millions of people worldwide, such as diabetes, obesity, aging, cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurodegeneration, and developmental disorders. The speakers are encouraged to integrate biochemical, structural, cell biological and genomic approaches that provide a comprehensive understanding of the molecular aspects of signaling mechanisms as they relate to disease. The plenary speaker has been selected to set the stage for the conference and to challenge the participants to think about signal transduction from novel perspectives. The conference will consist of 8 sessions, each with a discussion leader and four speakers, selected from investigators who have made important recent contributions. At least 20% of the speakers are women or members of minority groups. Speakers in each session will develop the structure and function of important paradigms in signal transduction and relate these systems to disease mechanisms and potential treatment strategies. The co-chairs will select 135 participants from applicants, including representatives from industry and academia, senior scientists, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students. A special effort will be made to recruit minority participants by a direct mailing program. Participants will be encouraged to present posters on new and interesting results each afternoon. Importantly, the conference provides a forum for young investigators to see the connection between fundamental scientific inquiry and the application of scientific methods to the design of efficacious interventions for human disease. To emphasize this goal, four poster presentations that complement the themes of the meeting will be selected for brief oral presentation during the main sessions. ? ?
