This proposal requests partial support for the 2011 Angiogenesis Gordon Conference and its affiliated Gordon Research Seminar for younger scientists, which will be held at Salve Regina University, Newport, Rhode Island, August 20-26. The conference has been running for 10 years by now and has a very high standing in the field;as a rule, it is heavily over- subscribed. The goal of the conference is to present front-line research on molecular details in endothelial biology, blood vessel formation, growth, regression and alteration in physiology and disease. Vessels contribute to pathological processes in a more complex manner than previously anticipated. We therefore need to better understand, predict and control the complex consequences of angiogenesis inhibition in disease therapy. The conference will discuss a wide spectrum of vital questions in this regard. Do endothelial cells have a unique stimulus/response pattern? How is the stability of the vessel maintained? Can vessel plasticity be controlled? We will continue to discuss the puzzles, paradoxes and conflicts relating to these important topics. The significance of this application is that this conference is of very high stature and brings together young and internationally established scientists from academia, clinical medicine and pharmaceutical industry to focus on important problems and their potential solutions, in angiogenesis research. For the first time, the Angiogenesis GRC also has an affiliated GRS. The health relatedness of this application is that important questions relating to the molecular mechanisms in angiogenesis has a bearing on clinical treatment e.g. of cancer.
Excess and dysregulated angiogenesis is a hallmark of devastating diseases such as cancer. Even though anti-angiogenic drugs are used in the clinic, we still do not have full insights to master the molecular mechanisms controlling angiogenesis. It is essential that we have opportunities for interactions to solve puzzles, paradoxes and conflicts, for the benefit of continued high quality research and rapid development in the field of angiogenesis.
