Funds are requested to support domestic travel and conference fees for speakers at the 18th Lysosome Gordon Conference to be held June 28 to July 2, 1998 at Proctor Academy, Andover, NH. The conference provides a unique opportunity for formal oral and poster presentations and ample informal discussions aimed at stimulating research on topics related to membrane trafficking along the endocytic pathway and the role of the endosomal/lysosomal pathway in normal and pathological physiology. Recent rapid progress in this field will enable discussions on the molecular mechanisms of vesicular trafficking in endocytosis and on the role of endosomes in such processes as antigen presentation, regulation of insulin- responsiveness, control of signal transduction and synaptic vesicle recycling. Sessions will include: mechanisms of Vesicle Formation; Endocytic Transport and Sorting; Endocytosis at the Synapse; Endocytosis and Signal Transduction; Molecular Interactions at the Endosomal Surface; Alternate pathways to and from the Lysosome; Cellular and Viral Virulence Factors; Lipid Trafficking in the Endocytic pathway. These sessions will provide up-to-date information of direct relevance to a variety of disease-related topics, including diabetes, immunological disease, infectious diseases and intracellular parasites, Alzheimers disease, lysosomal storage disorders, vaccine development and HIV infection. Because of this relevance to transitional medicine, this meeting is regularly attended by medical researchers interested in the application of new findings to new therapies. Speakers will include recognized world leaders in this field, as well as younger investigators. Almost 30% of the speakers and session chairs are female, reflecting closely the demography of this area of research. The goal of the Conference is to provide a forum for the free exchange of new findings so as to generate new ideas and collaborations among scientists from a variety of backgrounds.
