The seventh Gordon Research Conference on Environmental Endocrine Disruptors (EEDs) will be held on May 30-June 4th at the Les Diablerets Conference Center, Les Diablerets, Switzerland. This venue is one of three sites in Europe approved by the GRC. The GRC conference series on EEDs has become widely known as the single forum in which EED research is presented and discussed. Perhaps more than any other topic covered by the GRC, this topic is transdisciplinary, drawing information from molecular and structural biology, endocrinology, physiology, chemistry (environmental and organic), toxicology, epidemiology, public health and public policy. The goal of this diversity of research is to understand whether - and the mechanisms by which - chemicals derived from human activities impact animal life on the planet so that we can protect our planet and ourselves from adverse consequences. A great deal of new information on EED effects on wildlife and humans has accumulated since the first conference in 1998. However, this information has not led to a single regulatory decision in the U.S. Thus, the single-most important issue that confronts this field is how we can make our science - at all levels of investigation - more amenable for use by regulatory agencies, and how regulatory agencies can better use the information provided by original and creative work in this field. Thus, the central theme of this conference is that basic research into the mechanisms and consequences of EEDs is important for risk analysis that forms protective policies. To develop this concept, we will begin the conference with two key-note debates focusing on the current risk assessments on environmental perchlorate contamination and that of food contamination by bisphenol A. The format will be presentations followed by a selected discussant to identify potential weaknesses in the data set that represent legitimate problems for risk assessment. The remainder of the conference is organized to develop these concepts within emerging areas of research in male and female reproduction, carcinogenesis, thyroid disruption, obesity, and neuroscience. In each case we have leading researchers in these fields in addition to young investigators who will present their newest data including unpublished results. The GRC represents a unique venue for promoting unfettered interchange of scientific ideas through its format of extensive discussion periods at each session, ample free time to encourage informal interactions, and exchanges at poster sessions that will allow attendees to present their latest research findings- all within a self-contained resort area. There will be multiple opportunities for trainee participation including poster sessions, financial support of such participants dependent upon the level of funding the conference receives and presentations by trainee participants at each morning session. The diverse research topics and translational opportunities represented at the meeting will be of interest not only to the National Institute on Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), but also the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the National Institute on Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Disease (NIDDK), the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the National Institute of Mental Health.
This meeting will bring together basic and translational scientists and clinicians in fields important for understanding the mechanisms and consequences of environmental endocrine disruption in order to foster cross fertilization of ideas and techniques between the scientific communities important for this research. This process of communication is essential for the development of new insights and approaches to the basic biology of xenobiotic actions on endocrine signaling and in employing these data in important environmental and human risk assessment strategies. The primary objective of the 2010 GRC on Environmental Endocrine Disruption is to provide a forum for attendees to learn about the latest advancements, exchange scientific ideas across research fields and form new paradigms to study impacts of environmental chemicals on reproduction, brain development, and cancer.
