This proposal requests partial support for an international meeting on Single Molecule Approaches to Biology as part of the Gordon Research Conference series to be held in Colby-Sawyer College, New London, New Hampshire, August 12-17, 2008. The ability of single molecule approaches to avoid ensemble averaging and to capture transient intermediates and heterogeneous behavior renders them particularly powerful in elucidating mechanisms of molecular machineries: what they do, how they work individually, how they work together, and finally, how they work inside live cells. This conference seeks to bring together top experts in molecular and cell biology with innovators in the measurement and manipulation of single molecules. The intention is to better promote the use of the single-molecule approach to generate new biological knowledge and to better orient the development and implementation of single molecule techniques for compelling biological problems.
The specific aims of this meeting will be to convene 50 speakers that represent new emerging areas of single molecule research with a total of 170 participants for a five day conference in a relatively isolated setting. The program will have nine sessions that cover cutting-edge technical developments in optical probe, high resolution instruments, live cell analysis, and theoretical advancement as well as exciting new applications to RNA science, chromatin biology, DNA replication/recombination/repair, cytoskeleton motors, gene expression and its regulation. In addition, four afternoon poster sessions give attendants opportunities to actively participate in the scientific discourse. The significance of this application is that the Gordon Research Conference on Single Molecule Approaches to Biology is a unique vehicle to promote and enhance the exchange of emerging technologies and innovative methods of applying them to various biological problems. The health relatedness of this application is that the single molecule approaches provide previously unobtainable data on fundamental biochemical processes that are essential for all forms of life, including human and human pathogens, sharpening the discussion and generating new viewpoints. ? ? ?
