The purpose of this application is to seek NIH funds to support the inaugural 2009 Gordon-Kenan graduate research seminar (GRS) entitled Combinatorial Chemistry: High Throughput Chemistry and Chemical Biology. The GRS will be held at Colby-Sawyer College, NH, USA from June 6-7, 2009, in conjunction with the 2009 Gordon Conference in Combinatorial Chemistry (High Throughput Chemistry and Chemical Biology) to be held from June 7-12th at Colby-Sawyer College, NH. The full GRC is chaired by Dr. Joseph M. Salvino at Cephalon, Inc. in Philadelphia, PA and vice-chaired by Dr. Mike Foley at the Broad Institute in Boston, MA. This GRS will provide young investigators the opportunity to present their efforts on cutting edge research at the forefront of the field, provoking stimulating interaction and debate. This will be manifested via a 1.5-day conference comprised of 10 student/postdoctoral researcher talks, two poster sessions and a Key Note address from an outstanding leader in this field. In all, the GRS is targeting an attendance of 50 young investigators providing an excellent scientific forum in a relaxed atmosphere. Dr. Jared Shaw (UC Davis) will be the inaugural GRS 2009 Keynote speaker. Dr. Shaw's research embodies the breadth of current efforts in this field. Jared emerged from the Broad Institute, working under the mentorship of the Professor Stuart Schreiber who is Director of the Broad Institute. He began his independent career at UC Davis in the fall of 2006. His research interests span synthetic methodology, natural product synthesis, diversity-oriented synthesis and chemical biology. His talk will be the only faculty talk at the GRS, the remainder comprised of student/postdoctoral researcher talks. The two poster sessions will be open to all participants who will have opportunity to also present their posters during the larger GRC to follow, vide infra. The development of this inaugural GRS will provide an unprecedented opportunity for senior scientists in the field to interact students and postdoctoral researchers and will strengthen the link between students learning about this field and the new technology it encompasses. The GRC on Combinatorial Chemistry has a Strong tradition of actively involving minority participants, women and students of disability, and this trend will be continued. The Carl Storm Minority and International Diversity Fellowship Program will be utilized to augment current funding efforts. Ultimately, the GRS will provide an excellent forum to bridge the gap between the young investigator full of enthusiasm and fresh ideas, and the seasoned researchers who utilize the technology on a daily basis.
The demand for high quality libraries of small molecules for use in high-throughput screening (HTS) has presented enormous challenges and opportunities at the forefront of molecular library development and chemical biology. Ultimately, solutions to these challenges serve to uncover molecular leads as potential therapeutic agents aimed at improving human health. 1
