This is a request for a three-year grant to support the annual Genome Sequencing and Analysis Conferences. This conference has been in existence since 1989. The goal is to provide a forum for interested participants to discuss and explore research in DNA sequencing, and the subsequent analysis of data as a means of genomic characterization. All presentations, workshops and poster sessions center on this aspect of molecular biology and its related specialties. The conference brings together key researchers in this field for three and one-half days of interaction and presentations. invited speakers present their latest research projects and discuss future goals in plenary sessions. The data analysis workshop (Data Fair) introduced in 1992 will become an annual event, giving biologists a place to analyze their most recent data using the latest sequence analysis tools provided by research laboratories and commercial vendors. Workshops, organized by attendees on topics of interest, encourage in-depth discussions on specific questions that may not have been fully addressed in the plenary talks. Other workshops introduce new technologies and new areas to be explored. Poster sessions allow laboratories to present their ongoing work as well as to receive input and recommendations from other scientists. A room for electronic posters is set up for scheduled demonstrations of researcher- developed software retrieval and analysis tools. A limited number of exhibit booths are set up to provide attendees an opportunity to see relevant commercial products. A summary of the proceedings will be published. The site of the conference for each year is the Hyatt Regency on Hilton Head island, South Carolina. This conference has been supported by NIH, the DOE and by corporate contributions. The funding requested in this proposal covers: The cost of reimbursing 20 invited domestic speakers (approximately 50% of the total number of speakers) for travel, per diem, ground transportation, and registration expenses; a part-time salary for the conference administrator; and funds for computer hardware to support electronic posters and the Data Fair. This is a not-for-profit research conference administered out of a not-for-profit research-institute. All support from the combined sources goes to funding the conference.
