? ? This application seeks partial support for the Gordon Research Conference on Plasminogen Activation and Extracellular Proteolysis, to be held February 10-15, 2008, in Ventura, California. This Gordon Conference series was founded in 1990 and is now held biennially. The 2004 and 2006 meetings were highly successful and it is anticipated that the 2008 meeting will continue this tradition. Proteolytic regulation and plasminogen activation are rapidly evolving fields at the interface of scientific research, clinical medicine, and biotechnology. These fields are uniquely important for the development of new therapies for blood disorders, and prior discoveries led to the development of plasminogen activator (tPA) for heart attacks and thrombotic stroke. The Plasminogen Activation and Extracellular Proteolysis Gordon Conference will provide a unique opportunity to bring together scientists from around the world to address current issues in the causes, prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases and other disorders, with the goal of translating findings to new innovative therapies. Emphasis will be placed on emerging relationships between the fibrinolytic system and other proteolytic systems in development, tissue repair, atherosclerosis, restenosis, angiogenesis, tumor progression, thrombolysis, neuronal function, Alzheimer's disease and stroke. Special emphasis will be placed on approaches that provide mechanistic insights into the role and interplay of hemostasisrelated proteases, protease receptors, and inhibitors in disease. Participants will be selected from applications submitted on-line and we will seek a balanced representation by actively seeking women and under-represented minorities as speakers, session chairs, poster and abstract presenters, and attendees. For the first time at the 2008 conference, a Gordon-Kenan Research Seminar (GRS) on Plasminogen Activation and Extracellular Proteolysis will take place on February 9-10, immediately prior to the start of the conference. Through this innovative seminar program, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in the fields of plasminogen activation and extracellular proteolysis will have an opportunity to discuss their current research while building networks with their peers that are anticipated to lead to future collaboration, scientific achievement and career development. The GRS program will be organized by graduate students and postdocs with support from leading senior scientists. The Gordon Conference on Plasminogen Activation and Extracellular Proteolysis has been traditionally a highly successful and enjoyable meeting and we believe that the current program has the potential to continue this tradition. (End of Abstract) ? ? ?
