The 9th International Conference on Brain Energy Metabolism entitled """"""""Mitochondrial-Cytosolic Interactions: From Energetics to Pathogenesis"""""""" will be held on July 7-10, 2010, at Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary (www.icbem-budapest-2010.org/). The program includes two keynote speakers and 25 invited speakers in six scientific sessions on topics that focus on specific aspects of the continuum from mitochondrial energetics and brain metabolism to the relationships of energy failure to pathogenesis of neurological diseases. Speakers include established experts and young investigators, with about 30% of the time allocated to each session for speaker-conferee discussions. Student-fellow presentations are an important aspect of the meeting and they are an effective tool to help bring a new generation of scientists into our community and foster their maturation by their inclusion as young investigator speakers and session chairs. In addition, there are three poster sessions for a total of 7.5 hours to ensure plenty of informal discussion time with presentations by conferees. This conference focuses on intracellular communication between the cytosol and mitochondria, which is an under-studied topic that is critical for metabolic, biosynthetic, signaling, regulatory, and energetic aspects of neuronal and astrocytic function, as well as neuron-astrocyte interactions. The reactions, fluxes, transporters, and regulatory signaling aspects of cytosolic-mitochondrial interactions are poorly understood by neuroscientists in spite of their central importance to cellular function and disease. The major goal of this conference is, and has historically been, to serve as a driving force for cutting-edge discussions and formulation of incisive experiments and collaborations that open new areas of exploration of energy metabolism that underlie and contribute to brain diseases, including stroke, degenerative diseases, and traumatic brain injury. This goal will be achieved by a small, focused conference (about 100-120 attendees) that centers around brain energy metabolism and brings together the world's experts, students, and fellows who have a keen interest in this field. Formal presentations and informal discussions are highlights of this conference series that fosters long-term scientific interactions and disseminates original research work and review articles by the conferees in a peer-reviewed special issue of a scientific journal.
The Brain Energy Metabolism conference is a 4-day scientific educational event in which conference attendees will convey cutting-edge results of research related to brain diseases that involve energy production and mitochondria, the powerhouses of cells that generate most of the energy. Diseases such as stroke, diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and other neurodegenerative diseases all have serious disturbances of energy production as an underlying feature, and sharing knowledge with others improves research and speeds the transfer of potential treatments from the laboratory to bedside.
