The 2007 Plant Metabolic Engineering Gordon Conference & Graduate Research Seminar will take place July 15-20, 2007, at the Tilton School, Tilton, New Hampshire. Started in 2005 with a very successful gathering of over 130 scientists from all over the World, the conference will continue to provide a setting for developing multidisciplinary collaborations essential to unravel the dynamic complexity of plant metabolic networks and advance basic and applied research in plant metabolic engineering. Similar to the 2005 meeting, it is expected that the number of speakers and participants to number approximately 130-150 from the US and abroad, at all career levels, and represent institutions from academia, industry, private institutes, and federal laboratories. Concerted efforts to recruit women, persons with disabilities, and scientists from underrepresented groups as speakers and participants have been expanded. For instance, in addition to the 2007 GRC, a Graduate Research Seminar (GRS) in Plant Metabolic Engineering immediately before the GRC is developed, which may serve as a template for future meetings. The GRS provides a unique venue for junior scientists (Ph.D. students and postdoctoral fellows) to present their research in a more relaxed setting in front of their peers and is designed to reach out to under-represented groups of students and pre-professionals. The Gordon Conferences continue to be considered among the top scientific meetings worldwide, attracting top researchers in settings that are conducive to developing interactions and exploring new horizons. Participants to the GRS will be encouraged and expected to stay for the GRC, further enhancing the educational component of this conference. It is expected that the GRS will have a significant impact in attracting top junior scientists to the plant metabolic engineering field.
