The Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Protein Folding Dynamics and the accompanying Graduate Research Seminar (GRS) on Protein Folding Dynamics will take place at the Ventura Beach Marriott, Ventura, California from January 7-8 (GRS)and January 8-13 (GRC). The main goal of the conference is to discuss Protein folding and the development of a framework to describe how proteins fold using the energy landscape perspective and concepts in polymer physics. The Graduate Research Seminar in Protein Folding Dynamics is organized as a satellite to the GRC in Protein Folding Dynamics. This workshop serves as a venue for graduate students and postdoctoral scientists to i) develop background on current techniques, theories and models in preparation for the GRC in Protein Folding Dynamics, ii) share their knowledge of protein folding methodologies and techniques and iii) meet each other and discuss their own research. The bulk of the workshop will be devoted to research presentation and posters. All sessions will be chaired by the students and post-docs enrolled at the GRS. The strong participation of young researchers will be of high value for the next generation of biophysicists. The conference is co-funded by the Division of Physics and by the Molecular and Cellular Biosciences Division in the Directorate for Biological Sciences.
The Gordon Research Conference on PROTEIN FOLDING DYNAMICS was held at Ventura Beach Marriott Ventura, California, January 8 - 13, 2012. The Conference was well-attended with 169 participants (attendees list attached). The attendees represented the spectrum of endeavor in this field coming from academia, industry, and government laboratories, both U.S. and foreign scientists, senior researchers, young investigators, and students. Of the 169 attendees, 83 voluntarily responded to a general inquiry regarding ethnicity which appears on our registration forms. Of the 83 respondents, 22% were Minorities – 1% Hispanic, 20% Asian and 1% African American. Approximately 28% of the participants at the 2012 meeting were women. The Gordon Research Seminar on PROTEIN FOLDING DYNAMICS was held at Ventura Beach Marriott Ventura, California, January 7 - 8, 2012. The Conference was well-attended with 57 participants (attendees list attached). The attendees represented the spectrum of endeavor in this field coming from academia, industry, and government laboratories, both U.S. and foreign scientists, senior researchers, young investigators, and students. Of the 57 attendees, 23 voluntarily responded to a general inquiry regarding ethnicity which appears on our registration forms. Of the 23 respondents, 21% were Minorities – 4% Hispanic, 13% Asian and 4% African American. Approximately 44% of the participants at the 2012 meeting were women. In designing the formal speakers program, emphasis was placed on current unpublished research and discussion of the future target areas in this field. There was a conscious effort to stimulate lively discussion about the key issues in the field today. Time for formal presentations was limited in the interest of group discussions. In order that more scientists could communicate their most recent results, poster presentation time was scheduled. Attached is a copy of the formal schedule and speaker program and the poster program. In addition to these formal interactions, "free time" was scheduled to allow informal discussions. Such discussions are fostering new collaborations and joint efforts in the field. Thank you for your support of this Conference. As you know, in the interest of promoting the presentation of unpublished and frontier-breaking research, Gordon Research Conferences does not permit publication of meeting proceedings. If you wish any further details, please feel free to contact me.
