The Gordon Research Conference on Multidrug Efflux that will take place in Ventura, California in March 17-22, 2013 focuses on multi-drug systems in bacteria and man to allow cross-disciplinary interaction. There is very good evidence that efflux transporters contribute to some of the earliest resistance responses in bacteria. Patients have died from antibiotic resistant organisms at some of our most advanced hospital centers in the United States, and it is important to identify approaches to prevent the onset of antibiotic resistance. Furthermore, it is increasingly clear that multidrug transporters are important in human beings, for example in the blood brain barrier, in protecting the brain from toxins but also in preventing therapeutic agents from accessing the brain. This creates a form of "sanctuary drug resistance" that allows the development of brain metastasis in patients with cancer, and allows HIV infection to persist in the CNS, and reduces the efficacy of anti-seizure medication and psychiatric medication. Efflux systems play important roles in pharmacology in determining the rate of drug excretion from the body. Efflux transporters may also confer resistance to cancer cells in patients, and approaches to circumvent this have been studied for many years. At the center of all of these physical systems are efflux pumps. The description of regulation of resistance mechanisms by fundamental physical processes and a role of polyspecific transporters in Alzheimer's disease will be discussed for the first time. Various strategies of pharmacological modulation of function of MDR transporters to improve clinical outcomes will be discussed at large. This powerful combination of topics will facilitate greater understanding and collaboration between these thematic topics. The conference is interdisciplinary in its nature and brings together Biology, Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacology disciplines. Traditionally a large number of graduate students and post-doctoral fellows participate in this meeting. Well-known scientists and their post-docs and students from diverse background have been invited. The selection of participants is primarily based on scientific excellence, but to balance gender and equally qualified minorities, people from diverse backgrounds and scientists with disabilities will receive preference. The goal of 2013 Multidrug Efflux Systems GRC is to bring together scientists from diverse fields to interact, learn from each other, identify new approaches
The Gordon Research Conference on MULTI-DRUG EFFLUX SYSTEMS was held at the Four Points by Sheraton/Holiday Inn Express, Ventura, California, March 17 - 22, 2013. The Conference was well-attended with 130 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 130 attendees, 38 voluntarily responded to a general inquiry regarding ethnicity which appears on our registration forms. Of the 38 respondents, 35% were Minorities – 3% Hispanic, 29% Asian and 6% African American. Approximately 38% of the participants at the 2013 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. Thank you.
