Realizing the Vision: Leading Edge Technologies in Biological Systems Workshop to be held in Washington, DC in September or October 2004

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This NSF grant will provide support for a broadly based scientific workshop entitled: Realizing the Vision: Leading Edge Technologies in Biological Systems, and will be held in Washington, DC, during September or October of 2004. The underlying need for the workshop was identified during an informal roundtable discussion that included recognition that the rate of sequencing of animal, microbial, and plant genomes was rapid and not being matched by rates of discovery of individual gene and/or protein function. In addition, genomic sequencing does not address the metabolic and physiological network questions also related to biodiversity. The workshop is designed to focus on leading edge and emerging technologies that can bring the field of metabolic biochemistry the capability of addressing systems biology questions of increasing significance in the foreseeable future. The workshop is targeted to a broad-based audience integrating various scientific disciplines that study biological systems. It will host 18-20 scientific leaders in their respective fields (e.g., animal, microbial, and plant science) to lead workshop participants in discussions of topics such as: bioinformatics; biological systems maps; molecular gating; metabolic flux analysis (including single cell analysis); living (metabolic) networks; the molecular basis of complex natural product diversity; proteomics and protein structure/function; and the future roles of structural biology and metabolic engineering. Specific goals include to: 1) provide a forum for informal, incisive dialogue between leading scientists and other interested parties relating to leading edge issues; 2) increase outreach and dissemination of information regarding discussions and recommendations by direct involvement of representatives from related scientific disciplines as well as interested members of the public; 3) provide a report summarizing future needs, directions, and recommendations emphasizing the importance of the emergent leading edge concepts and their potential impact on the understanding of living (metabolic) networks. Broader Impact: The workshop will provide a forum for informal dialogue between leading scientists and a diverse group of participants. The product of the workshop will be a final written report with recommendations, to help inform a strategic roadmap for understanding metabolic networks and systems biology. The report (with recommendations) will be published in a special edition of the journal Phytochemistry, and will be linked to a conference website as well as to websites of a number of professional societies. Organizers will also produce a non-technical report suitable for dissemination to the general public.