FASEB's The Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) Conference: Structure, Function, and Disease

项目总结/文摘

Project Summary/Abstract This proposal requests funds to support travel and lodging costs for junior abstract-selected and invited investigators at the “Endoplasmic Reticulum Meeting: Structure, Function, and Disease”, sponsored by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) and to be held in June, 2021 at the Vermont Academy in Saxton's River, Vermont. This is a biennial meeting which originated in 2007, the focus of which has traditionally been the biochemistry, cell biology, physiology, and pathophysiology of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). For 2021 in particular, this meeting will place a particular emphasis on bringing together basic research on ER function with translational/clinical research on the many diverse diseases in which ER dysfunction—“ER stress”—is implicated. There are three objectives to this meeting: (1) Utilize speaker invitations, program structure, and meeting promotion to unite basic and translational research on the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), in order to accelerate the discovery of therapeutic targets for the broad array of diseases in which ER dysfunction—“ER stress”—is implicated. (2) Facilitate the participation and career development of early-career investigators and trainees, women, and members of underrepresented groups, through targeted speaker invitations, judicious abstract selection and plentiful speaking opportunities, and focused career workshop sessions. And (3), inject new perspectives into the field through invitations to speakers new to the meeting and promotion of the meeting to investigators that have not been represented in the past. These objectives will be facilitated by the planning of the PI, who was the junior organizer for the meeting in 2019, and the Co-I, who has a long history with the meeting and brings complementary scientific expertise to the leadership team. The proposed invited speakers to the meeting, many of whom have already confirmed participation, include strong representation among basic scientists studying ER protein targeting, folding, and maturation, ER-associated degradation, ER stress sensing and signaling, and communication between the ER and other organelles and cellular processes. Complementing these areas are a similarly dynamic group of investigators studying metabolic diseases and obesity, kidney disease, cancer, cystic fibrosis, pathogen infection, and other diseases linked to ER dysfunction. Moreover, the speaker list will bring many new attendees to the meeting, and encompasses a cadre that is demographically diverse, including strong representation of women, junior investigators, and members of underrepresented groups. Career development workshops and full-length talks for selected abstracts will allow an additional mechanism to foster the visibility of these groups. In a location that permits easy travel from within the United States and from Europe, that is scenic, and that can accommodate family needs of attendees, and combined with targeted promotion through traditional channels and social media, we believe that this meeting will attract a robust audience that can best foster the objectives listed above.