Conference on Diabetes Mellitus

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): One of the major threats to modern health throughout the world is the current epidemic of obesity and diabetes mellitus. Obesity is generally regarded as a prerequisite for the development of diabetes in most individuals, and yet the precise relationship between these two diseases remains obscure. Work in the laboratories of many of the leading investigators in the world has begun to integrate aspects of obesity and fat cell biology into studies of insulin action and secretion, and the need for communication between scientists expert in diabetes and obesity is more crucial than ever. Recent advances in the genetic manipulation of mice have allowed rational investigation into the basic genetic and molecular mechanisms of metabolic regulation in both a cellular and organismal context. These research efforts have successfully utilized the technologies of mouse genetics, experimental model systems, genomics, and proteomics as well as the traditional tools of physiology and molecular and cell biology to yield exciting new insights into this disease. Particularly novel findings relate to the interface between insulin signaling and membrane trafficking; beta cell development and apoptosis; adipocyte signaling to brain, beta cells, liver and muscle; and the role of cytokines in insulin resistance. The goal of the meeting (held jointly with the Obesity conference) will be to bring together scientists working in several intersecting areas of the field, e.g., the application of new technologies to diabetes; stem cell and developmental biology; regulated membrane trafficking; integration of metabolism and gene expression; and therapeutics. One theme of the conference is the constant interplay and mutual benefit of investigations based in tissue culture and broken cell systems with those in mouse and other non-mammalian model organisms. Among the broad themes to be considered will be 1) how molecular process govern and coordinate metabolic pathways among tissues, 3) the relationship between specialized metabolic regulation and such generalized processes as proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis growth, and 3) molecular determinants in the neuronal control of appetite, growth and metabolism