Ninth International Conference on the Chemistry and Biology of Mineralized Tissue

描述(申请人提供)：第九届矿化组织化学和生物学国际会议计划于2007年11月4日至7日在得克萨斯州奥斯汀的莱克韦酒店会议度假村举行。骨骼、软骨和牙齿的健康对于日常生活中正常的运动、矿物质代谢、器官保护、呼吸、咀嚼和适当的营养和消化活动是必不可少的，但这些主要骨骼和牙齿组织的形成和维持的因素及其复杂的相互作用在很大程度上尚不清楚。事实上，在衰老和疾病期间导致这些组织退化的因素也是如此，并通过愈合修复和再生这些组织。与前八届国际会议一样，本次会议的目的是介绍对我们认识的这些不完整领域进行的重要科学调查的最新结果，预测未来研究的方向，并最终设计出诊断、治疗和治愈矿化组织相关疾病的改进方法。第九届国际会议预计将有200至250人参加，与会者将包括生物化学家、细胞和分子生物学家、结晶学家、结构生物学家、工程师、遗传学家、牙科和整形外科研究人员，以及对矿化组织有共同兴趣的无脊椎动物和植物生物学家。会议将吸引仿生学、生物材料、纳米技术、组织工程和古生物学领域的研究人员；对影响矿化组织的遗传病感兴趣的遗传学家；以及对与矿化组织相关的疾病感兴趣的临床医生，如骨关节炎、骨质疏松、牙齿再矿化、成骨和牙本质形成不全、牙周病以及这些组织的修复/再生。会议的组织方式包括这些领域和其他领域的最新技术展示，并将为讨论、分组讨论、研讨会和餐饮提供大量时间。为了培养下一代科学家，鼓励初级调查人员参加，并提供几个初级调查人员奖。这些国际会议有吸引具有强大科学背景的个人的历史，这次会议作为它的前身，将严格关注并提供关于性别平衡、少数民族和残疾人的考虑，以纳入其最终计划。第九届国际会议将尽一切努力让妇女和代表性不足的少数群体作为发言者和参与者参加会议。以往各次国际会议的主要影响是，其议事程序在以后的出版物中被引用的频率越来越高，根据会议上提出的数据和结果提交供发表的原始文件越来越多，希望参加会议的新的和已有的调查人员越来越多，以及由于参与和互动而形成的新的合作越来越多。这次会议不同于其他涉及骨骼和矿物质代谢主题的专门会议，因为这次会议的目的是将来自不同学科的专家聚集在一个屋檐下。随之而来的观点和专门知识的“交叉分化”是加强这一重要领域的发现进程的理想场所。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Ninth International Conference on the Chemistry and Biology of Mineralized Tissues is planned for November 4-7, 2007, at the Lakeway Inn Conference Resort in Austin, Texas. The health of bones, cartilage, and teeth is essential for the activities of normal daily life in locomotion, mineral metabolism, organ protection, respiration, mastication, and proper nutrition and digestion, but the factors and their complex interactions responsible for the formation and maintenance of these major skeletal and dental tissues lie largely unknown. Indeed, so too are the factors that contribute to the degeneration of these tissues during aging and disease and to their repair and regeneration with healing. The purpose of this conference as with the previous eight International conferences it is to present the most recent results of important scientific investigations into these incomplete areas of our understanding, predict future directions of subsequent research, and ultimately design improved methods for the diagnosis, treatment and cure of individuals with mineralized tissue-related diseases. Participants to the Ninth International Conference, anticipated to number between 200 and 250, will include biochemists, cell and molecular biologists, crystallographers, structural biologists, engineers, geneticists, dental and orthopedic researchers, and invertebrate and plant biologists with a common interest in mineralized tissues. The conference will attract researchers in the areas of biomimetics, biomaterials, nanotechnology, tissue engineering, and paleontology; geneticists with interests in inherited diseases affecting mineralized tissues; and clinicians interested in diseases associated with mineralized tissues, such as osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, tooth remineralization, osteogenesis and dentinogenesis imperfecta, periodontal disease, and the repair/regeneration of these tissues. The meeting is organized with state-of-the-art presentations in these and other fields and will have significant time provided for discussions, breakout groups, workshops, and meals. To cultivate the next generation of scientists, junior investigators are encouraged to attend and several junior investigator awards are offered. These International Conferences have a history of attracting individuals with strong scientific backgrounds and this conference, as its predecessors, will pay strict attention and provide consideration with regards to gender balance, minorities, and persons with disabilities to be included in its final program. The Ninth International Conference will make every effort to bring women and under represented minorities into the meeting as speakers and participants. The major impact of the previous International Conferences has been measured by the increasing frequency with which its proceedings have been cited in subsequent publications, by the increasing number of original papers submitted for publication based on data and results presented at the conferences, by the increasing number of new and established investigators wishing to attend the meetings, and by the increasing number of new collaborations that are formed as a result of participation and interaction. The meeting differs from other specialized meetings covering topics related to bone and mineral metabolism because the intent of this meeting is to draw experts from a wide spectrum of disciplines under one roof. The ensuing "cross pollenization" of perspective and expertise is the ideal venue to enhance the process of discovery in this important field.