Ninth International Conference on the Chemistry and Biology of Mineralized Tissue

第九届矿化组织化学与生物学国际会议计划于2007年11月4日至7日在德克萨斯州奥斯汀的Lakeway Inn会议度假村举行。骨骼、软骨和牙齿的健康对日常生活中的运动、矿物质代谢、器官保护、呼吸、咀嚼、适当的营养和消化等活动至关重要，但这些主要骨骼和牙齿组织形成和维持的因素及其复杂的相互作用在很大程度上是未知的。事实上，在衰老和疾病过程中导致这些组织退化的因素以及它们在愈合过程中修复和再生的因素也是如此。本次会议的目的与前八次国际会议一样，它是为了展示我们对这些不完整领域的重要科学研究的最新结果，预测后续研究的未来方向，并最终设计出更好的方法来诊断、治疗和治愈矿化组织相关疾病的个体。第九届国际会议的与会者预计将在200至250人之间，其中包括生物化学家、细胞和分子生物学家、晶体学家、结构生物学家、工程师、遗传学家、牙科和骨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等领域的研究人员；对影响矿化组织的遗传疾病感兴趣的遗传学家；临床医生对与矿化组织相关的疾病感兴趣，如骨关节炎，骨质疏松症，牙齿再矿化，成骨和牙本质发育不全，牙周病，以及这些组织的修复/再生。会议安排了这些领域和其他领域的最先进的演讲，并将提供大量的时间进行讨论、分组讨论、研讨会和用餐。为了培养下一代科学家，我们鼓励青年研究者参加，并提供了几个青年研究者奖。这些国际会议有吸引具有强大科学背景的个人的历史，本届会议将像其前任一样，严格关注并考虑性别平衡、少数民族和残疾人等问题，并将其纳入其最终计划。第九届国际会议将尽一切努力使妇女和代表性不足的少数民族作为发言者和与会者参加会议。历届国际会议的重大影响可以从以下方面来衡量：随后的出版物越来越频繁地引用其会议记录；根据会议上提出的数据和结果提交出版的原始论文越来越多；希望参加会议的新老调查人员越来越多；通过参与和互动而形成的越来越多的新合作。这次会议不同于其他涉及骨骼和矿物质代谢相关主题的专门会议，因为这次会议的目的是将来自广泛学科的专家聚集在一个屋檐下。随之而来的观点和专业知识的“交叉授粉”是加强这一重要领域发现过程的理想场所。

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.