TGF beta signaling in Development and Disease

描述（由申请人提供）：本次会议有两个主要目标。 第一个是促进和培养研究TGF-β超家族生物学不同方面的研究人员之间的富有成效的互动。 特别是，组织者打算提供一个论坛，用于研究TGF-β超家族成员的生物化学，分子，细胞和发育生物学的研究人员之间的合作关系的发展，因为它适用于正常发育和人类病理学。 特别感兴趣的是提供一个场所，在细胞和分子水平上整合有关信号转导机制的生化知识，系统方法旨在描述这些因素如何协调发展过程，并有助于各种人类疾病状态，包括癌症，心血管疾病和肌肉骨骼病理学。 组织者将通过一个多样化和互动的讲座和海报会议计划来实现这一目标，这些活动按主题组织，所有活动都在一个亲密的环境中举行，参与者人数有限。 TGF-β生物学各个领域的许多领导者已经被邀请，并与他们的投入，开发科学会议，突出TGF-β生物学不同方面的最新进展。 将提供充足的讨论时间，以便开展富有成效的科学互动。 本次会议的第二个目标是提供一个论坛，以促进和鼓励妇女，少数民族和有才华的年轻科学家在这一领域的发展。 妇女在会议主席和特邀发言人中占很大比例。 青年调查员的工作将在一次特别简短的谈话中得到强调。 根据前五次具有类似目标的会议，组织者预计将成功实现其目标。 公共卫生相关性：TGF-β超家族是脊椎动物中最大的多肽生长因子，它们调节着大量的发育、生理和稳态过程。 最近的大量工作已经深入了解TGF-β信号传导的分子机制，以及该信号传导途径中的畸变导致发育异常（出生缺陷）和人类疾病病理学的方式，包括癌症，心血管疾病，肌肉骨骼病理学和精神疾病。 本次会议涵盖了广泛的主题，包括TGF-β信号传导的机制，途径组分的结构决定，以及这些配体参与与出生缺陷和人类疾病相关的发育和分化过程的讨论。 这些讨论与开发有效的治疗策略直接相关，以治疗由该信号通路的改变引起或加剧的多种疾病状态。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): There are two primary objectives of this conference. The first is to facilitate and foster productive interactions among investigators working on different aspects of TGF-¿ superfamily biology. In particular, the organizers intend to provide a forum for the development of collaborative relationships among investigators working on the biochemistry, molecular, cellular and developmental biology of TGF-¿ superfamily members as it applies to normal development and human pathology. Of particular interest is to offer a venue for integrating biochemical knowledge about signal transduction mechanisms at the cellular and molecular level, with systems approaches that aim to describe how these factors coordinate developmental processes and contribute to various human disease states including, cancer, cardiovascular disorders, and musculoskeletal pathologies. The organizers will accomplish this goal through a diverse and interactive program of talks and poster sessions, organized by theme, and all held in an intimate setting with a limited number of participants. Many leaders in the various fields of TGF-¿ biology have already been invited, and with their input, develop scientific sessions that highlight recent advances in different aspects of TGF-¿ biology. Ample discussion time will be provided to allow development of productive scientific interactions. A second goal for this conference is to provide a forum to promote and encourage the development of women, minorities, and talented young scientists in this field. Women make up a significant fraction of the session chairs and invited speakers. The work of young investigators will be highlighted in a special short talk session. Based on five previous conferences with similar goals, the organizers anticipate successfully meeting their objectives. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The TGF-¿ superfamily comprises the largest set of polypeptide growth factors in vertebrates and they regulate an extensive number of developmental, physiological and homeostatic processes. A great deal of recent work has gone into understanding the molecular mechanisms of TGF-¿ signaling and the way in which aberrations in this signaling pathway lead to developmental abnormalities (birth defects) and human disease pathologies, including cancer, cardiovascular disorders, musculoskeletal pathologies, and psychiatric conditions to name a few. This conference covers a wide range of topics including the mechanism of TGF-¿ signaling, structural determination of components of the pathway, and discussion of the involvement of these ligands in developmental and differentiation processes relevant to birth defects and human disease. These discussions have direct relevance for the development of effective therapeutic strategies to treat a wide number of disease states that are caused by, or exacerbated by, alterations in this signaling pathway.