2016 Barriers of the CNS Gordon Research Conference & Gordon Research Seminar

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Project Summary / Abstract This proposal requests support for partial funding of the 2016 `Barriers of the Central Nervous System (CNS)' GRC and GRS that will be held at Colby Sawyer College, New Hampshire, on June 18 – 19, 2016 (GRS) and June 19 – 24, 2016 (GRC). The overall goal of this international conference is to increase understanding of the basic mechanisms underlying the structure and function of CNS barriers in health and disease. The 2016 meeting will present cutting-edge research and provide new perspectives on all aspects of CNS barriers science. Concepts surrounding the neurovascular unit and major barrier systems such as the blood-brain barrier (BBB), blood-cerebrospinal fluid barriers and blood-retinal barriers will be comprehensively explored in featured talks and daily poster sessions. Specific themes for the meeting will cover key aspects of the CNS barriers including transporters, the effects of neurological disorders and disease, immunology, novel methods, drug delivery, and the future of the field. The program will include 2 opening keynote lectures on new perspectives associated with unique CNS vascular niches and neurovascular regulation and dysfunction in disease states as well as a final keynote lecture on challenges and opportunities associated with academic/industrial partnerships in CNS barriers science. An additional 8 sessions will address the following specific topics: transport, signaling and junctions at the CNS barriers and beyond; barrier function in stroke and brain trauma; barrier function in neurodegenerative disease and brain cancer; immunology of the CNS barriers and related systems; imaging and model systems; CNS drug delivery and distribution; and evolving perspectives on how to maximize partnerships among and between academic and industry groups and promote collaborative science in the field. The Barriers GRC fills a critical niche which otherwise does not exist among other major international and national conferences to bring together scientists and clinicians from diverse fields and countries for a focused meeting on the CNS barriers, expanding understanding of key issues ranging from molecular mechanisms to drug delivery. The preceding 2-day “Barriers” GRS is organized by junior investigators at the postdoctoral level and is intended to introduce younger scientists (postgraduate students, post-docs, junior faculty) to the field's methods and issues and to facilitate networking and provide mentorship opportunities. This GRC is focused on the highly translational area of CNS barriers science. This application has a significant relationship to health, in that the presentations and discussions will expand our understanding of all aspects of the CNS barriers, including their development and altered function in CNS diseases. The insights gained will facilitate significant future progress in our appreciation of the barriers and what factors regulate them, stimulate the development of new applications extending from models to human beings, and, importantly, identify novel strategies to improve the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of neurological disorders.