2023 Stem Cells and Cancer Gordon Research Conference and Seminar

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PROJECT SUMMARY This proposal requests partial support for the eighth Gordon Research Conference on Stem Cells and Cancer, which will take place on May 14-19, 2023 in Lucca (Italy). The goal of this conference is to provide a forum for presentation, discussion and interaction among a diverse, interdisciplinary group of researchers with interests in stem cell biology, development, and cancer. In particular, we wish to highlight how principles taken from development can be used to better understand tumor initiation and metastasis. The meeting is chaired by Dr. Cedric Blanpain (Université Libre de Bruxelles), with Drs. Leanne Jones (UCSF) and Kathrin Plath (UCLA) serving as vice chairs. The planned agenda includes presentations from key leaders in the fields of cancer biology, stem cell biology and regenerative medicine, and thus will attract a highly interdisciplinary group of researchers who do not frequently interact at meetings. This meeting will, therefore, act as a catalyst for new collaborations and cross-fertilization of ideas, which is, of course, a long-term goal of the Gordon Research Conferences. The outstanding scientific program for the meeting highlights the diversity of contributors to this research area (48% of invited speakers are female and/or members of under-represented minority groups) and explores cutting-edge topics of particular interest to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), including but not limited to: developmental mechanisms known to regulate stem cell fate decisions and tissue homeostasis that are usurped for tumor formation, the role of metabolism in regulating stem cells, tissue homeostasis and tumor growth, and emerging therapies to promote tumor cell clearance, eradicate tumor-propagating stem cells and enhance organ repair. Additional speakers will be chosen from the submitted abstracts, with particular consideration given to those investigators from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in the sciences. The 2023 Gordon Research Conference on Stem Cells and Cancer will also include a Gordon Research Seminar (GRS), a 2-day “pre-meeting” of early career scientists in a highly stimulating and inclusive environment that promotes the open exchange of information and establishment and growth of peer networks. The GRS will be held from May 12-13, 2023 at the same venue in Lucca, and is chaired by Dr. Tugba Topal (Univ. of Michigan) and supported by an organizing committee of three doctoral students: Clara Cano (UCLA), Andrea Pérez González (Université Libre de Bruxelles), and Nicholas Jackson (UCSF). The GRS provides additional opportunities for junior trainees to present their work and receive crucial feedback and mentorship both from their peers and from more established investigators, making this meeting a particularly valuable training opportunity for junior investigators. The specific set of integrated and complementary research topics that will be addressed in the 2023 Stem Cells and Cancer GRS/GRC is distinct from other conferences, and the unique structure of the GRS and GRC provides for productive interactions among scientists and trainees at different career stages in industry and academia who are addressing fundamental questions in the area using different experimental approaches.