2011 Fibronectin, Integrins and Related Molecules GRC/GRS

描述(由申请人提供)：我们请求部分支持纤维连接蛋白、整合素和相关分子戈登研究会议和戈登研究研讨会。会议将于2011年4月30日至5月6日在意大利卢卡(巴尔加)的Il Ciocco酒店及度假村举行。会议的广泛和长期目标是增加我们对细胞黏附的基本分子机制的理解；提供关于整合素介导的黏附如何有助于正常胚胎发育和组织动态平衡的见解；以及发现它如何影响人类疾病，如癌症和心血管疾病。会议还在教育和培训下一代科学家方面发挥了重要作用，认识到这一点，会议之前将首次举行为期两天的戈登-凯南研究研讨会(GRS)，旨在为研究生、博士后和其他具有类似经验和教育水平的科学家提供一个独特的论坛，讨论他们目前的研究，相互学习，与他们的同行建立网络，并与相关戈登研究会议中精选的领先科学家互动。GRS还帮助学生做好充分和积极的准备，以便在研讨会结束后立即对主要会议做出积极贡献。这项申请的具体目标是召集至少30名受邀演讲者，代表该领域当前研究的前沿，总共约170名参与者与50名GRS博士后或学生参与者一起参加为期五天的会议。会议将在相对孤立的环境中举行，以最大限度地扩大代表之间非正式互动的机会。该计划将专门讨论整合素的结构、激活和信号传递；多分子黏附位点的组装和动力学；整合素在细胞迁移、机械传感和机械信号传递中的作用；细胞骨架动力学，以及细胞外基质的组装和重塑。下一次会议将集中于体内整合素和疾病模型。GRS将包括主旨演讲和关于整合素黏附部位动态的实时成像和建模以及整合素中的新成分和网络相互作用的会议。除了被邀请的演讲者外，GRC和GRS计划都将包含从提交的摘要中挑选出来的简短演讲，并将举行海报会议，以进一步最大化科学讨论。关于纤维连接蛋白、整合素和相关分子的戈登研究会议是整合素研究人员的杰出聚会，因为它每隔一年才举行一次，人们热切期待它的召开，而且通常超额认购。它现在将包括为期两天的戈登-凯南研究研讨会，在会议之前，以最大限度地发挥其在培训下一代科学家方面的作用。由于这些原因，它为这个充满活力的领域的成员提供了一个重要的机会来交流信息和想法，并制定新的方向，包括那些与治疗人类疾病直接相关的方向。 与公共卫生相关：寻求部分支持召开关于纤维连接蛋白、整合素和相关分子的国际会议。整合素的功能在多种疾病中受到干扰，特别是癌症、炎症性疾病和心血管疾病，我们预计这次专家和受训人员会议将促进讨论和思想交流，为整合素在疾病发病机制和可能的治疗中的作用提供新的见解。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): We request partial support for the Fibronectin, Integrins and Related Molecules Gordon Research Conference and Gordon Research Seminar. The meetings will be held on April 30 - May 6, 2011 in the Il Ciocco Hotel and Resort, Lucca (Barga), Italy. The broad and long-term objectives of the conference are to increase our understanding of the fundamental molecular mechanisms of cell adhesion; to provide insights into how integrin-mediated adhesion contributes to normal embryonic development and tissue homeostasis; and to discover how it impacts human diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. The meeting also plays an important role in educating and training the next generation of scientists and in recognition of this, for the first time, the conference will be preceded by a two-day Gordon-Kenan Research Seminar (GRS), designed to provide a unique forum for graduate students, post-docs, and other scientists with comparable levels of experience and education, to discuss their current research, learn from one another, network with their peers, and interact with select leading scientists from the associated Gordon Research Conference. The GRS also serves to prepare students to make a full and active contribution to the main conference which follows immediately after the symposium ends. The specific aims of this application are to convene at least 30 invited speakers, representing the cutting edge of current research in the area, and a total of approximately 170 participants for a five-day conference along with 50 postdoc or student participants in the GRS. The meeting will be held in a relatively isolated setting to maximize opportunities for informal interactions between delegates. The program will have sessions devoted to integrin structure, activation and signaling; the assembly and dynamics of multi-molecular adhesion sites; the roles of integrins in cell migration, mechano-sensing and mechano-signaling, cytoskeletal dynamics, and the assembly and remodeling of the extracellular matrix. A further session will focus on integrins in in vivo and disease models. The GRS will include a keynote address and sessions on live imaging and modeling of integrin adhesion site dynamics and new components and network interactions in the integrin adhesome. In addition to the invited speakers both the GRC and GRS programs will contain short talks selected from submitted abstracts and there will be posters sessions to further maximize scientific discussions. The Gordon Research Conference on Fibronectin, Integrins and Related Molecules is the pre-eminent gathering of integrin researchers and because it is held only every second year it is eagerly anticipated and usually heavily over-subscribed. It will now include the two-day Gordon-Kenan Research Seminar, prior to the conference, to maximize its role in training the next generation of scientists. For these reasons it provides a vital opportunity for the members of this dynamic field to exchange information and ideas, and to develop new directions, including those of direct relevance to treating human disease. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Partial support is sought for an international conference on Fibronectin, Integrins and Related Molecules. Integrin function is perturbed in a variety of diseases, notably cancer and inflammatory and cardiovascular diseases and we anticipate that this meeting of experts and trainees will stimulate discussions and exchanges of ideas that will provide new insights into the roles of integrins in disease pathogenesis, and possible treatments.