The 19th Annual Meeting of the Pan American Society for Pigment Cell Research Conference

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 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Pan-American Society for Pigment Cell Research (PASPCR) is preparing to hold the 19th Annual PASPCR Conference in Orange, California on September 27-30, 2015, spearheaded by founding PASPCR member, Dr. Frank L. Meyskens, Jr., M.D. The University of California, Irvine will be the applicant organization. The conference will be held directly across the street from UCI Medical Center at the DoubleTree Hotel (and conference rooms), which has extensive experience sponsoring medical, scientific, and other UC Irvine Health events. The 2015 PASPCR Conference theme, "The Melanocyte and Its Multiple Niches: New Biology in Health and Disease" will summarize recent advances in pigment cell biology and focus on the role of melanocyte stem cells in both malignant and non-malignant disorders. A unique feature of the meeting is the focused symposium on "inner melanin (and its formation and degradation)" in health and disease, which will focus on neurodegenerative processes such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. The broad-ranging theme of the symposium reflects the multidisciplinary, collaborative nature of UC Irvine, which has investigators that focus on both pigment cell biology and neurodegenerative disease processes. The scientific organizing committee has identified several basic scientists and clinical experts from across the United States and Europe to participate in the conference as invited speakers. These individuals have been asked to provide a brief historic perspective on their chosen topic, present the latest findings from their research, and highlight current challenges and opportunities in and across diverse fields related to their work. The ultimate goal of this symposium is to stimulate interdisciplinary discussions between clinicians, basic researchers, neuroscientists, and pigment cell researchers which will eventually lead to new collaborations. Although members of PASPCR participate in other traditional discipline-oriented conferences, this forum is unique in that it brings together investigators from different disciplines, with a diversity of interests, in an intimate setting in order to spawn new scientific interactions and collaborations. The overall objective of PASPCR 2015 is to increase our knowledge of the normal and abnormal biology of the melanocyte, especially as related to stem cells and the neglected area of melanin's potential involvement in neurodegenerative diseases. The specific aims of the 2015 annual PASPCR are: (1) To highlight recent advances in organelle biogenesis, genomics and stem cell biology as they relate to melanocyte development and melanocyte transformation. (2) To bring together basic scientists, clinical scientists, neuroscientists, and melanocyte biologists in order to forge new scientific collaborations that wil lead to advances in the treatment of orphan pigmentary disorders and neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. (3) To provide mentorship to young investigators who are developing careers in the fields of neurodegeneration and melanocyte biology, with a specific focus on women and underrepresented minorities.