Conference: Macromolecular Organization & Cell Function to be held August 4-9, 2002 at Queens College, Oxford University, England

戈登大分子组织和细胞功能研究会议自1987年以来每两年召开一次。该奖项将为该系列的第九次会议（以及将于2002年8月4日至9日在牛津大学皇后学院举行的连续第四次会议）提供部分资金。第一次会议集中在酶组织在代谢调节中的作用，但多年来主题已经大大扩大。会议现在涉及细胞功能的几乎所有方面，重点是细胞成分的细胞内组织，这种组织的潜在和控制机制，以及细胞内组织在细胞功能中的重要作用。会议主题继续演变，与新技术和不同学科的整合可以有效解决的问题有关。例如，会议的许多重点领域现在与新兴技术在蛋白质组学和结构生物学中的应用特别相关。即将召开的会议的主题包括“核酸超结构和基因表达”、“细胞代谢的组织”、“细胞骨架和细胞功能”、“翻译的组织”、“后基因组时代的新技术”、“虚拟细胞”和“完整生命系统中的分子成像”。这是一个真正的跨学科会议，在其历史上，成功地促进了不同背景、专业知识和兴趣的科学家之间的思想交流。这些范围从生物化学、细胞生物学和分子生物学到生物物理学、物理学和仪器仪表，以及理论生物学和数学建模。讨论领导者帮助将各种演讲整合成有凝聚力的主题，演讲者被要求提供基本的背景信息，使其他学科的人能够理解材料。在每次会议结束时，有充足的时间进行一般性讨论，通常会导致热烈的思想交流，并为海报会议和用餐时间提供对话主题。优先考虑的是促进年轻科学家的参与，不仅是初级教员，还有博士后和研究生。通过提供补充资金（2000年为11名学生和14名博士后提供资金），以及从2000年的会议开始，建立了一个“海报闪现”会议，邀请年轻与会者做简短的口头陈述，以提高对他们海报的兴趣。在参与者完成的调查中，会议一直得到很高的评价，出席人数也在稳步增加。

The Gordon Research Conference on Macromolecular Organization and Cell Function has met biannually since 1987. This award will provide partial funding for the ninth conference in this series (and the fourth consecutive one to be held at Queens College, Oxford University), which is scheduled for August 4-9, 2002. The first conferences concentrated on the role of enzyme organization in metabolic regulation, but the subject matter has been greatly broadened over the years. The conference now deals with virtually all aspects of cell function, focusing on the intracellular organization of cellular components, the mechanisms underlying and controlling this organization, and the essential role of intracellular organization in cell function. Conference topics continue to evolve in relation to the questions that can be effectively addressed by new technologies and the integration of different disciplines. For example, many of the focus areas of the conference are now especially relevant for the application of emerging technologies in proteomics and structural biology. Sessions in the upcoming conference include "Nucleic acid super-structures and gene expression," "Organization of cellular metabolism," "The cytoskeleton and cell function," "Organization of translation," "New technologies for the post-genomic era," "The virtual cell," and "Molecular imaging in intact living systems." This is a truly interdisciplinary conference that has, throughout its history, successfully promoted the exchange of ideas among scientists with diverse backgrounds, expertise, and interests. These range from the areas of biochemistry, cell biology, and molecular biology to biophysics, physics, and instrumentation, as well as theoretical biology and mathematical modeling. Discussion leaders help to integrate the various presentations into cohesive themes and speakers are asked to provide basic background information to enable those in other disciplines to understand the material. Ample time for general discussion at the end of each session typically leads to a lively exchange of ideas and provides topics of conversation for poster sessions and mealtimes. A priority is also placed on facilitating the participation of young scientists, not only junior faculty members, but also postdocs and graduate students. This has been accomplished both by providing supplemental funding (for 11 students and 14 postdocs in 2000) and, starting with the 2000 conference, by establishing a session of "poster flashes" in which junior attendees are invited to make a brief oral presentation to promote interest in their posters. The conference has consistently received high ratings in surveys completed by the participants and attendance has been steadily increasing.