Cardiac Pacemaking and Conduction System Symposium

描述(由申请者提供)：请求为2004年4月17日至21日在华盛顿特区举行的2004年实验生物学会议为期两天、名为“心脏跳动的编排：心脏起搏和传导系统”的研究研讨会提供为期一年的部分支持。心脏起搏和传导系统(PCS)对心跳的产生和同步至关重要。这一重要系统的功能障碍可能是心脏传导障碍、心律失常和心脏性猝死的直接原因。最近，我们对起搏器系统生物学的了解有了显著的进展，特别是在起搏器系统的发育、细胞组织和电生理学方面。有机会和需要将在PCS不同方面工作的基础科学家、临床医生和生物医学工程师聚集在一起，否则他们通常不会发现自己在同一会议地点(例如发育生物学家和电生理学家)。因此，我们会议的主要目标是：(1)将成人和胚胎心脏的研究人员聚集在一起，分享关于PCS的信息，(2)促进跨学科的讨论和合作，以及(3)吸引年轻的研究人员参加会议，并鼓励他们继续参与这一新兴领域。课程包括发育生物学、分子和细胞生物学、形态、电生理学和发育成熟的PCS的病理学。除了使我们能够支付演讲者的差旅费用外，NIH/NHLBI的支持还将使我们能够增加与会者之间的互动，并通过降低差旅成本来提高学生和初级教职员工对这次会议的可及性。会议记录将以全文的形式发表在同行评议的期刊上。南卡罗来纳医科大学将建立一个关于“心脏起搏和传导系统”的网站，内容来自会议介绍和发表的工作。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Partial support is requested for one year for a research symposium entitled the "Choreography of the Heart Beat: The Cardiac Pacemaking and Conduction System" to be held as a meeting-within-a-meeting over two days at the Experimental Biology Conference 2004 in Washington, D.C. between April 17-21, 2004. The cardiac pacemaking and conduction system (PCS) is vital for generating and synchronizing the heartbeat. Dysfunction of this vital system can be a direct cause of cardiac conduction disturbance, arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. There have been recent notable advances in our understanding of the pacemaker system biology - particularly with respect to its development, cellular organization and electrophysiology. An opportunity and need exists to bring together basic scientists, clinicians and biomedical engineers working in disparate aspects of the PCS who would otherwise not typically find themselves at the same meeting venue (e.g. developmental biologists and electrophysiologists). The primary goals of our meeting are thus to; (1) bring investigators of the adult and embryonic heart together to share information on the PCS, (2) facilitate cross-disciplinary discussion and collaboration, and (3) bring young investigators to the meeting and encourage their ongoing participation in this burgeoning field. Topics to be covered will include the developmental biology, molecular and cell biology, morphology, electrophysiology and pathology of the developing and mature PCS. In addition to enabling us to support travel costs of the speakers, support by NIH/NHLBI will allow us to increase interactions between the participants and enhance accessibility of this meeting to students and junior faculty by decreasing travel costs. The meeting proceedings will be published in the form of full-length articles in a peer-reviewed journal. A website on the "cardiac pacemaking and conduction system" will be established at Medical University of South Carolina with content arising from work presented and published from the meeting.