TGF beta signaling in Development and Disease

描述（由申请人提供）：本次会议有两个主要目标。首先是促进和促进研究TGF-¿超家族生物学不同方面的研究人员之间富有成效的互动。特别是，组织者打算为TGF-¿超家族成员的生物化学、分子、细胞和发育生物学研究人员提供一个发展合作关系的论坛，因为它适用于正常发育和人类病理。特别感兴趣的是提供一个场所，在细胞和分子水平上整合关于信号转导机制的生化知识，以及旨在描述这些因素如何协调发育过程并促进各种人类疾病状态的系统方法，包括癌症，心血管疾病和肌肉骨骼病变。为了实现这一目标，组织者将根据主题组织多样化和互动的会谈和海报会议，所有这些活动都在一个私密的环境中举行，参与者人数有限。TGF-¿生物学各个领域的许多领导者已经被邀请，并根据他们的意见，开发科学会议，突出TGF-¿生物学不同方面的最新进展。将提供充足的讨论时间，以便开展富有成效的科学互动。这次会议的第二个目标是提供一个论坛，以促进和鼓励妇女、少数民族和有才华的青年科学家在这一领域的发展。在会议主席和受邀演讲者中，女性占了很大一部分。青年研究人员的工作将在一个特别的简短谈话中得到重点介绍。根据之前五次具有类似目标的会议，组织者预计将成功实现他们的目标。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): There are two primary objectives of this conference. The first is to facilitate and foster productive interactions among investigators working on different aspects of TGF-¿ superfamily biology. In particular, the organizers intend to provide a forum for the development of collaborative relationships among investigators working on the biochemistry, molecular, cellular and developmental biology of TGF-¿ superfamily members as it applies to normal development and human pathology. Of particular interest is to offer a venue for integrating biochemical knowledge about signal transduction mechanisms at the cellular and molecular level, with systems approaches that aim to describe how these factors coordinate developmental processes and contribute to various human disease states including, cancer, cardiovascular disorders, and musculoskeletal pathologies. The organizers will accomplish this goal through a diverse and interactive program of talks and poster sessions, organized by theme, and all held in an intimate setting with a limited number of participants. Many leaders in the various fields of TGF-¿ biology have already been invited, and with their input, develop scientific sessions that highlight recent advances in different aspects of TGF-¿ biology. Ample discussion time will be provided to allow development of productive scientific interactions. A second goal for this conference is to provide a forum to promote and encourage the development of women, minorities, and talented young scientists in this field. Women make up a significant fraction of the session chairs and invited speakers. The work of young investigators will be highlighted in a special short talk session. Based on five previous conferences with similar goals, the organizers anticipate successfully meeting their objectives. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The TGF-¿ superfamily comprises the largest set of polypeptide growth factors in vertebrates and they regulate an extensive number of developmental, physiological and homeostatic processes. A great deal of recent work has gone into understanding the molecular mechanisms of TGF-¿ signaling and the way in which aberrations in this signaling pathway lead to developmental abnormalities (birth defects) and human disease pathologies, including cancer, cardiovascular disorders, musculoskeletal pathologies, and psychiatric conditions to name a few. This conference covers a wide range of topics including the mechanism of TGF-¿ signaling, structural determination of components of the pathway, and discussion of the involvement of these ligands in developmental and differentiation processes relevant to birth defects and human disease. These discussions have direct relevance for the development of effective therapeutic strategies to treat a wide number of disease states that are caused by, or exacerbated by, alterations in this signaling pathway.