Progress 08/15/10 to 08/14/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The Gordon Research Conference on MITOCHONDRIA AND CHLOROPLASTS was held at Il Ciocco Resort, Lucca (Barga), Italy, July 11-16, 2010. The Conference was well-attended with 201 participants (attendees list attached). The attendees represented the spectrum of endeavor in this field coming from academia, industry, and government laboratories, both U.S. and foreign scientists, senior researchers, young investigators, and students. Of the 201 attendees, 39 voluntarily responded to a general inquiry regarding ethnicity which appears on our registration forms. Of the 39 respondents, 26% were Minorities- 8% Hispanic, 3% American Indian and 15% Asian. Approximately 44% of the participants at the 2010 meeting were women. In designing the formal speakers program, emphasis was placed on current unpublished research and discussion of the future target areas in this field. There was a conscious effort to stimulate lively discussion about the key issues in the field today. Time for formal presentations was limited in the interest of group discussions. In order that more scientists could communicate their most recent results, poster presentation time was scheduled. Attached is a copy of the formal schedule and speaker program and the poster program. In addition to these formal interactions, "free time" was scheduled to allow informal discussions. Such discussions are fostering new collaborations and joint efforts in the field. PARTICIPANTS: Organizing a Gordon Research Conference involves extensive communication with the research community to identify important issues at the frontiers of the field, and solicit suggestions for speakers and discussion leaders to participate in the conference. The Chair then contacts prospective participants to invite them to talk and discuss the nature of their contributions. The Chair then communicates the topics and aims of the conference through web pages, contact with relevant international professional bodies and email to members of the research community around the world to encourage applications for participation in the conference. The Chair is then responsible for assessing and accepting the applications and fielding a host of questions both concerning the technical content and practical aspects of conference participation. TARGET AUDIENCES: ). The attendees represented the spectrum of endeavor in this field coming from academia, industry, and government laboratories, both U.S. and foreign scientists, senior researchers, young investigators, and students. Of the 201 attendees, 39 voluntarily responded to a general inquiry regarding ethnicity which appears on our registration forms. Of the 39 respondents, 26% were Minorities- 8% Hispanic, 3% American Indian and 15% Asian. Approximately 44% of the participants at the 2010 meeting were women. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
The 2010 GRC on Mitochondria & Chloroplasts will assemble an international group of molecular, structural and cellular biologists, biochemists and geneticists investigating a broad spectrum of fundamental problems related to the biology of these organelles in animal, plant and fungal cells. This field has witnessed an extraordinary expansion in recent years, fueled by the discovery of the role of mitochondria in human disease and ageing, and of the synergy of chloroplasts and mitochondria in energetic output, the identification of novel factors involved in organelle division, movement, signaling and acclimation to changing environmental conditions, and by the powerful tools of organelle proteomics. The 2010 GRC will highlight advances in the elucidation of molecular mechanisms of organelle biogenesis including regulation of genome structure, evolution and expression, organellar protein import, assembly and turnover of respiratory and photosynthetic complexes, bidirectional signaling between organelles and nucleus, organelle morphology and dynamics, and the integration of cellular metabolism. We will also explore progress in mechanisms of disease and ageing/ senescence in animals and plants. The organellar field has forged new fronts toward a global and comprehensive understanding of mitochondrial and chloroplast biology at the molecular level. Many of the molecules under study in model organisms are responsible for human diseases, providing significant impetus for a meeting that encourages interactions between mammalian, fungal and plant organellar biologists. Selection of speakers with international recognition in this field will be balanced with inclusion of young investigators and individuals who have not previously attended this conference. A number of short talks will be selected from abstracts representing emerging and breaking topics and from investigators at all levels. To maximize participation of all attendees, we urge presentation of recent progress either as a poster or as a talk. For the second time, our conference has been selected for a Gordon Research Seminar (GRS: Mitochondria & Chloroplasts) that will precede the GRC. The GRS provides an excellent platform for graduate students and postdocs to make oral and poster presentations, to discuss informally their research and to gain confidence to participate actively in the following GRC.
Publications
- Gordon Research Conferences maintains a Web site which lists the conference title, date of conference, location of conference, and a tentative program for the conference.It is an informational tool for scientists who wish to see our up-coming schedule and determine which conferences they wish to apply to.Gordon Research Conferences does not permit publication of meeting proceedings (2010).
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