Progress 09/01/24 to 08/01/25
Outputs
Target Audience:The conference was well attended with 106 participants from diverse professional backgrounds. More information on the demographics of all registered participants can be found summarized in the data below. Professional Status: Professors = 34 Graduate Student = 22 Post Doc = 16 Associate Professor = 12 Assistant Professor = 9 Research Scientist/Engineer = 7 Research Director = 5 Physician/Physician Scientist = 1 Professional Background: Academic = 94 Industrial = 9 Government = 3 Region: North America = 69 Europe = 19 Asia = 14 Africa = 2 South America = 1 Australia/Oceania = 1 The seminar was well attended with 30 participants from diverse professional backgrounds. 29 continued on to attend the associated conference. More information on the demographics of all registered participants can be found summarized in the data below. Professional Status Graduate Student = 15 Post Doc = 12 Professor = 3 Professional Background Academic = 26 Industrial = 3 Government = 1 Region North America = 26 Europe = 2 Asia = 1 Africa = 1 Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The GRC was preceded by the 5th edition of the Gordon Research Seminar, which is entirely organized by graduate students and postdocs, and will enable them to present and discuss frontier carotenoid research. The Carotenoids GRS hosted experienced mentors and trainee moderators to facilitate scientific discussion involving all attendees resulting in active participation throughout our GRS session. Speakers, discussion leaders, poster presenters and attendees simultaneously contributed to and benefited from the collective skills and experience shared throughout the conference. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The Carotenoids GRC was a premier, international scientific conference focused on advancing the frontiers of science through the presentation of cutting-edge and unpublished research, prioritizing time for discussion after each talk and fostering informal interactions among scientists of all career stages. The conference program included an array of speakers and discussion leaders from institutions and organizations worldwide, concentrating on the latest developments in the field. The conference was five days long and held in a remote location to increase the sense of camaraderie and create scientific communities, with lasting collaborations and friendships. In addition to premier talks, the conference had designated time for poster sessions from individuals of all career stages, and afternoon free time and communal meals allowed for informal networking opportunities with leaders in the field. Carotenoids are widespread isoprenoid pigments, vital for photosynthetic organisms and human health. In addition, they are the precursor of retinoids, such as vitamin A, and plant growth regulators and hormones involved in almost all aspects of plant life, including growth, development, stress response and communication with biotic environment. In contrast to plants and many microorganisms, animals, including mammals, cannot synthesize carotenoids de novo. They obtain carotenoids through the diet and can accumulate, modify and convert them into retinoids and other bioactive apocarotenoids. Considering the versatile health-promoting effects of carotenoids, their importance as antioxidants and macular pigment, and severity and persistence of vitamin A deficiency (VAD) in many regions in the world, increasing the content in food crops of provitamin A, mainly b-carotene, and other carotenoids by different biofortification approaches is still a major target of synthetic biology and breeding efforts. For the plants themselves, increasing carotenoid content may also help in enhancing their resilience and productivity, as it can affect photosynthesis and the levels of carotenoid-derived regulatory metabolites. The latter arise through cleavage and subsequent enzymatic reactions that resemble, in their first steps, those taking place in animals. The 2025 Carotenoid Gordon Research Conference (GRC) brought together carotenoid scientists and researchers from diverse fields, including medicine, plant science, physiology, biochemistry, nutrition, and synthetic biology, who are interested in understanding the functions of carotenoids and their derivatives across kingdoms and in elucidating and harnessing their metabolism for better health. The conference was a unique venue for communicating the latest results in the carotenoid field and for establishing collaborations between different disciplines. The conference also emphasized giving early career scientists the opportunity to present their work. The Carotenoids GRS provided a unique forum for young doctoral and post-doctoral researchers to present their work, discuss new methods, cutting edge ideas, and pre-published data, as well as to build collaborative relationships with their peers. Experienced mentors and trainee moderators facilitated active participation in scientific discussion to allow all attendees to be engaged participants rather than spectators.The Carotenoids GRS welcomed young doctoral and post-doctoral researchers to engage in collegial conversation. We aimed to create a peer-supportive environment to present their unpublished work, discuss new methods, propose original ideas, and network amongst each other. This meeting addressed topics ranging within biology, biochemistry, and plant science and their respective applications and techniques used to study carotenoids, retinoids and other apocarotenoids. Topics of interest included carotenoids and apocarotenoids synthesis, regulation and functions, carotenoid associated proteins, retinoids biology, advanced extraction techniques associated with carotenoids and apocarotenoids and how these molecules impact microorganisms, plant life, human biology, and diseases. GRC is grateful for the funding provided by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for 34 conference attendees and 26 seminar attendees. The funds were spent in line the goals of the proposal and the conference chairs focused their efforts on providing support for selected participants to attend the 2025 Carotenoids conference and seminar. At the end of the conference, participants had the opportunity to elect future conference chairs and evaluate the meeting's scientific content, diversity of the program, and overall atmosphere. Feedback collected was extremely positive and future conference chairs will use the community's comments to ensure future iterations of the meeting continue to serve the mission of the organization and the needs of the field. General sentiments expressed included: ample opportunities for networking between junior and senior scientist which created a welcoming environment; cutting edge scientific content and an engaging speaker pool.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2025
Citation:
https://www.grc.org/carotenoids-conference/2025/
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2025
Citation:
https://www.grc.org/carotenoids-grs-conference/2025/
|