Decoding Metals: From Co-Factors to Dynamics and Disease

The Gordon Research Conference (GRC) series on the “Cell Biology of Metals" routinely brings together an exceptional community of research scientists and physicians to share and discuss the latest breakthroughs in the field of metal homeostasis. The 9th iteration of this cornerstone conference series will span a diverse range of scientific interests from genetics, biochemistry, structural biology, and inorganic chemistry, to bioinformatics, microbial pathogenesis, and clinical medicine. Session topics will focus on the acquisition, trafficking, regulation, and dynamic utilization of metals in proteins, cells, tissues, and organisms from microbes to humans, and the role of metals in physiology, disease, and host-pathogen interactions. In addition, novel techniques and tools for monitoring, quantifying, and visualizing metals in cells and tissues will be shared and discussed. The conference format, including keynote presentations, research talks from junior and senior investigators, poster talks, poster sessions, and informal scientific discussions, promotes open communication, effective mentoring, and cross-discipline collaborations between established investigators and trainees that will sustain the healthy growth and diversification of this critical and rapidly expanding field. Since metal acquisition and homeostasis strongly impacts human health and disease as well as microbial pathogenesis, the ultimate goal of this conference series is to uncover the pathological mechanisms of dysfunctional metal metabolism in order to foster the development of cutting-edge diagnostic approaches and therapeutic treatments for metal-related diseases and disorders.