This Gordon Research Conference is on the Insulin-Like Growth Factors in Physiology and Disease. The IGFs were originally discovered as the "Somatomedins", the circulating effectors of growth hormone action. Over the past 15-20 years, research into the IGFs has revealed critical roles for these growth factors as endocrine factors and as local mediators of cell proliferation, survival, differentiation and migration. The IGFs, consisting of IGF-I and IGF-II, their receptors and their binding proteins, the IGFBPs, have been implicated in several metabolic and disease states including cancer and diabetes. Publications in the field of IGF biology have increased significantly over the past ten years and represent a broad range of biological and medical research areas.

The program begins with two keynote addresses from prominent IGF biologists, C. Ron Kahn and Renato Baserga, on the essential cellular functions of the IGFs and their signaling pathways. The remainder of the program is focused both on diversity of IGF-relevant topics and on timely, rapidly emerging areas in IGF biology. These include two sessions on the exciting area of IGFs and cancer. Other sessions include IGF signaling and similarities/differences with insulin signaling, the role of IGFs in metabolic diseases, molecular biology of the IGFs and receptors, actions of the IGFBPs and their proteases, and the function of IGFs in specific tissues including bone and reproductive tissues. The closing session of the conference will focus on the very new, exciting topic of insulin/IGF signaling in life-span and aging.