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Ligand Recognition and Molecular Gating

Gordon Research Conference

June 11 - 16, 2006
Chair
Vice Chair
Renaissance Tuscany Il Ciocco
Via Giovanni Pascoli
Lucca (Barga), Lucca, Italy
 Venue and Travel Information

Conference Description

The research topic of the GRC Conference on "Ligand recognition and molecular gating" is focused on the structure and function of membrane proteins involved in cellular signaling (receptors) and transport of ions and small solutes across cell membranes (ion channels and carriers). The emphasis is on the structure and dynamics of gating or activation by ligands of these molecules.

Conference Program

SUNDAY
4:00 pm - 9:00 pmArrival and Check-in
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 7:40 pmWelcome from the conference chair
7:40 pm - 9:00 pmKeynote Lecture
7:40 pm - 8:40 pmWayne A. Hendrickson (Columbia University, New York, USA)
"Structural views on and of ligand stimulation of membrane receptors"
8:40 pm - 9:00 pmDiscussion
MONDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
8:45 am - 12:30 pmBacterial Carriers
Discussion Leader: William N. Zagotta
8:45 am - 9:25 amCarola Hunte (MPI-Frankfurt, Germany)
"Structure and insights into mechanism of the sodium/proton antiporter NhaA"
9:25 am - 9:35 amDiscussion
9:35 am - 10:15 am Satinder K. Singh (Oregon Health & Science Univ., Portland, USA)
"Structural and functional studies of a bacterial homologue of Na+/Cl- -dependent neurotransmitter transporters"
10:15 am - 10:25 amDiscussion
10:25 am - 10:50 amCoffee Break / Group Photo
10:50 am - 11:30 am Robert M.B. Stroud (Univ. California, San Francisco, USA)
"A two billion year old tale of transmembrane transport for NH3 and H2O: The principle of selective exclusion"
11:30 am - 11:40 amDiscussion
11:40 am - 12:20 pmSusan Buchanan (NIH, NIDDK, Bethesda, USA)
"Transport of large and small molecules across bacterial outer membranes"
12:20 pm - 12:30 pmDiscussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 5:30 pmPoster Session
5:30 pm - 7:30 pmRecognition in G-Protein Coupled Receptors
Discussion Leader: Wayne A. Hendrickson (Columbia Univ., New York, USA)
5:30 pm - 6:10 pmJean-Louis Baneres (CNRS, Montpellier, France)
"Cooperative activation in GPCR dimers"
6:10 pm - 6:20 pmDiscussion
6:20 pm - 7:00 pmMartin Lohse (Univ. Würzburg, Germany)
"Optical methods for the analysis of GPCR activation"
7:00 pm - 7:10 pmDiscussion
8:00 pmDinner
TUESDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
8:45 am - 12:30 pmStructure of Cyclic Nucleotide-Sensitive Channels
Discussion Leader: Susan Buchanan (NIH, NIDDK, Bethesda, MD, USA)
8:45 am - 9:25 amWilliam N. Zagotta (Univ. Washington, USA)
"Structure and dynamics of cyclic nucleotide-regulated ion channels"
9:25 am - 9:35 amDiscussion
9:35 am - 10:15 amJoao H. Morais-Cabral (Yale Univ., New Haven, USA)
"Ligand activation of ion transport"
10:15 am - 10:25 amDiscussion
10:15 am - 10:50 amCoffee Break
10:50 am - 11:30 amReinhard Seifert (FZ Jülich, Germany)
"Ligand binding and molecular gating of a cyclic nucleotide-activated channel"
11:30 am - 11:40 amDiscussion
11:40 am - 12:20 pm Steve A. Siegelbaum (Columbia Univ., New York, USA)
"Gating of HCN and CNG channels by voltage and ligands"
12:20 pm - 12:30 pmDiscussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 5:00 pmPoster Session
5:30 pm - 7:30 pmUnconventional Signaling Pathways
Discussion Leader: Gebhard F.X. Schertler (MRC, Cambridge, UK)
5:30 pm - 6:10 pmClemens Steegborn (Ruhr Univ. Bochum, Germany)
"The metabolic sensor 'soluble adenylyl cylcase' - Molecular mechanisms of activation and inhibition"
6:10 pm - 6:20 pmDiscussion
6:20 pm - 7:00 pmPeter Hegemann (Humboldt-Univ., Berlin, Germany)
"Channel rhodopsin; light recognition and molecular gating"
7:00 pm - 7:10 pmDiscussion
8:00 pmDinner
WEDNESDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pmCl- Channels and Cl- Carriers
Discussion Leader: Michael D. Cahalan (Univ. California, Irvine, USA)
9:00 am - 9:40 amTsung-Yu Chen (Univ. California, Davis, USA)
"Electrostatics in the pore of CLC-O"
9:40 am - 9:50 amDiscussion
9:50 am - 10:30 amCoffee Break
10:30 am - 11:10 amMichael Pusch (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Genova, Italy)
"Biophysics and pharmacology of transporters and channels of the CLC family"
11:10 am - 11:20 amDiscussion
11:20 am - 12:00 pmChristopher Miller (Brandeis Univ., Waltham, MA, USA)
"CLC channels, through a transporter glass, darkly"
12:00 pm - 12:10 pmDiscussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 5:30 pmPoster Session
5:30 pm - 6:50 pmRhodopsin and Rhodopsin-Like Molecules
Discussion Leader: Klaus-Peter Hofmann (HU Univ. Berlin, Charite, Germany)
5:30 pm - 6:00 pmUlrike Alexiev (Free Univ., Berlin, Germany)
"Retinal proteins: 2D-visualisation of surface dynamics and conformational changes on the nanoscale"
6:00 pm - 6:10 pm Discussion
6:10 pm - 6:40 pmGebhard F.X. Schertler (MRC Laboratory, Cambridge, UK)
"Structure of a rhdopsin mutant with increased thermal stability and implications of the metarhodopsin I structure for the activation of GPCRs"
6:40 pm - 6:50 pmDiscussion
6:50 pm - 7:30 pmKeynote Lecture
6:50 pm - 7:20 pmRod MacKinnon (Rockefeller Univ., New York, USA)
"Voltage-dependent K+ channels"
7:20 pm - 7:30 pmDiscussion
7:30 pm - 8:00 pmBusiness Meeting
(Nominations for the next Vice Chair; Fill out Conference Evaluation Forms; Discuss future Site & Scheduling preferences; Election of the next Vice Chair)
8:00 pmDinner
THURSDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pmVoltage-Sensing Ion Channels
Discussion Leader: Chris Miller (Brandeis Univ., Waltham, MA, USA)
9:00 am - 9:40 amFrancisco Bezanilla (Univ. California, Los Angeles, USA)
"Voltage gating in ion channels"
9:40 am - 9:50 amDiscussion
9:50 am - 10:30 amCoffee Break
10:30 am - 11:10 amBenoit Roux (Cornell Univ., New York, USA)
"Voltage-gating of potassium channels: Common grounds"
11:10 am - 11:20 amDiscussion
11:20 am - 12:00 pmDavid Clapham (Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA)
"TRP ion channel developments"
12:00 pm - 12:10 pmDiscussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 5:30 pmPoster Session
5:30 pm - 6:20 pmHot Topic News
Discussion Leader: David Clapham (Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA)
5:30 pm - 6:10 pmMichael D. Cahalan (Univ. California, Irvine, USA)
"Regulation of calcium release-activated calcium (CRAC) channels in T lymphocytes by STIM1"
6:10 pm - 6:20 pmDiscussion
6:20 pm - 7:10 pmRhodopsin and Rhodopsin-Like Molecules
Discussion Leader: TBA
6:20 pm - 7:00 pmPatrick Hogan (CBR Institute for Biomedical Research, Boston, MA)
"A mutation in Orai1 causes immune deficiency by abrogating CRAC channel function"
7:00 pm - 7:10 pm Discussion
8:00 pmDinner
FRIDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 amDepart

Conference Links

Conference History
Additional Fee Info

Ion Channels
July 12 - 17, 2026
Ligand Recognition and Molecular Gating (GRS)
March 14 - 15, 2026
Membrane Transport Proteins
June 14 - 19, 2026


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