Evolutionary and Developmental Mechanisms of Skeletal and Tooth Biology and Disease

The 2011 Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on “Bones & Teeth” will be focused on cellular and molecular aspects of skeletal biology and pathology in the context of evolutionary and developmental principles and mechanisms. The Program will include sessions on Evolution of Bones and Teeth, Developmental and Genetic Mechanisms, Postnatal Homeostasis, Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine/Dentistry, Osteoporosis, Cancer, as well as Joints and Soft Tissue Connections of Bones and Teeth. The meeting will conclude with a keynote session on Evolutionary Gain and Loss of Skeletal Elements. The sessions, chaired by leaders in the field, will foster discussion among invited speakers and other senior and junior investigators, students and post-docs in a collegiate atmosphere. Some poster presentations will be selected for short talks. The programmed talks, discussions, poster presentations and more informal gatherings in the afternoon and evenings will provide avenues for scientists from different disciplines to brainstorm about skeletal structure and function in health and disease, stimulate ideas about development of new therapeutic strategies for diseases of bones and teeth, and promote cross-disciplinary collaborations in the various research areas represented.

The GRC will be preceded by a two-day Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) on “Cell Niche Microenvironments in Bone and Tooth Development and Regeneration”. This is a unique forum for graduate students, post-docs and other scientists with comparable levels of experience and education to present and exchange new data and cutting edge ideas. The Seminar will explore the rapidly advancing fields of stem/progenitor cell biology, differentiation, transdifferentiation and reprogramming, in the context of the cell niche/microenvironment and its effects on bone and tooth development and regeneration. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, craniofacial evolution and genetics, molecular mechanisms of differentiation, cell-matrix interactions, tissue morphogenesis and regeneration, stem cell applications, and development of skeletal diseases. The meeting will feature talks and poster sessions. All attendees are expected to actively participate in the GRS either by giving an oral presentation or presenting a poster and to remain for the whole of the subsequent GRC.