Cell Interactions and Tissue Organization in Health and Disease

What roles do adhesive interactions between cells play in tissue patterning, architecture and morphogenesis? How are these processes perturbed in disease? Questions such as these will be at the forefront of discussion during the 2011 GRC on Cell Contact and Adhesion. Since its inception in 1973 this GRC has been a premier meeting on the biology of cell adhesion, drawing inputs from many disciplines, including cell biology, biochemistry, structural biology and developmental biology. Our overarching ambition in 2011 is to address key mechanisms and functional contributions of cell interactions to tissue organization. We aim to understand how cell-cell interactions drive tissue organization and homeostasis, and how such interactions are perturbed to disrupt tissue organization in disease.

To reach a more comprehensive understanding of these complex issues, the meeting will encompass detailed molecular, structural and biophysical analysis of cell-cell adhesion molecules; the cellular processes with which they interact to control cell shape, locomotility, polarity and cell division; and ultimately the developmental and biomechanical contexts in which those cellular behaviours play out to control tissue organization.

The 2011 GRC will bring together international scientists tackling these various problems from different disciplinary perspectives. Platform talks will comprise both leading established investigators and junior scientists of exceptional promise covering a breadth of experimental and conceptual approaches. In addition to the preliminary program, some talks will also be chosen from submitted abstracts, including junior scientists. Each talk will be followed by a discussion period during which post-docs and students are encouraged to participate. We aim to foster interactive discussion in a collegial atmosphere with scheduled opportunities for informal gatherings and poster presentations. Attendance by post-docs, students, junior faculty and under-represented minorities is strongly encouraged.