Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms in Health and Disease

Chemotactic Cytokines 2012 will be our 10th GRC. This is a good juncture to look back and commemorate a series of unforgettable meetings, all marking significant milestones of the extraordinary journey in time by the molecules of our dreams, chemokines. From their humble beginnings on the fringes of experimental research as a couple of leukocyte chemoattractants, chemokines became one of the largest families of coherently functioning, versatile intercellular signals, studied now by the cutting edge mainstream molecular science and medicine. It is currently clear that chemokine activities contribute to almost every aspect of our biological existence, starting with the moment of our conception, through months of intrauterine confinement; protecting us during the years of growth, health and wellbeing, only to push us later on, along the countless avenues of diseases, ultimately into the grave. As much as it is almost impossible to encompass the breadths of all chemokines’ activities, it became also impossible to cover all the aspects of contemporary chemokine research, even at a comprehensive conference, such as GRC. Instead of attempting this, Chemokine GRC 2012 for the first time will have a specific thematic focus, also reflected in its title, Chemotactic Cytokines: Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms in Health and Disease. This means that, rather than restricting in any way the breadth of chemokine implications covered, our GRC will concentrate primarily on their most fundamental, mechanistic aspects.

The research on chemokines has considerably accelerated and spread from initially few principal centers to thousands of institutions worldwide. Hence, nowadays it is hard to predict ahead of time in which laboratories the hottest and the coolest chemokine discoveries of 2012 will emerge. In anticipation of such discoveries and to conform with the spirit of the Gordon Conference, calling to showcase cutting edge unpublished data, we allocated even more speaker slots to the late breaking and short talks selected from abstracts. These should complement invited lectures by top scientists covering biochemistry of chemokines and the cellular responses to them, in vitro and in vivo mechanisms of chemokine induced migration, chemokines in immune organogenesis and immune organ function, chemokines in infection and immunity and the contribution of chemokines to the disease pathogenesis, including cancer.

During the last several years a new generation of young scientists joined the research on chemokines. Students and post-docs constitute now the most numerous group of Chemokine GRC participants. The traditional GRC format provided for their top notch and broad ex cathedra education, but not necessarily fostered their most active participation. This hiatus was addressed and, with considerable pride and excitement, we are announcing that Chemokine GRC 2012 will be twinned for the first time with the Chemokine Gordon Research Seminar, a satellite meeting for young bench scientists, post docs and students, which will take place May 26-27, 2012. This meeting will allow young chemokine researches to interact in an informal setting, exchange ideas, gain confidence as speakers and achieve higher personal visibility. Moreover, it will provide a forum for their concerted mentoring by the most outstanding chemokine scientists.

Our GRC will be returning to Il Ciocco, resort tucked away amidst Toscana Mountains, in the heart of a fascinating land, rich in history and culture, warm, hospitable and welcoming. Despite Il Ciocco being not only one of the most beautiful, but also largest GRC venues, its capacity is finite and only first 200 registered participants will be able to attend the Chemokine GRC, 2012. Our last GRC was oversubscribed with long waiting lists and considerable disappointment for those at end of the queue who could not attend. To assure your participation please register early!

We look forward to seeing you in Il Ciocco in May 2012 and hope that the combination of cutting edge science, passionate scientific debate and relaxing atmosphere of Il Ciocco will be conducive of a successful meeting!

Antal Rot and Andy Luster