Choices and Crosstalk Between Alternative Pathways

The 2014 Gordon Research Conference on "DNA damage, mutation and cancer" marks the 50th anniversary of the discovery of excision repair. We will focus upon the manner in which DNA alterations are recognized and processed by cellular enzymes to modulate their mutagenic effects. Multiple proteins may recognize a DNA lesion and impact the pathway choice for its resolution. Furthermore, each step in a repair pathway generates another lesion, often accessible to enzymes from other pathways. Crosstalk between competing and collaborating DNA repair pathways will be an important emphasis in this Conference. We will also explore chemotherapeutic interventions that take advantage of genotypic differences between normal cells and those in a designated tumor. The strategy of synthetic lethality is important in addition to other approaches to selectively inactivate tumor cells. Finally, we will address the role of DNA damage and telomere processing in aging and cancer.