Glycolipid and Sphingolipid Homeostasis and Function in Health and Disease

The 14th Gordon Research Conference on Glycolipid and Sphingolipid Biology will be held from March 6-11, 2016 at the Renaissance Tuscany Resort in Il Ciocco, a lovely Italian countryside location, which provides an ideal location for scientific discussion. This conference is the primary international venue in the field of glycolipid/sphingolipid biology. We will have an excellent program covering a wide range of topics with an emphasis on mechanistic insights into physiological processes where glycolipids and sphingolipids play a prominent role. A number of prominent speakers have been invited, but most sessions have time slots reserved for late-breaking topic talks chosen among the submitted abstracts.

The conference will begin with a Forward Looking Session that evaluates the progress we have made in the field and highlights the most important challenges for the future. The progress previously made on glycolipid and sphingolipid enzymology will be extended to address how these pathways are regulated and controlled spatially. Progress in science is frequently related to the availability of suitable technology and new developments will be covered. Glycolipids and sphingolipids have emerged as important factors in many physiological processes, including apoptosis, autophagy, regulation of metabolism, cell migration, and are important in several diseases, including bacterial and viral infections, type 2 diabetes, multiple inflammatory diseases and cancer. A large part of the program will be dedicated to understanding the roles of lipids in physiology and the translational efforts to move these findings to the clinic.

In the past, the conference has been fully subscribed with an excellent mix of established academic researchers, attendees from industry and young scientists. The poster sessions are an important part of the conference and several young investigators will be chosen to give oral presentations. Ample discussion time will be provided within the sessions and hopefully, during the lovely afternoons in the Italian countryside.