The Gordon Research Conference on Mechanisms of Membrane Transport has distinguished itself in the past 40 years as a forum that brings together a diverse group of investigators with a common interest in the structure, function and biology of membrane transporters and channels.

The increasing availability of transporter and channel structures is transforming the mechanistic analyses of these essential proteins. Structures combined with structure-guided functional and biophysical analysis offer an unprecedented opportunity to link form with function. The combination of these approaches also encourages productive interactions between young investigators - largely trained in the physical and biophysical sciences - with more established investigators whose experience is in areas such as physiology, cell biology and biochemistry. Sessions will combine presentations on structural, functional, and computational analyses on a range of transporter protein families, including small solutes (water, urea, formate), Na⁺-coupled transporters, CLC transporters and channels, cation channels, ABC transporters and others. We will also highlight the importance of lipid-protein interactions in the bilayer and new approaches to membrane protein structure and mechanism.

The poster sessions are critical elements of “Mechanisms of Membrane Transport.” All participants are asked to bring posters - providing many opportunities for people at different stages in their careers to meet, mix, learn and establish new interdisciplinary collaborations. We especially encourage graduate students and postdocs to attend. Abstracts will be chosen for short talks in sessions throughout the meeting. Additional abstracts will be chosen for a “data blitz” in which presenters will be offered 5 minutes and two slides to present the essential findings of their posters that can be amplified during the poster sessions. One session will be devoted entirely to talks selected from amongst attendees presenting posters.