The 2012 Gordon Research Conference on Mitochondria and Chloroplasts will assemble an international group of scientists investigating fundamental properties of these organelles, and their integration into broader physiological processes. The conference will emphasize the many commonalities between mitochondria and chloroplasts: their evolution from bacterial endosymbionts, their genomes and gene expression systems, their energy transducing membranes whose proteins derive from both nuclear and organellar genes, the challenge of maintaining organelle integrity in the presence of the reactive oxygen species that are generated during energy transduction, their incorporation into organismal signaling pathways, and more. The conference will bring together investigators working in animal, plant, fungal and protozoan systems who specialize in cell biology, genetics, biochemistry, physiology, proteomics, genomics, and structural biology. As such, this conference will provide a unique forum that engenders cross-disciplinary discussions concerning the biogenesis, dynamics, and regulation of these key cellular structures. By fostering interactions among mammalian, fungal and plant organellar biologists, this conference also provides a conduit for the transmission of mechanistic insights obtained in model organisms to applications in medicine and agriculture.

The 2012 conference will highlight areas that are moving rapidly and emerging themes. These include new insights into the ultrastructure and organization of the energy transducing membranes, the coupling of organellar gene expression with the assembly of photosynthetic and respiratory complexes, the regulatory networks that couple organelle biogenesis with developmental and physiological signals, the signaling events through which organellar physiology influences nuclear gene expression, and the roles of organelles in disease and development. The roster of speakers will have no overlap with that of the prior conference, and will include scientists with international recognition as well as young investigators. The program will be further balanced by selecting a number of short talks from abstracts. To maximize interactions among attendees, we urge all participants to present their recent progress either as a poster or as a talk.

The conference will be enhanced by an accompanying Gordon Research Seminar (GRS). The Gordon Research Seminar provides a special forum for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to present and discuss their research, and to gain confidence to participate actively in the following GRC. A GRS was held in conjunction with the prior two Mitochondria and Chloroplast GRCs, and was a resounding success on both occasions.

Special consideration will be given to qualified applicants who are also members of a group under-represented in the sciences (e.g. low income and first generation, Native American, African American, Latino, or Pacific Islander), faculty at primarily undergraduate institutions, and scientists from developing countries.