Motor Mechanisms from Single Molecules to Cellular Function

The 2016 Gordon Research Conference on Muscle and Molecular Motors is one of the leading meetings devoted to understanding the mechanisms by which the diverse molecular motors myosin, kinesin and dynein produce motion and force on their respective tracks (actin or microtubules). A full understanding of normal motor function is required to dissect how their behavior has gone awry in disease processes. The meeting will span a range of techniques by which these processes are investigated: from in vitro approaches that are becoming increasingly more sophisticated with regard to complex reconstitutions, to biophysical and cell biological investigations of motor function in a cellular environment. Improvements in imaging both at the light and electron microscopy levels, and advances in single molecule techniques using reconstituted systems, allow a more detailed assessment of motor function than ever before. Biological questions of interest include motor-driven intracellular transport and trafficking, motors functioning in complex assemblies (muscle, mitotic spindles, cilia), and dynamics of the cytoskeletal tracks these motors engage with.

The 2016 meeting brings together outstanding investigators in biophysics, structural biology, and cell biology. Invited speakers will focus on unpublished work at the forefront of their fields, with many talks emphasizing multi-disciplinary approaches. The organizers are committed to including both established experts as well as more junior researchers that bring fresh new approaches and viewpoints to the field. Platform sessions will include presentations chosen from the abstracts to include the most up-to-date science in the field, and to further encourage the active participation of junior scientists. There will be a strong emphasis on lively discussion following each talk, with an emphasis on questions from students and postdocs. The poster sessions and ample free time provide an atmosphere that favors informal scientific exchanges, fostering the development of new ideas and collaborations.