From Basic Biology to Therapeutic Insights

The twelfth Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Neurotrophic Factors will provide a multidisciplinary and intimate environment for discussing the latest high-level science in the field of neurotrophic factors. The 2015 meeting is based upon the idea that a fundamental understanding of how neurotrophic factors shape the nervous system provides the basis for understanding many nervous system pathologies, and will ultimately lead to new treatments for nervous system disorders. The meeting therefore includes many sessions on the basic biology of neurotrophic factors (growth factors and neural stem cell biology, retrograde signaling, translational regulation, neurotrophic factors and development, neurotrophin signaling, and neurotrophic factors in the CNS) together with sessions describing their involvement in disease states and/or potential therapeutic utility (axon degeneration and regeneration, neurotrophins and metabolic regulation, neurotrophic factors in disease and repair). In addition, this meeting will provide opportunities for young investigators to present their data to the neurotrophic factors community through posters and talks. The overarching goal of this meeting is to bring together scientists working on the basic biology of neurotrophic factors together with those pursuing more therapeutically-oriented aspects of neurotrophic factor biology, thereby leading to new intellectual insights, collaborations, and ultimately new therapeutic approaches.