The Polyamine GRC is a multidisciplinary conference focused on the polyamine metabolic pathway. Polyamines are small organic polycations found in virtually all archaeal, eubacterial and eukaryotic cells. Polyamines are closely linked to cell growth, and as such inhibitors of polyamine biosynthesis are promoted as anti-proliferative agents. Despite their importance, we still do not fully understand the cellular function of polyamines, and much biology remains to be elucidated. It is becoming increasingly clear that the functions of polyamines are unique in different organisms, and furthermore that the biosynthetic and catabolic pathways, as well as the mechanisms of regulation, vary throughout evolution. Historically the Polyamine GRC centered around the study of the polyamine metabolic pathway as a target for chemotherapeutic intervention in cancer, covering the role of polyamines in mammalian cell proliferation and the related biochemistry, molecular biology, and organic chemistry. A central focus of the meetings was the effect of inhibition of polyamine biosynthesis on tumor development. In eukaryotic cells polyamines are highly regulated at the levels of transcription, translation and protein turnover, and much of the field has focused on investigating these mechanisms. Current meetings encompass a wide polyamine community representing elements of human physiology and cell biology, parasitology, microbiology and plant biology. Speakers have emphasized transgenic, RNAi and reverse genetic approaches to probing polyamine function, in conjunction with pharmacology, and subsequent analysis by Systems Biology. The variety of scientific disciplines and organisms represented at the Polyamine GRC makes for an intellectually stimulating environment, bringing together molecular biologists, biochemists and chemists, working on human, animal, fungal, plant, protozoan and bacterial projects.

To further enhance the GRC experience for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows we will organize for the first time a two-day Gordon Research Seminar on Polyamines (GRS), which will be held the 2-days immediately prior to the main Polyamine GRC conference. The GRS will focus on the same themes as the formal GRC-Polyamine meeting, and will be organized around short talks by and for the students and postdocs. Talks will be selected from submitted abstracts.