Quantitative genetics aims to link phenotypic variation to its underlying genetic basis in order to better understand and predict genetic composition and long term change within natural, agricultural, and human populations. Traditionally built upon statistical abstractions of genetic effects, the field is now poised to make use of recent advances in genetic technology to reveal explicit links between genes and complex phenotypes, and therefore serves as a focal point bringing together many emerging areas of genetics, genomics, statistics, and biotechnology. This synthesis is already having a large impact on the areas of evolutionary biology, plant and animal breeding, and the analysis of human disease. The strength of the Gordon Conference on "Quantitative Genetics and Genomics" has historically been the bringing together of leaders in each of these fields to explore areas of shared interest and cutting edge developments with the potential to affect all researchers within the broad field of quantitative genetics.

In planning the 2005 Gordon Conference on "Quantitative Genetics and Genomics" we looked to expanding areas of science that are founded in both classical quantitative genetics and evolution, and that are advancing quickly due to the gain in information provided by genomics and proteomics. In the process of collecting session ideas and speaker suggestions, it became abundantly clear that transcript profiling has significantly impacted how we think about quantitative variation and complex traits. Transcript profiling (e.g., microarray technology) is currently supporting the exploration of "genetic architecture" (e.g., expression QTL mapping) and in turn has created a great deal of excitement and interest across a variety of organisms. The molecular dissection of complex phenotypes is providing direct evidence about gene regulation, evolution, the genetic landscape, and the future roles of quantitative genetics. It is amazing how many people are thinking about related issues of genetic architecture. Therefore, our hope for this conference is to provide a forum for the presentation of new ideas and data so that we might all come away with a slightly stronger understanding of the genetic basis of inheritance.

We look forward to meeting you in Ventura, CA in February of 2005! Your continued participation and support of this conference is greatly appreciated. As you will see from the schedule, afternoons are free for adventure and discussion, while poster sessions will be held in the evening.