Enhancing Complexity in Cellular Microenvironments

The Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Signal Transduction By Engineered Extracellular Matrices was established in 2000 and has become the premier meeting at the intersection of bioengineering, matrix interactions, and cell signaling. The 2014 meeting, to be held July 6-11 at Bentley University in Waltham, MA, highlights another important dimension - enhancing complexity in cellular microenvironments. The scientific objective of the conference will be to share the newest knowledge from research on: the development and regulation of cellular microenvironments; the control of cell function by engineered systems; the development of advanced and dynamic materials; the understanding of cell signaling through systems biology, and application of such insights to the development of clinical therapies for tissue repair and regeneration. This meeting necessarily brings together researchers in diverse fields of stem cell and developmental biology, chemistry, bioimaging and engineering for both the understanding of cellular function and how this can be harnessed for the repair and replacement of tissues lost or damaged due to disease or injury. Lively discussion sessions will include well-established leaders in the field, as well as emerging young investigators. The meeting also includes highly interactive poster sessions, and some poster presenters will be selected for short talks. The collegial atmosphere of the Conference affords ample opportunity for informal gatherings in the afternoons and evenings, which provides an avenue for scientists from different disciplines in both industry and academia to brainstorm, network and establish new cross-disciplinary collaborations in this dynamic area of research at the interface of biology and engineering.