Project Funding Details

Project Summary The Polyamines Gordon Research Conference (GRC) has run continuously since 1975 and provides a multidisciplinary forum that brings together leading polyamine researchers as well as young and established investigators new to the field. The 2023 Polyamines GRC will be held at Waterville Valley Resort in NH, from June 25-30, 2023. This GRC will have a broad focus on the role of polyamines in human diseases, with a major focus on cancer including breakthroughs in cancer metabolism and immune surveillance, advanced clinical trials for cancer prevention & treatment, metastasis and cancer stemness, protein translation, and medicinal chemistry-based cancer drug discovery. Other human diseases include several recently discovered inborn metabolic neurodevelopmental disorders linked to polyamine genes, diabetes, degenerative disorders, and pathogens. The meeting is unique in that it attracts a diverse array of top investigators assessing the control and roles of polyamines across a broad spectrum of model systems (prokaryotes, parasites, Drosophila, plants, vertebrates, and mammals). Polyamines are small, amino acid-derived polycations found in all forms of life and play essential roles in many cellular processes, including transcription, translation, replication, metabolism, epigenetic control, and ion channel functions. The 2023 Polyamines GRC will emphasize targeting polyamine pathways in cancer and other diseases. The Program has a strong mix of basic, translational, and clinical researchers. This GRC is attended by biologists, chemists, physician- scientists, and clinicians, and includes investigators from academia, biotech, and pharmaceutical sectors. The diversity of scientific disciplines is unique among GRCs, is highly stimulating, and will emphasize new findings relating to upstream and downstream pathways, and new diseases only recently linked to alterations in polyamine biology. We will bring the latest studies, new investigators to the field, and early career investigators to this forum. Of the 28 named speakers, 22 are new since the last GRC and have never spoken and/or are early career scientists. We will also choose 5 speakers from the Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) and the posters, which will add more new speakers. The specific aims seek to obtain funds to support 42 GRC & 15 GRS registrations, and travel costs for 15 GRC/GRS participants. The long-term objective is to enhance understanding of the interplay between polyamine metabolism and human diseases, and to enhance the training of young scientists from diverse backgrounds to become contributing members of the polyamine scientific community. Presentations by invited speakers will be 25-30 minutes, with a 10-minute discussion. The GRC will be held in conjunction with the 8th Polyamines, providing graduate students and fellows with a student-run venue that fosters exchange of data and ideas. The GRS makes the GRC a richer experience, by promoting young scientists during the main conference. Interactions between GRS & GRC conferees facilitate sharing of ideas and create new partnerships that will drive the field forward.

Project Narrative The 2023 Polyamines Gordon Research Conference (GRC) and the associated Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) provide excellent forums for the presentation of polyamine research by both established and young investigators. The goal of the 2023 Polyamines GRC, the 24th such meeting since 1975 (the 2021 meeting was postponed due to the COVID pandemic), is to provide a venue for the polyamine research community to discuss the most impactful findings relating to the role and regulation of polyamines in human cancer biology and other diseases, and to build upon recent clinical successes which target the polyamine pathway for the prevention and treatment of human cancers, infections, and other disorders. A conference format is proposed which maximizes exposure for both early career scientists and new investigators in the field, provides for the delivery of unpublished provocative research findings, encourages extensive discussions, and fosters productive collaborations to propel the field forward including the advancement of clinical trials.