2023 Red Cells Gordon Research Conference

Project Summary We seek funding for the 2023 Red Cells Gordon Research Conference (GRC), which will be held on June 4-9 at Salve Regina University in Newport, RI. The Red Cells GRC was initiated in 1979 and is an international forum for the presentation of the latest unpublished data on erythroid biology. It brings together a diverse community of researchers from academia, government and industry at all levels of expertise from trainees to senior investigators. It provides a unique environment for the discussion of research and opportunities for trainee professional development through panel discussions with mentors from academic institutions, industry and granting agencies. The Gordon Conference format provides a relaxed atmosphere at a collegial venue where researchers from all areas of erythroid biology can interact and develop interdisciplinary collaborations. The venue for the 2023 GRC, Salve Regina University in Newport, RI, is conveniently located about 74 miles from Boston's international airport. The Red Cells GRC has a long history of showcasing innovative cutting-edge research into erythroid biology. Remarkably, many of these results have proven to become widely applicable to all areas of biology and medicine. The success of this meeting is due to the informal GRC atmosphere that promotes social as well as intellectual interactions that lead to novel collaborative science. Topics for the 2023 Red Cells GRC include developmental erythropoiesis and stem cell biology, which includes the use of ES and iPS cells to study erythroid development. Analysis of the mechanisms that regulate normal and perturbed erythroid progenitor cell development and terminal differentiation, the interplay between iron transport and utilization and the effects of infection and inflammation of erythroid output and updates on the unique cell biology of the erythrocyte membrane cytoskeleton will also be discussed. The conference will feature sessions that highlight new methods for single cell analysis in erythroid biology and the regulation gene expression by transcription factors, epigenetics and chromatin architecture. The conference will complement these sessions with discussion of emerging treatments and therapies for erythroid disorders. In addition, we will have two distinguished keynote speakers, Len Zon and Merav Socolovsky, who will highlight recent advances in the field. The meeting will also feature programing targeted to trainees and junior investigators, and provide unique opportunities for meaningful interactions between trainees and established investigators. Overall, the Red Cells GRC serves an import mission to the NIH by promoting research into erythroid biology, which will lead to new and improved treatments for erythroid disorders and by enhancing the recruitment of new researchers in the field through support, encouragement and exposure to innovative research.