Abstract

The Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Salivary Glands and Exocrine Biology will include cutting edge sessions on exocrine gland development, regenerative and tissue engineering approaches, new insights into organ aging and autoimmune disease, functional relevance of salivary proteins, membrane functions in exocrine glands, salivary gland and head and neck cancer etiology and treatments, and current topics in cell biology of exocrine glands. Invited speakers for the GRC will include eminent scientists from academia, industry and government and talks will include both senior and junior scientists from diverse fields who will present unpublished research findings on subjects of greatest interest to the field. A Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) will be held just prior to the GRC that will invite only speakers who are graduate students and postdoctoral associates in a wide variety of laboratories worldwide. In addition, poster sessions will be held daily at the GRC and GRS to enable all attendees to present and discuss their data in an open forum. The overall goals of these two meetings are to disseminate the newest findings, foster scientific exchanges and engender research collaborations in exocrine biology, moving the field forward into the future.