Abstract

The Motile and Contractile Systems Gordon Research Conference has long served as a preeminent and critical venue for cytoskeleton research. The goal of the meeting is to foster interactions among scientists applying diverse approaches to understanding how cells control the cytoskeleton for the varied processes of cell division, cell locomotion, and cell shape change. The meeting is highly interdisciplinary and attracts biochemists, cell biologists, bioengineers, geneticists, biophysicists, structural biologists, and mathematicians. Topics covered at the meeting include cytoskeletal polymer assembly and disassembly, motor functions, cytokinesis, mitosis, cell crawling, cell and tissue morphogenesis, and wound healing. The 2019 meeting, subtitled "Principles of cytoskeletal organization from single molecules to organisms", will also be focused on the convergent principles used for cytoskeletal organization with an emphasis on featuring diverse model systems and technical approaches. The Motile and Contractile Systems GRC has a tradition of egalitarianism and, accordingly, the invited speakers are drawn from the ranks of junior as well as senior investigators, and many talks are drawn from the abstracts, providing generous opportunities for students and postdocs to present their work. Further, the meeting has an associated Gordon Research Seminar (GRS), consisting of exclusively student and postdoc speakers (see "Related Meeting" section below). Finally, the Motile and Contractile Systems GRC also has a tradition of interactive collegiality, with investigators, postdocs and students mixing freely and posing questions to each other, not only at talks and posters but also during meals and during the external activities.