Molecules, Mechanics, and Mechanisms of Elastic Fiber Disease

This GRC will provide in-depth discussion of elastic tissue biology with an emphasis on sessions that delve into mechanisms governing the timing and extent of elastic fiber protein production and their contribution to disease. Sessions cover a broad range of topics including molecular properties of elastin relevant to biomaterials, mechanisms of transcriptional and translational control, inflammation and maintenance of elastic fibers, novel imaging and big data techniques to quantify elastin and assess its impact, and sex and tissue specific control of elastin deposition. Evening sessions are focused on disease mechanisms relevant to the biology discussed in the morning and cover a comprehensive set of key organ systems: heart, lung, musculoskeletal, integumentary and ophthalmologic. Featured sessions on women’s health topics as they relate to the regenerative potential of elastic fibers and one on therapeutics are also included.