Discovery, Functional Development and Enabling Technologies of Marine Natural Products

The 2020 Gordon Research Conference on Marine Natural Products will provide an interactive forum for sharing the latest research findings and techniques related to the discovery, production, and translation of marine metabolites. The collegial and inclusive atmosphere of the conference will provide ample opportunities for early career researchers and established leaders in the field to exchange ideas and forge new collaborative relationships. There is a renewed focus on natural products that has been driven by the development of improved techniques in analytical chemistry, new screening platforms, and the application of synthetic biology, genome mining, and other transformative approaches to discovery. Powerful new methodologies that expand structure elucidation capabilities will be highlighted, as well as techniques for mechanism of action and molecular target identification. The recent development of marine natural products as bioprobes and drug leads provide exciting new approaches for potential therapeutic applications. Progress in the production and functional role of natural products in the marine environment will also be a focus of the conference. A diverse array of international speakers will describe cutting-edge developments in molecular structure determination, metabolomics, synthesis, chemical biology, biosynthesis, enzymology, and ecology. A Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) that precedes the conference provides an opportunity for students and early career researchers to present their work and exchange ideas with their peers, in a friendly and supportive environment. Two of the GRS speakers will be selected to deliver oral presentations at the GRC.