The Proteins Gordon Research Conference has established a rich history of bringing together experimental and computational biochemists, biophysicists and biologists who study the many aspects of proteins science, including protein structure, folding, function and dynamics. Recent Proteins GRC programs have reflected a current broad interest in the properties and function of proteins in the cellular environment. The 2009 Proteins GRC will continue this focus on post-reductionist protein science, but will also highlight the contributions of classical protein science.

Topics will include recent and unpublished results describing the chemical and physical basis of protein structure and interaction networks, in-cell visualization of proteins, the role of co-solutes in structure and stability, the functional consequences of structural heterogeneity, among others. Discussion leaders with a substantial history in this field will be invited to provide their own historical and scientific perspective on each session topic and presented results.

This conference will thus emphasize the field’s substantial knowledge about the physical and chemical properties of proteins, while encouraging the application of this knowledge to understand how proteins behave and function in their biological contexts. The diverse presentations of new science and historically-informed discussions will provide researchers at all levels - institutional and industrial research scientists, faculty, post-doctoral fellows, and graduate students - with a rigorous and comprehensive view of contemporary protein science.