Molecular Basis and Applications of Microbial Signal Detection, Transduction and Response

The 2022 STIM GRC will explore recent advances in understanding the mechanistic basis of microbial signal transduction. The meeting will focus on bacterial receptors and the signaling responses they control via conformational changes, phosphrelays, enzymatic manipulation and mechanosensing. The meeting will explore the basis by which environmental sensing and response underlie many fundamental aspects of bacterial biology including chemotaxis, pathogenesis, biofilm formation, community interactions, antimicrobial resistance and synthetic biology. Approaches that will be covered include molecular genetics, single molecule studies, model host systems, high resolution protein and electron microscopic structures, biochemistry, biophysics and modeling. One feature of the conference will be to pair data from high-resolution experiments with modeling to understand and predict the behavior of complex macromolecular assemblies and signaling circuitry. Invited speakers will include both established and early-stage investigators from academia and industry. In addition, short talks will be chosen from the abstracts to give early-career scientists a chance to speak, and to round out the program. For the fifth time, a Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) for postdocs and graduate students will precede the GRC. The GRS provides a supportive environment for young scientists to present their work, make connections, and receive advice by leaders in the field. Participants in the GRC and GRS will benefit from the conference’s open, collegial atmosphere that provides multiple opportunities to learn new information, engage in scientific discussion, promote scientific rigor, and foster interdisciplinary collaboration.