Nuclear Receptors: Biological Networks, Genome Dynamics and Disease (A3)

Nuclear receptors (NRs) represent a large superfamily of transcription factors that function as ligand-dependent sensors for a diverse set of fat-soluble hormones, vitamins and dietary lipids. Together, NRs govern expression of genes involved in a broad range of reproductive, developmental, metabolic and immune response programs.
For this reason, NRs have been investigated for over 20 years as promising targets for drugs to treat a multitude of therapeutic indices, including cancer, diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, inflammation and cholestasis. However, despite the success of numerous NR-based therapies, there remain significant hurdles exploiting NRs to develop newer classes of therapies that achieve targeted benefits with reduced side effects.
Thus, understanding the mechanisms, transcriptional targets and networks of physiologic pathways that govern NR action has become an important new strategy for evaluating the role of NRs in health and disease. This effort is now beginning to produce exciting new avenues of research in the field.
This meeting will bring together a key group of junior and senior investigators who are exploring these new directions and will provide participants with a matrix of unique possibilities for them to investigate in both academic and pharmaceutical laboratory settings.