Upcoming Medical Conferences in Keystone

Hypoxia: Molecules, Mechanisms and Disease (A3) is organized by Keystone Symposia on Molecular and Cellular Biology and will be held from Jan 19 - 23, 2020 at Keystone Resort, Keystone, Colorado, United States of America. Description Hypoxia research reflects a dynamic and rapidly expanding field with growing implications ranging from basic molecular biology to medicine. Changes in cellular oxygen availability secondary to environmental challenges or diseases, trigger a broad array of adaptive responses that can be rapid (seconds) or more protracted (weeks to months). The molecules and mechanisms involved in these versatile hypoxia signaling pathways are fundamental to the pathogenesis of highly prevalent medical conditions, among which are respiratory depression, hypertension, tumor progression and inflammation. Moreover, oxygen regulates cellular processes, which are essential to cell reprogramming, development and tissue/organ regeneration. In this conference on Hypoxia, the tenth in the series of Keystone Symposia, experts from basic, clinical and industrial backgrounds will gather to update the status of the field, to discuss the most relevant discoveries and their applications, and to envision the conceptual and technological trends for upcoming years. The conference is designed to provide a broad coverage of the hypoxia field, with emphasis in translational strategies and perspectives. It will also promote multidisciplinary collaborations between scientists from different research backgrounds and the interaction between new graduate students and postdocs with leaders in this discipline. Additional details will be posted as soon as they are available.

Cancer Epigenetics: New Mechanisms and Therapeutic Opportunities (J4) is organized by Keystone Symposia on Molecular and Cellular Biology and will be held from Jan 26 - 30, 2020 at Keystone Resort, Keystone, Colorado, United States of America. Description The 2020 Keystone Symposia Cancer Epigenetics: New Mechanisms and Therapeutic Opportunities in conjunction with the joint conference, Gene Regulation: From Mechanisms to Disease, co-organized by Karen Adelman and Patrick Cramer, will highlight state-of-the art advances in methods, mechanistic insights, and drug discovery efforts across these interrelated fields. Furthermore, results from exome- and genome-wide sequencing efforts point toward major roles for chromatin regulatory machinery in cancer. These data emphasize the immediate need for mechanistic understanding and, in parallel, the identification of novel strategies toward therapeutic targeting for this class of cancer drivers. This conference will help to foster interactions and new connections between basic biologists focused on chromatin architecture, structure, and function with translational biologists focused on model systems for mechanistic interrogation. Participants will attend sessions that will feature the presentation of new methods and techniques in systems biology, imaging, genomics, and drug discovery approaches. Other topics will explore the roles for enhancer structure, genome organization and topology on DNA accessibility and gene expression. Finally, this conference will expose trainees across a wide range of international, interdisciplinary laboratories to cutting edge science in cancer epigenetics and related fields, hoping to further their interests and commitment to this area of biologic research The concurrent joint conference on "Gene Regulation: From Mechanisms to Disease" is another unique, one-of-a-kind aspect of this conference, allowing participants to attend talks in their interest areas across two closely-related disciplines. Our cancer-centered audience will have an opportunity to attend select talks as well as two joint sessions, which all the organizers have carefully considered and designed together. Additional details will be posted as soon as they are available.

Gene Regulation: From Mechanisms to Disease (J3) is organized by Keystone Symposia on Molecular and Cellular Biology and will be held from Jan 26 - 30, 2020 at Keystone Resort, Keystone, Colorado, United States of America. Description Organismal development, homeostasis and healthy aging all rely on precise control of gene expression programs. Recent technological advances in structural biology, real-time imaging, and next generation sequencing have shed new light on decades-old questions about gene regulation, and we seek to highlight these advances. This meeting aims to bring together pioneers in cryoEM, single-cell microscopy, single cell sequencing and three-dimensional genome architecture, with leading experts in transcriptional regulation, to seed new collaborations and discoveries. This conference provides an ideal environment to foster interactions between transcriptional biologists and experts in single cell imaging and genomic approaches and spur conversations about how to interweave new techniques for structural biology with our growing appreciation that many critical interactions involve intrinsically disordered domains (which are by definition not well behaved in most structural approaches). Participants will attend sessions that critically evaluate the impact of genome organization on gene expression. The conference will also expose trainees to the best science possible and instill in them the enthusiasm we feel for the future of the field. Finally, pairing of this meeting with Cancer Epigenetics is ideal as the topics are inherently related. This allows our meeting to focus on underlying mechanisms and normal developmental systems, while enabling the audience to attend lectures in gene dysregulation in cancer. We plan two joint sessions to maximize interactions. Additional details will be posted as soon as they are available.

Pain: Aligning the Target (J7) is organized by Keystone Symposia on Molecular and Cellular Biology and will be held from Feb 02 - 05, 2020 at Keystone Resort, Keystone, Colorado, United States of America. Description The Keystone Symposia on Pain: Aligning the Target will bring together researchers from diverse disciplines to examine the complex problem of pain and to shed light on mechanistic underpinnings and molecular approaches towards treatment. Topics will range from understanding neurotransmission and the anatomy of pain, structural features of molecular targets for modulating pain, and novel approaches, including drug development, optogenetic and genetic approaches to controlling pain. Most conferences on pain discuss pain management (clinical focus), neuroanatomical transmission of pain (neuroscience), or the mechanism by which analgesics/anesthetics work with a focus on particular molecular targets (pharmacology). Our goal is to bring these disciplines together to aid in a more efficient design of preclinical studies and drug development by educating each other in the individual challenges and offerings of our disciplines. Ultimately, this conference should inspire researchers from diverse backgrounds to examine this fundamental health problem via many new angles. Importantly, researchers that focus on the neurocircuitry and cause of pain and those that focus on drug development for the treatment of pain generally are not generally attending the same conferences. Finally, this conference is being paired with a related conference on Somatosensation: from Detection to Perception, which will focus more on the neurobiology of pain sensation. There will be numerous opportunities for participants to intermingle at poster sessions and dinners, enabling the cross-fostering of ideas. Collectively, these events will provide a forum for the convergence of insights into the diverse causes of pain and the approaches to treatment.  Additional details will be posted as soon as they are available.

Somatosensation: From Detection to Perception (J8) is organized by Keystone Symposia on Molecular and Cellular Biology and will be held from Feb 02 - 05, 2020 at Keystone Resort, Keystone, Colorado, United States of America. Description This conference focuses on the neural mechanisms underlying our senses of touch, body position or proprioception, temperature, itch, and pain (collectively called somatosensation). Somatosensation plays a major role in our daily experiences. It enables us to feel comfort from the gentlest of a caress, enjoy the coolness of a drink of water on a hot day and coordinate movements such as walking, jumping and eating. It alerts us to potential dangers in the environment allowing us to avoid harm. Somatosensory input evokes intense sensations that produce our strongest emotions (love and pain) and these help bind experiences to our memory. Dysfunction in somatosensation results in a range of clinical conditions from chronic itch and pain that cause suffering, attentional impairment, sleep disruption, despair and inability to have normal social interactions. The neural circuits and computations that convert somatosensory input into perception are almost completely unknown. However, recent advances in molecular genetics, single-cell sequencing, viral tracing, neuroimaging, high-density extracellular recording, and mouse behavioral paradigms are giving rise to breakthroughs in our understanding of the neural basis of somatosensation.  The proposed Keystone conference will begin to bridge this gap by bringing together the efforts of molecular-geneticists, physiologists, behaviorists, and computational scientists using a variety of approaches including in vivo recordings, population imaging, real-time manipulation of neurons in awake behaving animals, advanced microscopic approaches to understand connectivity, and computational approaches to model somatosensation. The conference will thus bring together researchers studying aspects of somatosensation who do not normally have the opportunity to interact. By bringing these researchers together, it enables new collaborations and ideas which will provide the blueprints to understanding specific modalities (touch, temperature, itch, and pain) from the molecular detectors in the skin, to the neurons that transmit that information, to the experience and emotions these sensations evoke. We anticipate this meeting will be a landmark event where the newest and most novel concepts in somatosensory research will be discussed.  Additional details will be posted as soon as they are available.

42nd Annual Pulmonary and Allergy Update at Keystone is organized by National Jewish Health (NJH) and will be held from Feb 05 - 08, 2020 at Keystone Conference Center, Keystone, Colorado, United States of America. Who Should Attend: Allergists, Pulmonologists, Primary Care and Internal Medicine Physicians, Pediatricians, Physician Assistants, Advanced Practice Nurses, Registered Nurses and others working with adults and children with allergic and pulmonary disease. Accreditation and Designation Statements: Physicians: National Jewish Health is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians. National Jewish Health designates this live activity for a maximum of 14.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. Registered Nurses: Provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number 12724, for 15.0 contact hours. Purpose: Practical Education in a Collegial Setting The Pulmonary and Allergy Update highlights insights and recent advances in pulmonary medicine, asthma, allergy and immunology, presented by faculty from the leading respiratory hospital in the nation. Network with colleagues and nationally recognized experts, and learn the latest updates on management and treatment options for your patients. Workshops and small-group sessions provide great opportunities to discuss key issues and interesting cases with colleagues and National Jewish Health faculty. National Jewish Health has a 120-year history as the leading respiratory hospital in the nation and is the only hospital devoted fully to the treatment of respiratory and related illnesses. Lecture Topics: • Approaches to Non-Eosinophilic Asthma • Atopic Dermatitis – State of the Art and Emerging Treatment  • Bronchiectasis – Diagnosis, Management and Beyond • Chronic Rhinosinusitis Surgery – Where is it Helpful? • COPD A New Paradigm: Diagnosis and Treatment • Cystic Fibrosis – The Future is Bright • Food Allergy- is it a Real Problem? • Gastroesophageal Reflux versus Supraesophageal Reflux in Pulmonary Disease • How Lung Imaging Can Help the Clinician  • New Medical Treatments for Nasal Polyps • Severe Asthma, Current and Future Therapies • Systemic Sclerosis Interstitial Lung Disease: Best Practice Approaches to Clinical • Management • Vaping and Marijuana  Workshops: • Adult Allergy Cases • Adult Pulmonary and GI Cases • Adult Pulmonary Cases • Allergy Immunotherapy – The Recent Literature • Atopic Dermatitis Cases • Cystic Fibrosis Cases • Food Allergy Cases • Vaping/Marijuana Cases

36th Annual Children's National Symposium: ECMO and the Advanced Therapies for Cardiovascular and Respiratory Failure is organized by Children's National Health System and will be held from Feb 23 - 27, 2020 at Keystone Conference Center, Keystone, Colorado, United States of America. Description: This conference is jointly sponsored by Children’s National, Division of Neonatology and the George Washington University School of Medicine. The conference will address the educational needs of Pediatric and Adult Healthcare Workers involved in care of the neonatal, pediatric/adult patient in respiratory &/or cardiovascular failure. State-of-the-art presentations on the use and latest technologies related to Neonatal, Pediatric, and Adult extracorporeal life support (ECLS), nitric oxide, and state-of-the-art ventilation techniques will be presented. To enhance the audience’s knowledge in the area of the latest treatments of respiratory and/or cardiovascular failure and pathophysiology of diseases, this symposium will utilize didactic instructions, combined with panel discussions and short research presentations. Outcome data for neonatal, pediatric, and adult respiratory failure patients will also be presented. Limitations and complications of new therapies will be discussed by experts in the field. Additional details will be posted as soon as they are available.

New Insights into the Biology of Exercise (Q7) is organized by Keystone Symposia on Molecular and Cellular Biology and will be held from Mar 01 - 05, 2020 at Keystone Resort, Keystone, Colorado, United States of America. Description: Exercise and regular physical activity are widely recognized to be important for maintaining overall health and wellness. Furthermore, exercise has been proven to an effective therapy for the prevention and treatment of a variety of diseases including diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. The physiological response of selected tissues, such as skeletal muscle, heart, liver, adipose, and brain to exercise has been studied to varying degrees in healthy and unhealthy individuals; however, the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the acute responses and training adaptations to exercise remain poorly defined. The study of exercise is not a new field, but is receiving increased interest because of the many health-promoting benefits of regular aerobic and resistance exercise. In the proposed meeting, we have selected speakers who can present new findings related to the response of multiple organs/tissues (skeletal muscle, liver, adipose tissue, heart, vascular, brain) to exercise in both animal models and humans. Our goals are to 1) encourage discussion of the integrative multiple organ response to exercise, 2) encourage discussion and integration of basic and translational research, and 3) provide an environment for investigators to network and initiate new collaborations. Additional details will be posted as soon as they are available.

Charting a New Course for Heart Failure: From Discovery to Data (Q8) is organized by Keystone Symposia on Molecular and Cellular Biology and will be held from Mar 01 - 05, 2020 at Keystone Resort, Keystone, Colorado, United States of America. Description: Heart failure is global health problem of increasing prevalence, high morbidity and refractory mortality, for which there have been few impactful therapeutic advances. This unique multidisciplinary conference will bring together leading clinicians and scientists to share the latest insights on genetic, environmental, iatrogenic and pathophysiological mechanisms of heart failure – with specific sessions and workshops focused on advances in cardiac fibrosis, immunology, metabolism, regenerative medicine, biomedical engineering, and analytical approaches to large datasets of relevance to this disease. Although diverse, each of these sessions will address a scientific frontier in heart failure biology of potential therapeutic relevance, and will be framed to address an unanswered and important clinical question. This innovative format is purposefully planned to highlight translational opportunities in heart failure, and to provide a forum that encourages dialogue between cardiovascular researchers and trainees with distinct perspectives, but a common goal of making an impact in heart failure. Paired with a meeting on “New Insights into the Biology of Exercise” a joint session examining exercise physiology, and how it affects cardiac energetics and hypertrophy will be of interest to both audiences. Additional details will be posted as soon as they are available.

HIV Vaccines (X5) is organized by Keystone Symposia on Molecular and Cellular Biology and will be held from Mar 22 - 26, 2020 at Keystone Resort, Keystone, Colorado, United States of America. Description Development of effective prophylactic HIV vaccines, which remain urgently needed to halt the spread of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, has proved to be a challenge that intensive research efforts over more than 30 years have failed to surmount. However the prospects for an effective HIV vaccine have recently been transformed by a series of advances, which together suggest that induction of broadly-reactive antibodies that confer protection via neutralization and/or neutralization-independent mechanisms and elicitation of CD8 T cell responses that are capable of eradicating virus early after transmission may ultimately both prove achievable goals. This meeting will bring together interdisciplinary investigators whose complementary expertise is synergizing to inform HIV vaccine design and evaluation to discuss progress and outstanding challenges in i. design of immunogens and strategies for optimization of germinal center responses to elicit HIV-1 broadly neutralizing antibodies; ii. prospects for harnessing other antibody effector functions to confer protection; iii. approaches for eliciting rapidly-acting, efficacious HIV-specific CD8 T cell responses; and iv. use of novel technologies, animal model systems and small-scale clinical trials to inform vaccine development efforts. The concurrent meeting on HIV pathogenesis and cure will provide an opportunity for interaction between investigators working in these related areas, and for joint discussion of therapeutic vaccination strategies. Additional details will be posted as soon as they are available.