US-Mexican Workshop in Biological Chemistry: Protein Folding, Misfolding and Design; Mexico City, October 2010

This award supports a research workshop organized jointly by Marina Ramirez-Alvarado (Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN USA) and Alejandro Fernandez Velasco (Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Mexico City, Mexico). The main objectives of this symposium are: to provide a forum for a multidisciplinary discussion on protein folding, misfolding and design; to use this forum to introduce graduate students and young researchers to these research topics; to promote interactions between senior and young researchers in these fields from the two countries; and to identify potential collaborations among the participants. The workshop will be held at UNAM, Mexico City, March 18-21, 2011. The Mexican science agency CONACYT will support the Mexican participants.

The workshop will include research presentations and workshop discussions on the following topics: theoretical models of protein folding, experimental advances in protein folding, molecular mechanisms of protein misfolding, and recent advances and limitations of protein design. Better understanding of protein folding and misfolding is crucial to the study of the physiological activity of proteins. This workshop will provide an opportunity for closer interactions among senior researchers from the US, including Latin American researchers that have established their academic careers in the US, and investigators from Latin America and Mexico. Collaborations arising from this meeting will help to consolidate research networks throughout the continent. Moreover, this award provides fellowships for US students to participate in this educational opportunity. The interactions between students and the more senior researchers will certainly be fruitful, and the experience will encourage students to continue graduate and postdoctoral studies in the field. In the selection of invited speakers, proper attention has been paid to the inclusion of women and minority faculty members. Similar efforts are being made in the selection of student participants.