From chemistry-request@ccl.net Wed Mar 11 14:18:26 1992 Date: Wed, 11 Mar 1992 11:24:32 EST From: carmen@tethys.ph.albany.EDU Subject: Albany Conference Announcement To: chemistry@ccl.net Status: R * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * UPDATE: SECOND ALBANY CONFERENCE ON COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY "PATTERNS OF BIOLOGICAL ORGANIZATION" * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GENERAL DESCRIPTION The Second Albany Conference on Computational Biology will be held October 8-11, 1992 in Rensselaerville near Albany, New York. The aim of this conference (like that of the 1990 Albany Conference) is to explore the computational tools and approaches being developed in diverse fields within biology, with emphasis this year on topics related to organization and self-assembly. The conference will be designed to provide an environment for a frank and informal exchange among scientists and mathematicians that is not normally possible within the constraints of topical, single-discipline meetings. The theme of the Conference, "Patterns of Biological Organization", will be developed in five sessions on topics ranging from the level of sequence to the level of embryo development. Leading specialists in the various disciplines are being invited, with the degree of involvement in novel computational approaches as one of the most important criteria for selection. We are seeking an interdisciplinary audience, mathematicians, and computer scientists as well as biologists. All participants will be invited to submit abstracts for posters, although submission is not mandatory. Also, if funding permits, we will sponsor "young investigator" travel awards as we did in 1990 for the first Albany Conference on Computational Biology. CONFERENCE FORMAT The conference will consist of three morning and two evening sessions over a period of three nights and days (Thursday afternoon through Sunday morning). Each session will be comprised of four 30-minute talks interspersed by question-and-answer periods of 15-20 minutes. Afternoons are free for discussion and workshops (some planned, others impromptu). Tentative workshop topics include visualization tools and structure data bases. In addition, a workshop is planned for Thursday afternoon that will introduce non-biologists to the main issues of macromolecular and cellular structure to be addressed at the meeting. The following is an outline of the conference sessions, including a partial listing of confirmed speakers: Session 1 Sequence analysis and secondary structure ---------------------------------------------------- Discussion leader: Charles Lawrence Wadsworth Center, and State Univ. of New York, Albany 518-473-3382 CEL@BIOMETRICS.PH.ALBANY.EDU Speakers: David L. Waltz Thinking Machines, Inc., and Brandeis University Waltham, MA Jean Michel Claverie National Center for Biotechnology Information, NIH, Bethesda, MD Michael Zucker Stanford University Stanford, CA Session 2 Tertiary structure prediction ---------------------------------------- Discussion leader: George Berg State Univ. of New York, Albany 518-442-4267 BERG@CS.ALBANY.EDU Speakers: Rick Fine Biosym Technologies, Inc. San Diego, CA Stephen Bryant National Center for Biotechnology Information, NIH Bethesda, MD James Bowie University of California Los Angeles, CA Francois Michel Centre de Genetique Moleculaire, CNRS Gif-sur-Yvette, France Session 3 Macromolecular function ---------------------------------- Discussion leader: Jacquelyn Fetrow State Univ. of New York, Albany 518-442-4389 JACQUE@ISADORA.ALBANY.EDU Speakers: Judith Hempel Biosym Technologies, Inc. San Diego, CA Fred Cohen University of California San Francisco, CA Chris Lee Stanford University Stanford, CA Session 4 Recognition and assembly ----------------------------------- Discussion leader: Joachim Frank Wadsworth Center and State Univ. of New York, Albany 518-474-7002 JOACHIM@TETHYS.PH.ALBANY.EDU Speakers: David DeRosier Brandeis University Waltham, MA Phoebe Stewart University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA John Sedat University of California San Francisco, CA Session 5 Development ---------------------- Discussion leader: John Reinitz Yale Univ., New Haven, CT 203-785-7049 REINITZ-JOHN@CS.YALE.EDU Speakers: Michael Levine University of California San Diego, CA John Reinitz Yale University New Haven, CT George Oster University of California Berkeley, CA Brian Goodwin Open University Milton Keynes, UK Questions about individual sessions may be sent to the respective Discussion Leaders (phone numbers and email addresses provided above). For general conference information, you may contact any of the discussion leaders or any other member of the Organizing Committee (chair: Carmen Mannella) or Program Committee (chair: Joachim Frank). Phone numbers and email addresses of the other members of these committees are listed below: Jeff Bell, Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 518-276-4075 BELL@VAX1.CHEM.RPI.EDU Stephen Bryant, National Center for Biotechnology Information, NIH, Bethesda, MD 301-496-2475 (ext. 65) BRYANT@NCBI.NLM.NIH.GOV Carmen Mannella, Wadsworth Center and State Univ. of New York, Albany 518-474-2462 CARMEN@TETHYS.PH.ALBANY.EDU Patrick Van Roey, Wadsworth Center, Albany, NY 518-473-1336 VANROEY@TETHYS.PH.ALBANY.EDU CONFERENCE SITE The conference, one of the Albany Conference series held annually since 1984, will take place at the Rensselaerville Conference Center, located 30 miles southwest of Albany, NY in the Helderberg Mountains. The Institute offers on-campus facilities including a large auditorium with all necessary audio-visual equipment, and smaller conference halls for informal workshops and poster sessions. The Weathervane Restaurant, located on-campus and formerly the carriage house of the Huyck estate, provides meals and refreshments, while overnight lodging is available in the modern and classic estate houses. Rooms are assigned in advance to registrants, and transportation to and from Rensselaerville is provided from the airport, as well as train and bus stations. The rural, secluded setting of the conference, the limited number of participants and the scheduling of sessions in the morning and the evening -- leaving the afternoons free -- are intended to facilitate informal discussions among conference participants. REGISTRATION INFORMATION CONFERENCE FEE: $475 includes registration, accomodations (double occupancy), meals and transportation between the conference center and Albany airport. A limited number of single occupancy accomodations are available for an extra $100. Payment of the full fee will be required by AUGUST 31, 1992. Please note that neither the Albany Conferences nor the Rensselaerville Conference Center accepts credit cards. APPLICATION DEADLINE: July 31, 1992. For further registration information and a copy of the application form for the 1992 Albany Conference on Computational Biology, please call the conference coordinator, Carole Keith, 518-442-4327, FAX 518-442-4767, Bitnet: CAROLE@ALBNYVM1, or write to The 1992 Albany Conference, P.O. Box 8836, Albany, NY 12208-0836. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Individuals may also use the following "E-Mail application form" to register for this meeting: Name: Organization: Business Address: City: State: Zip: Business Phone: Fax: Because attendance is limited, please describe briefly your research interests or activities which explain your interest in participating in this conference. If you plan to submit a poster, please include its title and (if ready) a short abstract. (You will be asked to provide a one-page, camera-ready version of the poster abstract, using 1.5 inch borders, for the meeting workbook.) Send this E-mail application to CAROLE@ALBNYVM1 before the registration deadline (July 31). TRAVEL AWARDS Graduate students and postdocs who would like to be considered for a Young Investigators travel award should submit with their registration form a brief letter explaining his/her research interests. Graduate students should also include a letter of recommendation from a faculty advisor. Applications from members of groups that are underrepresented in this field (women and racial minorities) are encouraged.