The conferences bring together scientists from various backgrounds with a common interest in - but varying approaches to - the topic of the conference.
To maintain a suitably high level of discussion and presentation at the conference, it is desirable that participants be experienced in the field covered; most of the participants will be expected to have postdoctoral or equivalent experience, although Ph.D. students will also be welcome.
The planned scientific sessions feature speakers invited by the Organizers and, in addition, time is left for extensive discussion and for short contributions, including posters, by other conference participants.
The field of gene expression has recently entered a new era characterized by a detailed understanding of the structure and function of multisubunit RNA polymerases (
RNAP2010s), which are responsible for the transcription of all cellular genomes across the three domains of life. Structural information at high resolution is now available for bacterial, archaeal and eukaryotic RNAP2010s, which in combination with sophisticated biochemical and biophysical approaches has given us an unprecedented opportunity to characterize the molecular mechanisms of transcription at the atomic level.
Nevertheless, so far there has been no common international platform in the form of conferences or workshops that bring together top-ranking scientist s from the UK and abroad, dedicated to transcription systems from all three domains of life. This Harden Conference has that specific aim. Rather than formatting this meeting according to disciplines and domains, we are attempting a synthesis of information and discovery by structuring the sessions into discrete molecular events in gene expression, including the phases of the transcription cycle, gene-specific and global regulation, and the spatial organization of transcription. Each speaker session contains contributions of world leading scientists from every domain of life (Bacteria, Archaea and Eukarya) thus highlighting common, and contrasting distinct molecular mechanisms of RNAP2010 in a manner that illuminates the evolution of the transcription machinery.
In addition to the speaker and poster sessions, the meeting includes two workshops concerned with single molecule approaches of transcription and the phenomenon of transcription foci and factories.
Topics- Evolution
- Molecular engines
- Molecular mechanisms
- RNA polymerase
- Transcription
All fees include accommodation for 22, 23 and 24 September, lunches and refreshments and evening meals for the duration of the meeting.
