Xenobiotic Receptors - 2012 Summer Symposium
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31st Summer Symposium in Molecular Biology, July 22-24, 2012
Registration is now open for the 31st Summer Symposium in Molecular Biology, "Xenobiotic Receptors: Physiological Regulators and Mediators of Toxicity" which will be held at Penn State's University Park campus.
Xenobiotic Receptors include members of the nuclear and soluble
transcription factor superfamilies that serve as ‘xenosensors’ -
chemical signal detectors and gene expression modulators that filter
chemical signals arising from a diverse array of environmental and
endogenous substances. Upon activation, these receptors function to
regulate numerous physiological processes ranging from the metabolism of
steroids, pharmaceuticals and carcinogens, and in the control of
critical lipid, cholesterol, energy and inflammatory pathways.
The
31st Penn State Summer Symposium in Molecular Biology will bring
together preeminent scientists to focus on the most recent advances in
Xenobiotic Receptor research that underlie their biological modes of
action, and assess the impact of these processes on human health,
chemical disposition and toxicity. Special emphasis will include focus
on the receptors - CAR/PXR (constitutive androstane and pregnane X
receptors), the PPARs (peroxisome proliferator activated receptors), AhR
(aryl hydrocarbon receptor) and highlight technological advances in
comprehensive pathway analysis of these biological effectors.
The Summer Symposium is known to be a valuable resource for graduate education at Penn State and throughout the northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States and Canada.
The conference will be held at the upscale Nittany Lion Inn at Penn State University and is certain to be of broad interest to scientists engaged in all fields of basic research as well as those engaged as pharmaceutical and chemical industry scientists and government regulators.
An autonomous faculty program, the Eberly College of Science Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Summer Symposium in Molecular Biology has brought esteemed guest speakers to Penn State's University Park campus since 1982. Each year the subject matter changes based on the research interests of the faculty organizers. Past topics have included comparative and functional genomics, xenobiotic receptors in toxicology and carcinogenesis, metallobiochemistry, chromatic and epigenetic regulation of transcription, inflammation, innate immunity, and disease, and nutrition, genes and physical activity. On average, over 200 individuals attend this annual event. 
Typically three to four consecutive days in June, July, or August, there are often three to five oral presentation sessions, a poster session on submitted abstracts, an industrial exhibit featuring latest biotechnology-oriented products and services, and one to two evening keynote speakers. The latter sessions are open to the general public.
This internationally known program has the following objectives:
- broaden the body of knowledge relating to the symposium theme;
- provide a vehicle for information exchange and technology transfer between Penn State and other academic and industrial communities;
- provide an internationally recognized forum for molecular biology and biotechnology research and education, financially accessible to undergraduate and graduate students, and postdoctoral scholars who together comprise 75% of the attendees.
