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Integration of Structural and Functional Genomics
September 22-25, 2005

The fourteenth annual Growth Factor and Signal Transduction Conference was held September 22-25, 2005 at the Scheman Building on the Iowa State University campus in Ames, Iowa. The symposium was jointly sponsored by the Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology of Iowa State University and the USDA-MGET Training Grant in Computational Biology for Animal Agriculture; with additional grants from the NSF Division of Integrative Organismal Biology, Center for Integrated Animal Genomics, Iowa State University Biotechnology Council, Laurence H. Baker Center for Bioinformatics and Biological Statistics, and the USDA National Needs Training Grant in Animal Biotechnology.

Topics for the conference were:

Current Progress in Genomics Integration
Integrating QTL Mapping, Expression Data and Phenotype
Understanding Gene Networks
Comparing Genome Sequences Across Animal Species
Comparing Genomics to Illuminate Animal Biology
Integration of Strategies to Understand Complexity

Speakers and participants submitted abstracts for posters and short oral presentations of their research. The atmosphere was informal and the format allowed for exstensive discussion both during and between sessions. An important purpose of the symposium was to promote new collaboration and interdisciplinary interactions between individuals who might not have encountered each other in a less focused meeting. By doing this, a broad spectrum of participants, ranging from distinguished scientists to highly promising students and post-doctoral fellows attended the annual symposium. This was a valuable educational opportunity for the students and post-doctoral fellows to have a chance to interact with leading researchers in the field as well as focus on a current topic in plant biochemistry and molecular biology.

The organizing committee consisted of: Christopher Tuggle, Chair, Department of Animal Science, Iowa State University; Marit Nilsen Hamilton, Organizer, Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology, Iowa State University; Thomas Casavant, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Iowa; Jack Dekkers, Department of Animal Science, Iowa State University; Vasant Hanovar, Department of Computer Science, Iowa State University; Robert Jernigan, Plant Sciences Institute and Baker Center, Iowa State University; James Reecy, Department of Animal Science, Iowa State University.

The Plenary Speakers for the 2004 Conference were:

• Carol Bult, The Jackson Laboratory
From Information to Understanding: Data Integration Strategies for Comparative and Functional Genomics

• David W. Burt, Roslin Institute

The Chicken Talpid3 Mutant Is Defective in a Novel Protein Essential for Sonic Hedgehog Signalling - An Application of the Chicken Genome in Developmental Genomics

• Michael Cusik, Dana Faber Cancer Institute
Interactome Networks

• Arial Darvasi, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life sciences, The Hebrew University
SNP-based Studies for the Genetic Dissection of Complex Traits in Mice and Humans

• Suzzane Gaudet, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Signaling Networks Governing Cytokine-Induced Cell Death Decision

• Eric Green, National Human Genome Research Institute
Comparative Genome Sequencing: Using Evolution to Decode the Human Genome

• Chris Haley and D.J. de Koning, Roslin Institute
Genetical Genomics in Livestock: Potentials and Pitfalls

• Alexander Hartemink, Duke University
Machine Learning and Functional Genomics

• Ina Hoeschele, Virginia Tech
Genetic Mapping of Genes and Gene networks

• Howard Jacob, Medical College of Wisconsin
Chromosome Substitution Strains: Linking Complex Diseases to Systems Biology

• Harris Lewin, University of Illinois
The Dynamics of Mammalian Chromosome Evolution

• Dan Nettleton, Iowa State University
Identifying Genes Associated with a Quantitative Trait or Quantitative Trait Locus via Selective Transcriptional Profiling

• Z. Meral Ozsoyoglu, Case Western Reserve University
Genomic Pathways Database and Biological Data Management

• Daniel Pomp, University of North Carolina
The Genomic Architecture of Obesity Predisposition: Integrating Function and Recombination to Understand Complex Traits

• John Quackenbush, The Institute for Genomic Research
Extracting Biology from High Dimensional Expression Datasets

• Eric Schadt, Rosetta Inpharmatica LLC
Tissue, Environmental, and Gender Effects on the Topology of Genetic Networks

• Abel Ureta-Vidal, European Bioinformatics Institute
Comparative Genomics Data in the Ensembl Project

• Zhaolei Zhang, University of Toronto
Annotation of Intergenic Regions of the Human Genome - Evolutionary and Comparative Approaches

Short talks were given by:
-Deborah J. Good, University of Massachusetts
Genetic Analysis of NHLH2 in Animal Body Weight Control
-K.-Y.A. Kim, University of Iowa
EQTL Mapping in the Mammalian Eye
-Gabriela Pavlinkova, University of Nebraska Medical Center
Altered Gene Expression in Embryos Exposed to Maternal Diabetes
-Kelly Robbins, University of Georgia
Classification of Incipient Alzheimer Patients Using Gene Expression Data: Dealing with Potential Miss-Diagnosis
-J. Michael Salbaum, University of Nebraska Medical Center
Discovery of Gene Regulatory Elements at Genome Scale
-Annie P. Chiang, University of Iowa
Computational Approach to Elucidate the Gene Rearrangement Mechanism:
Applications in Prioritizing Deletion/Duplication Candidate Regions Within a Gene

Symposium Office
3208 Molecular Biology Building
Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa 50011-3260 USA
TEL: 515-294-7978 FAX: 515-294-2244
gfst@iastate.edu