2024 DNA Damage, Mutation and Cancer Gordon Research Conference and Seminar

SUMMARY. The DNA Damage, Mutation and Cancer Gordon Research Conference (GRC) is a leading international scientific conference focused on advancing science through the presentation of cutting-edge and unpublished research, prioritizing time for detailed discussion after each talk, and fostering informal interactions

among scientists of all career stages. The conference is five days long and held in an accessible location (Ventura, CA, which is a shuttle ride from Los Angeles International Airport). The location is adjacent to a beach, which lends itself to leisure activities to foster informal interactions that are important to forge scientific

communities. Afternoon free time and communal meals also support such interactions, and two of the dinners will have “Theme Tables,” which involves trainees having the opportunity to sign up for specific tables that have been assigned to speakers and other notable attendees (e.g., senior scientists in industry and scientific editors).

The program includes a diverse set of invited speakers, with several additional slots for short talks to be selected from submitted abstracts by a selection committee. In addition to speaking presentation sessions, the conference has substantial designated time for poster sessions from individuals of all career stages. The conference will be

all-inclusive and emphasize trainee participation beyond the associated Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) pre- meeting for trainees that will precede the GRC. There will be a “Power Hour” session for attendees from all career stages for a guided discussion of support and growth of women in science, support for all

underrepresented population scientists, and aspects of work/life balance. Finally, as another mentoring component, we will request that all session chairs prioritize questions from trainees and junior faculty during the discussion sessions. The scientific focus of the program is research on defining basic mechanisms of the DNA

damage response (DDR) and leveraging this information for translational research on cancer biomarkers and therapeutics. The DDR is central to cancer biology. In addition to the importance of mutagenesis in the etiology of cancer, many treatment modalities involve the DDR, e.g., clastogenic chemotherapeutics, radiotherapy, and

synthetic lethality via PARP inhibitors and other emerging targets like DNA polymerase theta. Accordingly, the program covers the range from structural biology of key players in the DDR, mechanisms of mutagenesis and chromosomal rearrangements in cancer, DDR and DNA replication mechanisms as relates to mechanisms of

therapeutics, and mutations and deregulation of the DDR and cancer. In addition, since the importance of the DDR in cancer is related to its interplay with the immune system, there is a session on this topic. Finally, there is a session on the DDR in the brain, which is important for understand both neurodegeneration as well as

malignancies and metastasis to the brain. The sessions will include new approaches and technologies, and provide attendees a grasp of the current landscape of research on the mechanisms of the DDR through application of this knowledge to improve cancer treatment outcomes.