23rd Midwest DNA Repair Symposium

Abstract The 23rd Midwest DNA Repair Symposium (MDRS) will take place in Louisville, KY on June 1-2, 2024 at the Health Science Campus of the University of Louisville. The MDRS started in 1999 at the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor and has met at various universities in the Midwest every year since then except for

a 3-year hiatus imposed by the COVID19 pandemic. The Midwest DNA Repair Symposium was originally conceived as a forum to bring together DNA repair researchers from the Midwestern region on an annual basis to discuss ongoing research, to stimulate collaborations, and to interact with leading DNA repair

researchers in an informal atmosphere. In 2024, we will have 3 eminent DNA repair researchers as keynote speakers continuing the history of leading researchers gladly accepting the invitation. Additional goals of the MDRS include making the cost of attending the symposium as inexpensive as possible and to provide

early stage investigators, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students priority in presenting their work in oral and poster sessions. DNA repair is a fundamental cellular process critical to maintenance of genome integrity and human health. DNA repair dysfunction has been linked with many inherited diseases as well

as chronic diseases such as cancer, neurodegeneration, cardiovascular disease, and aging. The organizers are pleased that this symposia series has been very successful and has seen significant increase in attendance the past several years. One key to the success has been to keep the costs of attendance low. This low cost has been possible because the organizers for each year held the symposium

at their home institutions and have secured both intramural and extramural funding to cover some of the major expenses. Especially in times of restricted research funding, the MDRS is one quality conference to which PI’s have been able to bring their students and post-doctoral fellows to interact with leading scientists

in the field and to present their work among peers. To celebrate its 25th anniversary the MDRS is returning to Louisville for the third time in 2024. The three principal goals of the MDRS are: 1) to provide a venue for scientists mainly but not exclusively, from the Midwestern States to present and discuss current research

in the field of DNA damage, repair and mutagenesis, and to provide opportunities to foster scientific collaborations. (2) To provide students, postdoctoral fellows, and early stage investigators the opportunity to present their work to peers and to interact with leaders in the field. (3) To provide an exceptional value

of these symposia by keeping them affordable.