Conference: 37th Annual Gibbs Conference on Biothermodynamics

The 37th Annual Gibbs Conference on Biothermodynamics will be held at the Touch of Nature Outdoor Education Center in Carbondale, Illinois on October 14-17, 2023. The Gibbs Conference brings together researchers with similar interests in understanding how changes in structure and energetics manifest in biological function. This conference provides a unique opportunity for scientific exchange and collegial interactions among researchers, while fostering the professional growth of early career trainees and promoting an equitable, accessible, and inclusive biothermodynamics community.

The 2023 conference will bring together scientists from across the country as invited speakers and create numerous opportunities for early-career and trainee scientists to connect with peers and mentors.

Biological thermodynamics aims to understand the energetics of chemical processes that lead to biological function. Modern biothermodynamics has evolved new ideas with the use of technological advancements to probe the basic tenets of allostery. More broadly, biothermodynamics now includes structural biology to help link the gap between structure, energetics, and function.

To move the field forward, there is a need to bring together various disciplines. The field is now at the intersection of computational methodologies, detailed kinetic investigations, structural biology, molecular biology, high- throughput approaches, and classical thermodynamics. Combining these diverse disciplines will lead to new developments in all areas of biology.

Developments in modern biothermodynamics not only continue to identify fundamental principles of allostery but are also leading to the development of new approaches and methodologies to study protein-protein and protein-ligand interactions, enzymes, and their cellular pathways. This meeting is supported by the Molecular Biophysics Cluster of the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.