Calcium and Cell Function

PROJECT SUMMARY The objective of the 19th FASEB Summer Research Conference on Calcium and Cell Function is to stimulate discourse, seed new ideas, and promote collaborations to accelerate new discoveries on calcium signaling at the basic and translational levels. Calcium is a universal signaling molecule controlling a vast array of cell functions and thus plays an important role in the nervous, cardiovascular, and immune systems as well as many other organs. Basic science discovery into the physiology of calcium transporters and binding proteins has been accompanied by new insights into the pathophysiological role of abnormal calcium signals in numerous diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, cardiac arrhythmias, autoimmunity, and cancer. A comprehensive understanding of calcium signaling is essential for therapeutic development and is of high interest to scientists in academic and biotechnology sectors. This FASEB Summer Research Conference will be held from July 6-10, 2025, in Winnipeg, Canada. It will include three keynote addresses from leaders in calcium signaling: Masamitsu Iino (Nihon University, Japan), Tobias Meyer (Weill Cornell Medicine), and Thomas C Sudhof (Stanford University). It will be the most significant international meeting of the calcium field in 2025 and a forum where leading scientists from around the world come together to present and discuss their latest and most important research. The conference format comprises 8 sessions with 32 invited talks, 16 short talks selected from submitted abstracts, two poster sessions, and three Career Development sessions. Scientific talks will cover a wide spectrum of calcium signaling studies from basic to clinical research with a special emphasis on the nervous system and aging biology. This highly inclusive conference program is crafted to foster interactions between trainees, early career scientists, and established investigators. An important goal of this conference is to empower the next generation of scientists. To achieve this goal, we seek funding to support the participation of graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and early career investigators, with a special emphasis on including women, underrepresented minorities, and individuals with disabilities. The logistical arrangements of the conference will provide numerous opportunities for organized and spontaneous interactions, providing junior scientists opportunities to present their work, obtain valuable feedback from leaders in the field, and receive guidance for career development. Since its inception in 1984, this biennial conference has been very successful in bringing together leading investigators from diverse fields to share the latest and most exciting developments in Calcium and Cell Function. It continues to serve as a unique platform for researchers to exchange ideas and promote future collaborations in this dynamic field.