FASEB SRC: The Lung Epithelium Conference: In Health and Disease

Project Summary The 2022 FASEB Summer Research Conference, "The Lung Epithelium in Health and Disease", is the 11th biannual conference in this area, bringing together developmental, cell and molecular biologists, geneticists, physiologists, clinicians and translational researchers with a primary interest in lung epithelial biology. The topics selected represent the cutting-edge of lung research and the program is planned to disseminate new findings with translational potential to accelerate progress toward novel therapies for lung disease. Topics include (1) molecular mechanisms of lung epithelial development, repair/regeneration, and plasticity (2) common and unique pathways of intra-epithelial communications in lung physiology and diseases, (3) interactions between lung epithelium and distinct immune cells, including in the context of COVID-19 infection (4) cutting-edge technologies including single-cell analysis approaches and ex-vivo models for investigating lung epithelial biology . In addition to the unique collection of research topics, this meeting provides a platform for new speakers, early stage investigators, and trainees. Twenty-three of 33 speakers (70%) have not spoken at this conference in the last four years, and sixteen of the 40 speakers/session chairs (40%) are women. Sixteen short-talk sessions are designated for trainees or new investigators. Specific efforts are being made to encourage participation by underrepresent minorities in the field. In addition to talks, there are 3 poster sessions and 4 "Meet-the-Experts" sessions to facilitate scientific and social interactions between all participants. By bringing the best of the lung epithelium research community together, the overall goal of this conference is to push the field forward towards innovative directions for basic research and novel therapeutics for important lung diseases, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pulmonary fibrosis, and bronchopulmonary dysplasia.