Society for Women's Health Research sponsors 3rd Annual Conference on sex and gene expression

Meeting reports available for interested journals

SAGE III brings together invited participants in a variety of fields to discuss the molecular and cellular underpinnings of sex differences in biology. SAGE III will include discussion of cutting-edge research on model organisms for understanding sex differences in development, sex & gene expression in the immune system, and the interplay of steroid hormones, apoptosis, and carcinogenesis. In addition, workshops highlighting steroid hormone effects and gene imprinting and parent of origin effects will be held.

The following topics will be covered at the meeting:

The Multiple Effects of Mullerian Inhibiting Substance
Patricia Donahoe, MD, Harvard Medical School

Model Systems for Understanding Sex Differences in Development
Moderator:
Margaret Fuller, PhD Stanford University
Regulation of Gene Expression in Primary Spermatocytes by Male Specific Transcription Machinery

Valerie Reinke, PhD, Yale University
A Molecular Definition of Germline Development in the Model Organism C. elegans Bruce Baker, PhD, Stanford University
Sex, Flies and Developmental Fates

Panel Discussion: Model Systems for Understanding Sex Differences in Development (continued)
Panelists:
Art Arnold, PhD, UCLA
The role of sex chromosomes in sexual differentiation of the brain
Daphne Preuss, PhD, University of Chicago
Sexual Signaling on a Cellular Level: Lessons from Plant Reproduction

Panel Discussion: Sex & Gene Expression in the Immune System
Moderator:
Denise Faustman, MD, PhD, Harvard University
Reversal of Established Autoimmune Diabetes by Restoration of Endogenous � Cell Function

Panelists:
Caroline Whitacre, PhD, The Ohio State University
Sex Influences in Multiple Sclerosis
J. Lee Nelson, MD, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Fetal and Maternal Microchimerism in Human Health and Disease

Fetal Cells in Maternal Organs: The Good, the Bad, and the Pretty
Diana Bianchi, MD, Tufts University

Panel Discussion: Interactions Between Steroid Hormones, Apoptosis and Carcinogenesis Moderator:
Geoffrey Cooper, PhD, Boston University
Cellular Growth Control, Cancer, and Signal Transduction

Panelists:
Joyce Slingerland, MD, PhD, University of Toronto
The MAPK Pathway: New Molecular Targets for the Therapy of Hormone Resistant Breast Cancer
Diane Robins, PhD, University of Michigan
Genetic Variation of Androgen Receptor in Prostate and Breast Cancer

Panel Discussion: Interactions Between Steroid Hormones, Apoptosis and Carcinogenesis
Panelists:
Gloria Gronowicz, PhD, University of Connecticut Health Center
Estrogen Effects on Apoptosis in Bone
David A. Sullivan, PhD, Schepens Eye Research Institute, Harvard Medical School
Sex, Sex Steroids and Dry Eye Syndromes

Steroid Hormone Effects
Kimberly Leslie, MD, University of New Mexico
Effects of Estrogen and Progesterone on the Female Reproductive Tract

Gene Imprinting and Parent of Origin Effects
Marisa Bartolomei, PhD, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Regulation of Imprinting at the H19/Igf2 Locus

Extracting Biological Information from DNA Microarray Data
David Botstein, PhD, Stanford University School of Medicine

The Society for Women's Health Research will provide a 1000-1500 word summary of talks of interest upon request. To receive a detailed agenda and to request a meeting report, contact Sarah Gevers at SarahG@womens-health.org.