2022 Marine Natural Products Gordon Research Conference and Seminar - Project Summary
Natural products research has contributed tremendously to human health and well-being, providing unique
opportunities in animal health and agriculture as well as human disease treatment, as exemplified by the work
of Nobel Laureates Tu Youyou (anti-malarial artemisinin) Satoshi Õmura (anti-parasitic avermectin). The
evolution of natural products as potentially multifunctional ligands with highly specific affinities for disease-
relevant targets has provided opportunities to develop therapeutic agents for cancers, infectious diseases and
neurological disorders in particular. Natural products from the marine environment have provided unique
molecular scaffolds that interact with cellular macromolecules and signaling pathways to effect changes in
phenotype and physiology distinct from those caused by molecules from other sources. Multi-omics era
transformational advances in the molecular genetics of natural product biosynthesis, and analytical technologies
for characterizing natural products in the context of complex biological systems, stand to be leveraged further by
computational tools that incorporate machine learning for accelerated and early determination of natural product
structure and biological function. The 2022 Marine Natural Products Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) and
Gordon Research Conference (GRC) is planned for March 6-11, 2022, in Ventura, California. The GRS is a
unique forum for graduate students and postdocs to present and exchange new data and innovative ideas across
the scope of basic and applied marine natural products research for human health and well-being. The GRC will
bring together early career and established researchers from academia, industry, and government (including all
of the GRS participants) to address the discovery, characterization and functional development of marine natural
products. Presentations and discussion will address the molecular targets of biologically active natural products,
including super resolution molecular imaging for natural product mechanisms; computational approaches to
functional natural products discovery from complex mixtures; phenotypic screening for natural products
discovery, synthetic biology for natural product engineering, synthetic strategies for natural product lead
development, marine natural products in clinical development, and climate change and environmental solutions.
Graduate students and postdocs will gain experience in poster and oral presentations at the short-format GRS
immediately prior to the GRC, and thus be poised to develop career opportunities and new collaborations during
the GRC via direct interaction with established leaders in the field. The collegial atmosphere of the GRS and
GRC will foster innovative collaborations that bridge scientific disciplines and exchange of ideas among leaders
in the field and new participants. NIH support will be directed towards participation of graduate student and
postdoctoral presenters and discussion leaders at the GRS and GRC, as well as GRC presenters who are female
and or from under-represented groups.
