2026 Ligand Recognition and Molecular Gating Gordon Research Conference and Gordon Research Seminar - Project Summary The 2026 Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Ligand Recognition & Molecular Gating will be held from March 15th-20th at the Renaissance Tuscany Il Ciocco Resort, Italy. The GRC will be preceded by the related Gordon Research Seminar (GRS), which is organized by and for PhD students and postdocs (March 14th-15th). The topic is unique, as it addresses the structures, functional mechanisms and higher-order assemblies of three important classes of transmembrane proteins: ion channels, active transporters, and G- protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). These proteins are central to human physiology and their dysfunction leads to neurological, muscular, endocrine and metabolic diseases, making them therapeutic targets of more than 50% of current drugs. Understanding their isolated and integrated structure and function is essential to enable new opportunities for intervention, which ultimately will improve human health. In recent years the boundaries between the three protein classes have vanished, as we see protein families that comprise transporter, channels and receptors (e.g., ClCs, 7-TM proteins), and proteins that are natural chimera of channels with receptors (e.g., bestrhodopsin), pumps (e.g., K+-ATP-channel), or transporters (e.g., SLC9C1). Therefore, bringing together scientists who work on these three classes of membrane proteins is a timely and necessary endeavor. Originally, this GRC/GRS focused on the molecular mechanisms underlying ligand recognition, substrate translocation, regulation of function, and signal transmission; often addressed through a structural biology approach. However, with the recent breakthroughs in cryogenic electron microscopy it has become quite routine to solve structures of isolated membrane proteins, and thus challenges in the field have shifted. In this edition, we aim to modernize and direct the focus to current frontiers in the field, such as the study of the structure, function and interaction of these proteins with lipids, with partner proteins, in super- complexes, and ultimately in a cellular context. New structural methods such as cryo-electron tomography and native-mass spectrometry of vesicles or cellular compartments combined with computational approaches now allow to acquire an integrated structural characterization of these protein classes, while advanced single- molecule techniques allow to unravel kinetics and energetics avoiding ensemble averaging. The GRC/GRS on Ligand Recognition & Molecular Gating offers the ideal platform for the presentation and discussion of latest, unpublished research results, and formal and informal exchange between scientists at different career stages and from different continents. It will stimulate the establishment of new collaborations and promote enthusiasm for science among young researchers. The program will have about 40 invited speakers, a mix of invited well- established leaders and young investigators in the field, and postdoc and graduate student speakers selected from abstracts. In addition to platform and poster sessions, a “Career Advising” Session as well as a power-hour will foster in-person contact, networking and collegial advice.
