Keystone Symposia: Mitochondrial Dynamics and Function

Mitochondria are no longer considered ?only? as the cellular thermodynamic converter: mounting evidence implicates them as key organelles in cell signaling, proliferation, aging, disease and death. Indeed, our view of this organelle was profoundly altered with the discovery that mitochondria function within a connected network that is continuously remodeled by fusion and division events. This reality has sparked and accelerated new scientific discoveries through the intersection of different fields about the functional roles and molecular features of mitochondrial behaviors. The interaction between the cell death and mitochondrial dynamics fields is the best example of such interplay and has led to the discovery that modulators governing cell death and mitochondrial dynamics, respectively, are in fact interacting with one another. This Keystone Symposia meeting uniquely builds on this rich interdisciplinary interaction, which continues to provide novel insights into the mechanisms underlying mitochondrial behavior and mitochondrial-associated diseases. Opportunities for interdisciplinary interactions will be significantly enhanced by the concurrent meeting on Cell Death Pathways: Beyond Apoptosis, which will share a keynote address and two plenary sessions with this meeting.