Participant Support for Gordon Research Seminar & Gordon Research Conf on Signal Transduction in Engineered Extracellular Matrices; Les Diablerets, Switzerland; 30 May-5 June 2026

The extracellular matrix (ECM) is the dynamic biological scaffolding that surrounds cells in every tissue and organ of the human body. Far from a passive support, the ECM actively directs cell growth, repair, and specialization. Disruption of these processes can lead to cancer, cardiac and pulmonary fibrosis, reproductive disease, and other conditions affecting millions of Americans. Engineering the ECM offers transformative opportunities for regenerative medicine, cell-based therapies, human "organ-on-chip" disease models, and accelerated drug discovery. The 2026 Gordon Research Conference (GRC) and Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) on Signal Transduction in Engineered Extracellular Matrices (STEEM), held 30 May to 5 June 2026 at Les Diablerets, Switzerland, will convene approximately 200 scientists from US and international universities, national laboratories, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, and clinical institutions to share unpublished discoveries and forge collaborations that strengthen American innovation and competitiveness. The 2026 STEEM meeting focuses on the theme of Matrix Matters and Designing Tissues Through Biological and Computational Insight and feature seasons to brainstorm how the field can: 1) Combine mechanics and synthetic peptides and proteins to create dynamic materials; 2) Develop bioinstructive materials that shed light on organogenesis, immune activation, and fibrosis mechanisms; 3) Exploit computational modeling, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and systems biology to predict material and cell co-evolution; and 4) Deploy engineered ECM to fabricate human organ therapies and model systems. The award provides Support for Gordon Research Seminar & Gordon Research Conference on Signal Transduction in Engineered Extracellular Matrices; Les Diablerets, Switzerland and directly advances NSF's mission to strengthen the domestic STEM workforce. NSF support will be directed exclusively to registration and travel for US-based graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and early career investigators. The program embeds extensive trainee development, including 13 designated Early Career Investigator speaker slots, contributed talks selected from submitted abstracts, six poster sessions across the GRS and GRC, and a Career/Professional Panel pairing trainees with mentors from academia, industry, government, and science communication. More than half of participants will be students, postdocs, or early career investigators, and outreach prioritizes applicants from across institution types — including primarily undergraduate institutions and community colleges — consistent with NSF's priorities. The scientific interactions and GRC format is likely to accelerate translation of fundamental ECM science into therapies and technologies of broad societal benefit while building the collaborative infrastructure that sustains American leadership in biomechanics, bioengineering, and biotechnology. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. NSF Award ID: 2625332 | Program: 01002627DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT | Principal Investigator: Kelly Stevens | Institution: Gordon Research Conferences, EAST GREENWICH, RI | Award Amount: $10,000 View on NSF Award Search: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/show-award/?AWD_ID=2625332 View on Research.gov: https://www.research.gov/awardapi-service/v1/awards/2625332.html