Conference: 2026 Centromere Biology Gordon Research Seminar

The sixth Gordon Research Conference (GRC) and Seminar (GRS) on Centromere Biology will be held in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, July 26–31, 2026. This meeting will bring together researchers at all career stages, from graduate students to senior faculty, representing disciplines across genetics, epigenetics, genomics, biochemistry, biophysics, and cell biology, to advance understanding of centromere function and its essential role in chromosome segregation. Sessions will focus on the genetic, epigenetic, and structural mechanisms that specify and regulate centromere identity, with particular emphasis on how recent breakthroughs in long-read sequencing technologies, AI-driven computational tools, and advanced bioinformatics approaches have transformed the ability to resolve and interrogate these highly repetitive genomic regions, and deepen understanding of their functions. The engagement of senior scientists with junior researchers through talks, poster sessions, and dedicated mentorship activities remains a central priority of both the conference and seminar.

The science presented at the Centromere Biology GRC and GRS will cover a wide range of topics, including the genomic and epigenetic basis of centromere specification, kinetochore assembly and chromosome segregation machinery, pericentromeric chromatin structure, pericentric heterochromatin and sister chromatid cohesion, centromere evolution across eukaryotes, centromere regulation in the germline, and the behavior of centromeres during mitosis and meiosis. Sessions will further address the role of centromeric transcription and non-coding RNAs in regulating centromere function, an emerging area with important implications for genome stability. The conference will also highlight emerging biotechnological applications, including genome editing tools and human artificial chromosome technologies that leverage foundational knowledge of centromere function. The breadth of disciplines represented, from genetics and cell biology to biophysics, structural biology, and computational modeling, combined with ample structured and informal opportunities for interaction among all career stages, is expected to generate new ideas and open new avenues of research. Career development activities will further prepare trainees to communicate and apply their findings across academic, industry, and policy settings. Beyond advancing fundamental knowledge of centromeres and the protein complexes that assemble upon them, the science presented will increase understanding of the broader mechanisms of genome stability, with direct implications for cancer, reproductive biology, infertility, and developmental disorders arising from chromosome mis-segregation and aneuploidy. Training of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows at this meeting will expand the critical mass of future investigators equipped to address fundamental questions in chromosome biology.

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.

Award Number: 2620577
Principal Investigator: Karen Miga
Funds Obligated: $5,000
State: RI