The Batsheva de Rothchild Seminar, the Aharon Katzir-Katchalski Meeting and the Israel Science Foundation Conference on the Biochemistry, Biology and Pathology of MAP Kinases 14-18 October 2012, Maale Hachamisha, Jerusalem Hills, Israel | Welcome Letter | Speakers | Program | Posters | Abstract | Venue | Registration | Sponsors | Directions | Contact Us Welcome Letter MAP Kinase cascades are evolutionary conserved, intracellular signal transduction pathways that respond to various extracellular stimuli and control a large number of fundamental cellular processes including growth, Program proliferation, differentiation, motility, stress response, survival and apoptosis. At present, four different mamma- Will be published lian MAP Kinase cascades have been identified, and named according to their MAPK components: ERK1/2, JNK, p38, and ERK5. These central cascades are very tightly regulated, but when dysregylated they often cause diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, inflammation as well as developmental and neurological disorders. There- Registration fore, gaining insights into these cascades is important for the understanding of fundamental processes as well Will be availble soon. as for developing drugs aimed to combat the various diseases. We are inviting all of you to participate in the meeting on The Biochemistry, Biology and Pathology of MAP kinases, which will be held in the beautiful venue of Ma'ale Hachamisha, Jerusalem Hills, Israel on 14-18 Octo- Important Dates ber, 2012. This meeting will combine talks from international leaders in the MAP kinase field with active cross- Will be publish soon. talk between scientists involved in different aspects of the multidisciplinary research of these important signaling components. The topics that will be covered include structural and mechanistical features of MAP Kinase, roles played by MAP Kinases in various organisms, and the importance of these kinases in development and disease. We believe that such a meeting would be of great importance to the Israeli and international scientific commu- nity, and wish all of us a very enjoyable and fruitful meeting. David Engelberg, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem – Co-chairperson Rony Seger, Weizmann Institute of Science – co-chairperson Arie Admon, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology Oded Livnah, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Ze’ev Paroush, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.