Keystone Symposia on Molecular and Cellular Biology or Keystone Symposia is an internationally recognized

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

that annually hosts 50–60 conferences and symposia covering a range of research fields in the

life sciences This list of life sciences comprises the branches of science that involve the scientific study of life – such as microorganisms, plants, and animals including human beings. This science is one of the two major branches of natural science, th ...

and

biomedical sciences Biomedical sciences are a set of sciences applying portions of natural science or formal science, or both, to develop knowledge, interventions, or technology that are of use in healthcare or public health. Such disciplines as medical micro ...

. Most conferences are held in westward mountain venues in North America but conferences are held on six continents. The organization also hosts the annual Fellows Program for postdocs and early-career scientists from disadvantaged or underrepresented backgrounds. The 50th anniversary of Keystone Symposia occurred in 2022.

History

Believed to be inspired by European conferences located at ski resorts, Keystone was founded by C. Fred Fox, a professor of microbiology in the Molecular Biology Institute at

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

(UCLA), with sponsorship from International Chemical and Nuclear Pharmaceuticals (ICN). The organization was named the ICN-UCLA Symposium on Molecular Biology and held its first conference in

Palisades Tahoe Palisades Tahoe is a ski resort in the western United States, located in Olympic Valley, California, northwest of Tahoe City in the Sierra Nevada range. From its founding in 1949, the resort was known as Squaw Valley, but it changed its name in ...

at Squaw Valley,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

focusing on membrane research. The initial mission was “to provide an interdisciplinary forum for scientists working in new and rapidly emerging areas of basic and applied biological research” and California was selected to act as a counterweight to the number of related conferences on the eastern United States. Ties were severed with ICN in 1981 and UCLA in 1990. Keystone relocated to

Silverthorne The Town of Silverthorne is a home rule municipality in Summit County, Colorado. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the city is 3,887. History The town was named for Judge Marshall Silverthorn who served as the judge of the mine ...

, Colorado and became a division of The Keystone Center. Additionally, the name changed to Keystone Symposia on Molecular and Cellular Biology. Association with The Keystone Center ended after seven years. The Symposia went internationally from 2001 by hosting in Canada. Asia followed in 2005, Europe in 2006, Africa in 2007, Australia in 2009, and South America in 2013. In response to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

, the first virtual conference was held in 2020 and the format is referred to as eSymposia. Two years later was the 50th anniversary of Keystone Symposia. By that time, the organization has hosted approximately 1,600 meetings with 500,000 attendees.

References

External links

Keystone Symposia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keystone Symposia 1972 establishments Recurring events established in 1972 1972 establishments in Colorado Academic conferences

History

See also

References

External links