The goal of this application is to seek funding for the inaugural joint Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) and the Society for Physical Regulation in Biology and Medicine (SPRBM) Conference on Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering (CMBE) (29th SPRBM Annual Scientific Conference). The specific theme of 2011 joint conference will be: Molecular Imaging and Mechanotransduction. Both the BMES and the SPRBM realized the importance of Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering. In 2008, the BMES formed a new society journal, Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering. Now, the inaugural joint BMES-SPRBM Conference on CBME is the beginning of a new focus of the promising subfield in biomedical engineering and much needed forum for this exciting field and the new CMBE journal. The specific objectives of this R13 application are two-fold. The first is to provide funding support to invited Keynote speakers, junior researchers, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students whose submitted papers have been selected for podium presentation on the basis of scientific merits. The meeting will provide a platform for the development of long-term interdisciplinary interactions, and expose researchers in bioengineering, biology, and medicine to the latest ideas and opportunities at the confluence of molecular imaging and mechanotransduction. The second objective of this R13 application is to foster the emergence and growth of the exciting sub-filed of CMBE. The specific aims of this meeting are: Specific Aim #1: Delineate the current status of molecular imaging and mechanobiology. Leaders from the molecular/cellular/tissue biomechanics with interests and applications in molecular imaging and mechanotransduction fields will give an overview of molecular imaging concepts and review the current state of mechanobiology, as well as their research in molecular/cellular/tissue/ functions and tissue/organ regeneration. Specific Aim #2: Brainstorm the emerging field of cellular and molecular bioengineering with a focus on molecular imaging and mechanotransduction. Formulate a whitepaper regarding the field of cellular and molecular bioengineering and provide guidelines and blueprints for the cellular and molecular bioengineering field to BMES and SPRBM societies as well as the broad CMBE communities. The whitepaper will be published in the CMBE as the outcome of this joint conference. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The emerging Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering subfield is an important biomedical area in the new millennium. The goal of this application is to seek funding for the inaugural joint Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) and the Society for Physical Regulation in Biology and Medicine (SPRBM) Conference on Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering (CMBE). The conference will foster the emergence and growth of the exciting sub-filed of CMBE.