Project Summary/Abstract The 2022 Gordon Research Conference on Intrinsically Disordered Proteins “The Functional Role of Disorder in Biological Systems”, to be held June 26-July 1, 2022, in Les Diablerets, Switzerland, will address the relationship between biological functions of intrinsically disordered proteins and their roles in human diseases. Disordered proteins have important functional roles in cells, as well as being implicated as key players in a broad range of devastating human diseases, including neurodegenerative disorders, cancers and cardiomyopathies. Estimates of the relative fraction of human proteins that are entirely disordered or contain large disordered regions are between 40-50%. Despite their abundance and their critical roles in both normal function as well as in disease, our understanding of the functional mechanisms of disordered proteins is relatively poor. This underscores the importance of basic research aimed at this class of protein whose constituents do not adhere to the `structure/function' paradigm that has shaped our understanding of globular proteins, including our ability to target them with therapeutics. The topics presented at the 2022 IDP GRC will address molecular mechanisms in disordered proteins with a diverse range of native functions, including cell signaling, biomaterials, plants and circadian clocks. Additional talks will engage with mechanisms of disordered proteins relevant to disease. Moreover, there will be a number of talks addressing the emerging phenomenon of IDP-mediated phase separation, an area which links studies of function and dysfunction of disordered proteins. Key scientific objectives for the conference are as follows: Objective 1. To address how the basic physicochemical properties of IDPs relate to their unique functional mechanisms; Objective 2. To discuss dysregulation of IDPs in human diseases and how they may be targeted for therapeutic intervention; Objective 3. To address the role of disordered proteins in liquid phase separation that underlies cellular biomolecular condensates or membrane-less organelles We have also identified the following key logistical objective for the conference: Objective 4. To promote diversity and inclusiveness in the intrinsically disordered protein research community through funding to underrepresented groups.