Project Summary The delivery of small molecules, proteins and biological drugs, nucleic acids, and other molecular therapies relies on the site of the disease-causing target within the body and is highly dependent on the ability to manage solubility, stability, biodistribution, and pharmacokinetics of the drug. The Drug Carriers for Medicine and Biology Gordon Research Conference (GRC) and its accompanying Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) provide key platforms for discussion and dissemination of critical developments in the design of drug delivery systems to meet the many unique challenges of this field. Addressing these issues requires an interdisciplinary approach that engages researchers in basic biology and physiology, chemistry, and physics that inform design as well as engineering and clinical perspectives. The GRC provides a unique environment that successfully brings these groups together to discuss and debate fundamental questions about delivery and to share new innovations in the field. The specific aims of this GRC/GRS are: 1) to provide a forum for discussion of the key barriers to delivery and physiological understanding to inform carrier design, 2) to facilitate discussion in an intellectually and culturally diverse environment, 3) to discuss new innovations and cutting-edge research, and 4) to create opportunities for early career investigators to build relationships and partnerships for professional advancement. These aims will be accomplished via a carefully curated program describing cutting edge research, elongated discussion sessions following each talk, four poster sessions to highlight research from early career investigators, and social events to facilitate idea exchange and networking. The subtitle for the 2024 GRC in Drug Carriers for Medicine and Biology is: “Drug Carrier Design for Cell and Tissue Specific Delivery”. Areas of focus include lipid nanoparticle-mediated delivery, therapeutic carriers for reproductive health, biomaterials, immunoengineering-enabling delivery systems, nanosystems, cell and tissue-selective delivery, and sensing. The GRS that precedes the GRC enables graduate students and postdoctoral researchers to examine the field and address important questions from their own perspectives as early investigators while also providing important networking opportunities. Speakers will be selected from research trainees across a broad range of institutions and disciplines. The 2024 GRS theme, which is “Trafficking, targeting, and tropism-based strategies for the localization of drug carriers”, will provide a forum for discussion that connects ongoing laboratory research with issues that might ultimately determine translational success, such as off-targeting. The GRS will also feature a plenary speaker who will provide a deep perspective on this question and discussion leaders chosen to provide background and perspective during the discussions.