Project Summary/Abstract Support is requested for a Research Conference on Molecular Biophysics of Membranes. The 2020 conference will be the 16th in a highly successful 32-year series of conferences devoted to this area of research. Membrane structural biology and membrane biophysics are rapidly advancing fields. Over 70% of all drug targets are membrane proteins, but they are difficult targets due to numerous challenges. Technical developments in expression, purification, crystallization, and structure-determination of membrane proteins (including the revolution in cryo-electron microscopy methodologies) have fueled an exponential increase in the number of membrane protein structures that are solved annually. Developments in super-resolution microscopy have further resolved actions of membrane proteins in the context of their native environments. These and many other contemporary topics will be covered in a 4.5-day meeting with 8 scientific sessions and 1 keynote lecture. The 2020 summer conference includes a strong focus on topics relevant to neurobiology, including mechanosensation, ion channels & transporters, transmembrane signaling, membrane shape & complexity, sensor development, and membrane fusion/exocytosis, among others. The conference will bring together ~ 110 junior and senior scientists in a collegial atmosphere in Tahoe, CA, with 30 of them giving invited talks and an additional 17 selected to give short talks based on their submitted abstracts. All those not selected for short talks will have the opportunity to advertise their posters in single-slide “poster preview” talks. These opportunities and daily “meet the experts” lunch tables will promote networking between researchers of all career stages. Special topics for mentoring lunch tables will include diversity & inclusion practices, publishing, careers in biotech, and careers at teaching universities. Afternoon workshops/panels on diversity & inclusion, grant-writing, and computational/experimental collaborations will enhance the scientific sessions. The meeting has a long tradition of bringing together biophysicists, neuroscientists, cell biologists, and physiologists in an intimate setting to share the latest developments in their fields. Biophysicists and other basic scientists are exposed to interesting applied biological problems, and translational biologists learn about new ideas and techniques for studying and understanding molecular processes that happen in and around membranes. The requested funds will be used to support the registration and travel expenses of a diverse set of speakers and participants as well as child-care subsidies to enable more scientists to participate.