Genomics and its successor approaches (transcriptomics, proteomics, etc.) are discovering remarkable variation in genes and their expression - but these discoveries are only the first step. The next step is discovering if/how/why this variation matters; i.e., affects the function and fitness of whole organisms in populations. Alongside the already well-established communities in biomedical and agricultural functional genomics, a new community is forming: evolutionary and ecological functional genomics, which seeks to understand the functional significance of genomic variation for wild organisms (microbial, plant, and animal) in natural biological communities. Doing so requires elucidating the biotic and abiotic challenges to function in natural environments, the molecular and cellular mechanisms used to meet these challenges, and the evolutionary mechanisms/processes that manipulate these mechanisms through time. Bringing ecological, functional, genomic, and evolutionary investigation to bear on a single species - sometimes a 'non-model' species' - can be a massive undertaking, and this community is presently grappling with how to mount such interdisciplinary efforts collaboratively and train young scientists to do so. This Gordon Research Conference is intended to be the conference of record for this community. It would (1) showcase the successes and achievements of the field to date; (2) examine novel models of collaboration, interdisciplinary training, and information management; (3) map out future directions and priorities.

The following is the program as of 10 July 2003. Revised programs will be posted if revisions are made.