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The Division of Lung Diseases of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood
Institute recently sponsored a scientific workshop entitled Molecular Embryology of the Lung: Then, Now, and in the
Future. The workshop was organized to assemble scientific experts
with research programs focused on the molecular aspects of
developmental biology. Importantly, the expertise of these
investigators was not limited to the mammalian lung but encompassed
diverse biological systems. The presentations were structured to
summarize past and current progress toward understanding the mechanisms
and regulation of lung development and to promote discussion of
specific areas for future investigation, with a long-term goal
of targeting this information toward clinical application.
Through this workshop, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
provided an excellent forum for the discussion of state-of-the-art developmental biology relevant to the pulmonary system. In this context
and because the scientific content of the workshop is potentially of
great use to the pulmonary research community, Dr. David Warburton and
his colleagues were invited to prepare a brief summary of the
proceedings for publication in this journal. We trust that this summary
will be of use to the readership and look forward to further progress
in this very interesting and clinically relevant field of investigation.