The 2015 Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Polyamines will present cutting edge studies on the regulation and role of polyamine pathways in cell physiology, development and human disease. The Polyamines GRC is the ultimate meeting in this field and the conference will cover a wide range of topics in basic, translational and clinical research. This GRC is attended by biologists, chemists, structural biologists and clinicians, and investigators from academia, biotech and pharmaceutical sectors. Indeed, the diversity of scientific disciplines is unique among GRCs and creates a remarkably stimulating environment. A major focus for the 2015 GRC will be to better understand the relationships between polyamine transport and polyamine metabolism in tumorigenesis. The meeting will also emphasize several new areas of basic polyamine research including provocative findings relating polyamines to thymidine metabolism and suicide. New insights into the mechanisms by which normal polyamine metabolism contributes to cell growth and autophagy and how these regulatory circuits are disabled or hijacked in other pathological states (e.g., in cancers, infection with parasites or bacteria, and neurodegenerative disorders) will be discussed. The highly collegial and collaborative atmosphere of this Conference, with programmed discussion sessions and ample opportunities for informal gatherings in the afternoons and evenings, provides the perfect environment for scientists to discuss and share ideas and to foster collaborations in the research areas represented.