CONFERENCE: 2013 FASEB Meeting on Ciliate Molecular Biology to be held July 7-12, 2013 at the Steamboat Grand in Steamboat Springs, CO

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Intellectual Merit: The 2013 FASEB Conference on Ciliate Molecular Biology will be held July 7-12, 2013 at the Steamboat Grand in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The Ciliate Molecular Biology conference brings together scientists with diverse research interests who are united by a common thread--the use of ciliated protozoa as model organisms. The objectives of this meeting are to (i) disseminate new research information and ideas, (ii) share technical innovations, (iii) organize further development of community resources, and (iv) advance graduate and undergraduate research and education initiatives. This biannual meeting is the primary venue for disseminating information on new research tools, many of which exploit unique aspects of ciliate biology, to address diverse questions. To ensure that the 2013 conference promotes interactions between researchers at all career levels, the meeting is organized as a mixture of platform sessions, poster sessions, and workshops. The platform sessions are designed to provide general information about the most exciting advances in our understanding of ciliate biology as well as more specialized information pertaining to the main research areas in which ciliates are used. The poster sessions will provide opportunities for more personal interactions, especially for students and post-docs. A "Future Directions Workshop" will include discussion of bioinformatic resource and experimental tool development for genetics and cell biology research, population genetics, and evolution.Broader Impacts: One focus of the meeting will be on the use of ciliates in undergraduate research and classroom laboratories. This will be the topic of a workshop, which will be coupled to an undergraduate research mini-symposium, in which four undergraduate students will give oral presentations on their research findings. A special opportunity for interaction between individuals at all career levels will be formation of "topic tables" at dinnertime to engage individuals in discussions of important career-development subjects, such as developing an independent research program, grant writing, student/postdoc mentoring, conflict resolution, involvement in community initiatives, scientific outreach, and balancing teaching and research.