CONFERENCE: 24th International Conference on Arabidopsis Research to be held June 25-28, 2013 at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Sydney, Australia

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Intellectual Merit: The 24th International Conference on Arabidopsis Research (ICAR) will be held June 25-28, 2013 at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Sydney, Australia. The success of research on Arabidopsis thaliana has been greatly facilitated by the openness and collegiality of the community, fostered through multiple international forums including ICAR, which brings together approximately 1,000 participants to exchange scientific results and report on progress in the field. The conference will cover a broad range of important topics including Evolution and Natural Variation; Small RNAs, RNA and Epigenetics; Transgenerational Inheritance; Development; Hormones; Cell and Organelle Biology; Intracellular Signaling; Cell to Cell Communication; Abiotic Stress; Biotic Stress/Interactions; Energy Biology/Metabolism; Photosynthesis and Water; Phenomics; Proteins and Posttranslational Regulation; Emerging Technologies and Systems Biology; Emerging Topics and What's Hot, and Translational Biology. There will also be a series of satellite meetings on plant energy biology, epigenetics and high-throughput plant phenomics. The meeting will include a special tribute in memory of Simon Chan, a highly talented early-career U.S. scientist who tragically passed away in 2012. The "Simon Chan Symposium" will feature presentations in the research area in which he performed his groundbreaking studies, notably, by demonstrating the practical feasibility in Arabidopsis of "reverse breeding", one of the most sought goals of plant breeding. Broader Impacts: ICARs have proven to be an extremely effective venue for exposing young scientists to the field and for encouraging interactions between younger and more senior researchers. In addition to platform talks the conference will include 36 speakers chosen from submitted abstracts with an emphasis on presentations by students, postdoctoral researchers, and faculty members at early stages of their careers. There will also be community-organized workshops that allow additional speakers to present their research. This will ensure presentation of the latest results and provide important career development for young scientists. The ICARs, which provide the primary annual opportunity for scientists in the Arabidopsis community, as well as other plant biologists to meet and share the latest research, are a key component in the continuing success of the worldwide Arabidopsis community. ICARs have proven to be a highly effective venue for enhancing information exchange, creating new networks and establishing new collaborations. The ICARs are also critical to facilitate higher-level organization of the plant research community by providing a venue for groups like the International Arabidopsis Informatics Consortium, the Multinational Arabidopsis Steering Committee, and the North American Arabidopsis Steering Committee to convene annually. These meetings allow discussions of the current status of the international Arabidopsis community as well as development of future plans and research directions. Ensuring the participation of scientists from diverse backgrounds is critical to the vitality of science in the U.S. A key goal is to increase participation among under-represented minority scientists and early-career scientists. To this end, participation will be supported for under-represented minority scientists and faculty from Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Minority Serving Institutions, and 1890 Institutions. In addition, participation of graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and beginning investigators will be fostered through travel awards to attend the conference. The conference program and abstracts will be publicly available on the conference website and archived at the Arabidopsis database.