2017 Neural Crest and Cranial Placodes GRC/GRS (GRS: February 4-5, 2017, GRC: February 5-10, 2017, Ventura, California

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The goal of the Neural Crest and Cranial Placodes Gordon Research Conference (NC&CP GRC) is to bring researchers together to exchange ideas, form collaborations, and mentor young scientists studying this area of fundamental biological research. The neural crest and cranial placodes are temporary structures in growing embryos that together build all the nerve cells outside the brain and spinal cord, such as the nerves that control the gut, the sense organs enabling our senses of smell, hearing and balance, and also the eye lenses, much of the skull, some cells of the teeth, and all skin pigment cells. The conference sessions will discuss the evolutionary origins of these essential structures, and how they work during development to form these different types of cells and organs. The NC&CP GRC is held in a setting that allows scientists at all levels to discuss problems and advances in studying these embryo structures. The program will also allow opportunities to mentor young scientists of all backgrounds, including an informal forum to discuss the professional growth and challenges women face in science, and a Graduate Research Seminar organized and run by junior scientists. This seminar enables junior researchers to present their data in an informal, peer-group setting, so they gain confidence and camaraderie, and includes a faculty-led Career Mentorship Panel discussion, "The Different Faces of Academic Research." A diverse set of speakers has been assembled, with 19 further talks, selected from submitted abstracts, to be presented by women, under-represented minorities, and junior researchers.The Neural Crest and Cranial Placodes Gordon Research Conference (NC&CP GRC) uniquely considers two distinct embryonic cell types, the neural crest and the cranial placodes, that have traditionally been studied separately. These embryonic structures together contribute to a wide variety of cell types during development, including the entire peripheral nervous system, sense organs, pigment cells, the craniofacial skeleton, and teeth. Neural crest and cranial placodes are derived from adjacent domains within the early ectoderm and their initial patterning is influenced by coordinated signals. They provide integrated, experimentally tractable systems for investigating a broad array of fundamental questions in cell, developmental, evolutionary, and systems biology. Study of neural crest cells has pioneered the understanding of fundamental properties of epithelial-mesenchymal transitions as well as cell migration, and has been instrumental in defining general stem cell properties across numerous tissue populations. The use of systems biology methods to construct the gene regulatory networks that control vertebrate development has been pioneered in the study of neural crest and cranial placodes. The emergence and diversification of the neural crest and cranial placodes is thought to have been critical for vertebrate evolution. This conference will bring together a diverse group of scientists in a collegial atmosphere to foster substantive discussions and promote collaboration. It will accelerate the exchange of information across different model systems, include an evolutionary perspective, promote technological innovations, and advance understanding of the underlying cellular mechanisms governing the formation, cellular behavior, and differentiation of these two critical embryonic populations.