The SRBR 2018 Meeting: Fostering Training and Diversity in Biological Rhythms Research: Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort, in Florida, May 12-16, 2018

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Living organisms have developed endogenous biological rhythms to predict and adapt to the oscillating environment (e.g. day/night cycles, seasonal variations). Biological rhythms touch upon all aspects of biology and ecology, with huge impacts on society, biodiversity and economy. Biological rhythms include circadian (or daily) rhythms as well as faster rhythms of seconds, hours or days in behavior and physiology on one end, and slower rhythms, such as those that relate to the annual environmental changes (migrations, seasonal changes in reproduction or physiology). Biological clocks are ubiquitous (from single-celled organisms to humans), and their interaction with systems at all levels of organization (from single molecules to ecosystems) have placed biological timing systems at a paramount node that impacts human society on many fronts, in part represented by the awarding of the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine to pioneers in this field. Our growing knowledge of the basic science of biological clocks is changing decision-making in public health, education, labor and the environment. These are all questions addressed at the 2018 Society for Research on Biological Rhythms (SRBR) conference. The overall objectives of SRBR 2018 are to showcase new research directions, integrate newcomers in the field brought into our community through targeted recruitment, and design training and mentoring efforts directed to young and underrepresented investigators. All these initiatives will bring the biological rhythms field forward, enhancing the impact of this knowledge in multiple aspects of society.More than ever, there is a need for collaboration between specialists of biological rhythms and scientists from other fields of science, and for increased awareness of the pervasive and crucial importance of biological rhythms. With this in mind, the 2018 SRBR meeting in Fernandina Beach, Florida, aims to build bridges between scientists of various fields, between generations of researchers, and with various end users and targets audiences. The meeting also embraces comparative approaches, using both non-model and model organisms, and laboratory as well as field studies. SRBR 2018, which has grown to attract over 700 attendees, focuses on the breadth of topics that represent key research areas in chronobiology, including molecular biology, genetics, cell biology, neurobiology, physiology, metabolism, behavior, sleep, and mathematical modeling. In particular, this award allows the meeting organizers to enhance meeting aspects directed towards trainee professional development as well as increasing attendance of underrepresented minorities and attendees from low-income countries. This is achieved by providing trainees and junior faculty with multiple professional development and mentoring opportunities (including our acclaimed full-day Professional Development Day). The organizers also stimulate attendance by underrepresented groups and researchers from low income countries via multiple initiative, including incentive funding and active inclusion of minorities in committees and scientific sessions.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.