The Future of Salivary Gland Research

描述（由申请人提供）：本申请为一个为期一天的会议寻求部分支持，以探索唾液腺研究的未来。虽然技术和科学的进步增加了这一领域的就业机会，但似乎资深研究人员正在追求其他职业道路，而新的研究人员没有进入唾液腺研究领域。这反映在NIDCR在唾液研究的不同领域支持的赠款数量上。例如，1996财政年度的赠款数目约为97项，2001财政年度的赠款数目约为90项。显然，NIDCR收到的新唾液腺资助申请和颁发的奖项数量缺乏增长。因此，会议的主要目的是发起不同科学学科的研究人员之间的对话，以便：I)制定吸引新研究人员进入唾液腺研究领域的策略；Ii)为有经验的唾液腺研究人员探索培训机会；iii)确定可以应用于唾液腺研究的新的科学进展。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This application seeks partial support for a one-day conference to explore the future of salivary gland research. While technological and scientific advances have increased the career opportunities in this field, it appears that senior investigators are pursuing other career paths and new investigators are not entering the field of salivary gland research. This is reflected by the number of grants supported by the NIDCR in the different areas of salivary research. For example, in fiscal year 1996 the number of grants was about 97, and in fiscal year 2001 this number was about 90. Clearly, there has been a lack of growth in the number of new salivary gland grant applications received and awards made by the NIDCR. The primary purpose of the conference is therefore to initiate dialogue among researchers in different scientific disciplines in order to: I) develop a strategy for attracting new investigators to the field of salivary gland research; ii) explore training opportunities for experienced salivary gland researchers; and iii) identify new scientific advances that can be applied to salivary gland research. The conference will be held in February 2, 2003, immediately to precede the Gordon Research Conference entitled "Salivary Glands and Exocrine Secretion" to be held February 2-7, 2003 in Ventura, California. The proposed conference will provide a much needed forum for presentation and extensive discussion of: (1) The current status of salivary gland research and evolving questions, (2) Emerging fields and future areas of research emphasis, (3) How to encourage new investigators to enter the salivary gland field, (4) Mechanisms for promoting interactions between experienced exocrine biologists and new investigators in complementary fields, (5) Collaborations between basic and clinical researchers and, (6) Available support mechanisms, including training programs. A specific attempt has been made to identify the next generation of potential salivary gland researchers and invite them to present their current research programs and to elucidate how such scientific advances can be introduced to salivary research.