The Future of Salivary Gland Research

描述(申请人提供)：此申请寻求部分支持为期一天的会议，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职业机会，但高级调查人员似乎正在寻求其他职业道路，新的调查人员并未进入唾液腺研究领域。NIDCR在唾液研究的不同领域支持的赠款数量反映了这一点。例如，在1996财政年度，赠款数目约为97，而在2001财政年度，这一数字约为90。显然，NIDCR收到的新的唾液腺赠款申请和奖励的数量一直没有增长。因此，会议的主要目的是启动不同科学学科的研究人员之间的对话，以便：i)制定一项战略，吸引新的研究人员进入唾液腺研究领域；ii)探索经验丰富的唾液腺研究人员的培训机会；以及iii)确定可应用于唾液腺研究的新科学进展。 会议将于2003年2月2日举行，紧接着将于2003年2月2日至7日在加利福尼亚州文图拉举行的题为“唾液腺和外分泌”的戈登研究会议之前举行。拟议的会议将提供一个急需的论坛，供介绍和广泛讨论： (1)唾液腺研究的现状和发展中的问题； (2)新兴领域和未来研究重点领域； (3)如何鼓励新的研究人员进入唾液腺领域， (4)促进有经验的外分泌生物学家和互补领域的新研究人员之间互动的机制； (5)基础和临床研究人员之间的合作， (6)现有的支持机制，包括培训计划。 已经进行了一项具体的尝试，以确定下一代潜在的唾液腺研究人员，并邀请他们介绍他们目前的研究计划，并阐明如何将这种科学进步引入唾液研究。

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.