Visual System Development 2008 Gordon Research Conference

描述（由申请人提供）：视觉系统发展的戈登研究会议（GRC）是一个两年一度的会议，汇集了利用无脊椎动物和脊椎动物动物模型研究视觉系统的发展，疾病和进化的研究人员。多年来，这个会议提供了一个令人兴奋的和独特的论坛，在其中探索的相似性和差异-脊椎动物和无脊椎动物的视觉系统。这个GRC的目标是促进对不同生物体中视觉系统的构建和功能的共同原则的理解，并分享最新的令人兴奋的新思想和概念。此外，这次会议将扩大其对疾病的重视;目标是鼓励受过传统训练的发育生物学家考虑将他们的工具和方法转向疾病问题。小组委员会会议的形式提供了一个高度互动和激励性的场所，供相互交流想法和发展新的合作。对这种感觉系统的发展有共同兴趣，但研究从苍蝇到哺乳动物的不同模型系统的科学家很少有其他科学互动的机会，因为其他相关的专业会议都集中在特定的生物体上（例如，果蝇会议，斑马鱼会议）或更广泛的领域（例如，神经科学学会、视觉和眼科学研究协会）。视觉系统开发GRC已经建立了作为该领域领先会议的声誉。目前的提案要求资金帮助支付美国科学家的旅费和会议费。在挑选发言人和讨论领导人时，认真注意性别和种族多样性，并注意吸收处于职业生涯各个阶段的科学家，他们都有令人兴奋的新工作可与同事分享。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Visual System Development is a biennial meeting that brings together investigators utilizing invertebrate and vertebrate animal models to study the development, disease, and evolution of the visual system. Over the years, this meeting has provided an exciting and unique forum in which to explore the similarities-and differences- between vertebrate and invertebrate visual systems. The goal of this GRC is to foster an appreciation of common principles that mediate the construction and function of the visual system in diverse organisms and to share the latest exciting new ideas and concepts. In addition, this coming meeting will enlarge its emphasis on disease; the goal is to encourage classically trained developmental biologists to consider turning their tools and approaches to issues of disease. The format of the GRC meetings provides a highly interactive and stimulating venue for cross-fertilization of ideas and for developing new collaborations. The scientists who share a common interest in the development of this sensory system, but who work on diverse model systems from flies to mammals, have few other opportunities to interact scientifically, because other relevant professional meetings are focused on either a specific organism (e.g., the Drosophila meeting, the Zebra fish meeting) or a much broader field (e.g., the Society for Neuroscience, the Association for Research on Vision and Ophthalmology). The Visual System Development GRC has established a reputation as the leading conference in its field. The current proposal requests funds to help defray the travel and conference fees for US scientists. In the selection of speakers and discussion leaders' careful attention has been paid to gender and ethnic diversity and to the inclusion of scientists at various stages of their careers, all of whom have exciting new work to share with their colleagues.