Visual System Development 2008 Gordon Research Conference

描述(由申请人提供)：戈登视觉系统开发研究会议(GRC)是一项两年一度的会议，利用无脊椎动物和脊椎动物模型研究视觉系统的发育、疾病和进化。多年来，这次会议提供了一个令人兴奋和独特的论坛，在这个论坛上探索脊椎动物和无脊椎动物视觉系统之间的相似之处和差异。GRC的目标是促进对在不同生物体中调节视觉系统的构建和功能的共同原则的欣赏，并分享最新的令人兴奋的新想法和概念。此外，即将到来的这次会议将扩大对疾病的重视；目标是鼓励受过经典培训的发育生物学家考虑将他们的工具和方法转向疾病问题。GRC会议的形式为交流思想和发展新的合作提供了一个高度互动和刺激的场所。科学家们对这种感觉系统的发展有着共同的兴趣，但他们致力于从苍蝇到哺乳动物的各种模型系统，他们几乎没有其他科学互动的机会，因为其他相关的专业会议要么聚焦于特定的有机体(例如，果蝇会议、斑马鱼会议)，要么聚焦于更广泛的领域(例如，神经科学学会、视觉和眼科研究协会)。视觉系统开发GRC已经建立了其领域领先会议的声誉。目前的提案要求提供资金，帮助支付美国科学家的旅费和会议费。在挑选发言者和讨论领导人时，对性别和族裔多样性以及将处于职业生涯不同阶段的科学家纳入其中给予了认真的关注，他们都有令人振奋的新工作要与同事分享。

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.