Visual System Development Gordon Research Conference

描述(由申请人提供)：戈登视觉系统发展研究会议(GRC)是两年一度的会议，研究人员聚集在一起研究视觉系统的发展、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，在其中探索各种物种视觉系统发育和功能的相似之处和不同之处。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。通过包括突出具有翻译影响的新兴主题的会议，如“干细胞和祖细胞”和“视网膜发育和疾病”，会议还将扩大其范围，并刺激发育生物学家和专注于视觉科学翻译方面的研究人员之间的相互交谈。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。GRC会议是高素质科学家展示未发表的工作并参与科学前沿的想法和发现的激烈讨论的论坛。视觉系统开发GRC已经建立了其领域领先会议的声誉。科学家们对视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，他们几乎没有其他机会在这样一个专注的环境中进行科学互动。目前的提案要求提供资金，帮助支付与会者的会议费。视觉系统开发GRC的项目将以该领域的尖端科学家为特色，仔细关注性别和种族多样性，并将科学家纳入其职业生涯的不同阶段。 公共卫生相关性：影响眼睛和视力的疾病是一个严重的公共卫生问题：近200万美国人和全世界1.6亿人被认为是盲人，而且这个数字还在增加。这次会议旨在将来自一系列学科的基础研究人员与临床医生聚集在一起，以促进对视觉系统发育和疾病的了解，并开发治疗视力丧失的新方法。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Visual System Development is a biennial meeting that brings together investigators studying 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- underlying visual system development and function across a range of species. 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. By including sessions that highlight emerging topics with translational impact, such as "Stem Cells and Progenitors" and "Retinal Development and Disease", the meeting will also expand its scope and stimulate cross talk between developmental biologists and investigators focused on translational aspects of vision science. The format of the GRC meetings provides a highly interactive and stimulating venue for cross-fertilization of ideas and for developing new collaborations. The GRC meetings are forums for high-caliber scientists to present unpublished work and engage in intense discussion of ideas and findings at the forefront of science. The Visual System Development GRC has established a reputation as the leading conference in its field. The scientists who share a common interest in the development of the visual system, but who work on diverse model systems from flies to mammals, have few other opportunities to interact scientifically in such a focused setting. The current proposal requests funds to help defray conference fees for attendees. The program of the Visual System Development GRC will feature scientists at the cutting edge of the field, with careful attention to gender and ethnic diversity and to the inclusion of scientists at various stages of their careers. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Diseases that affect the eye and vision are a serious public health problem: nearly 2 million Americans, and 160 million people world-wide, are considered blind and this number is increasing. This meeting seeks to bring basic researchers from a range of disciplines together with clinicians to promote understanding of development and disease in the visual system and to develop new approaches to treating loss of vision.