2011 Cold Spring Harbor Conference on Neurobiology of Drosophila

描述（由申请人提供）：计划召开的果蝇神经生物学会议将召集一批初级和高级科学家，讨论在果蝇果蝇高度成功的模型系统中正在进行的神经生物学研究的最新进展。该提案寻求对2011年会议的支持，这是该系列的第14届两年一次的国际会议。本次会议的重点是利用遗传学、分子生物学、生物化学、细胞生物学、电生理学、成像和行为分析的联合力量来解决神经生物学的基本问题。涵盖的主题将包括i)感觉系统；ii)行为，大脑功能及其进化；iii)神经疾病模型和细胞机制；iv)神经回路——发育、进化和功能；v)突触传递、发育和可塑性；vi)神经发育与进化；（七）技术创新与应用。经往届与会者投票决定，会议将保持中等规模（430名与会者），并将不设平行会议，以便在这一迅速发展的领域促进讨论、思想和技术交流，并促进新的合作。所有申请者将被鼓励提交摘要，大多数参与者将发表演讲或海报。会议领导人和会议组织者将从会议前几个月提交的最及时、最有趣的摘要中选择演讲者：这将确保所有的演讲都涵盖最新的科学。如果会议被超额认购，每个参与实验室将选出至少一名代表参加会议。这次会议在突出年轻研究人员和妇女的工作方面有着良好的记录。为了鼓励初级研究人员的参与，将由一名自上次会议以来写得最好的博士论文的研究生进行特别讲座。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The planned conference on Neurobiology of Drosophila will convene a group of junior and senior scientists to discuss the latest advances in the neurobiology research that are being made in the highly successful model system the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. This proposal seeks support for the 2011 conference, which is the 14th biennial international meeting in this series. This meeting focuses on advances made using the combined power of genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry, cell biology, electrophysiology, imaging, and behavioral analysis to address fundamental issues in neurobiology. The topics covered will range from i) Sensory systems: ii) Behavior, brain function & its evolution; iii) Neurological disease models & cellular mechanisms; iv) Neural circuits - development, evolution and function; v) Synaptic transmission, development and plasticity; vi) Neural development & evolution; and vii) Technological innovations & applications. By vote of the previous participants, the meeting will remain of moderate size (430 participants) and will have no parallel sessions so as to facilitate discussion, exchange of ideas and techniques, and to promote new collaborations in this rapidly-evolving field. All applicants will be encouraged to submit an abstract and the majority of participants will present a talk or poster. Speakers will be chosen by session leaders and meeting organizers from the most timely and interesting abstracts submitted a few months in advance of the conference: this will ensure that late-breaking science is covered in all of the talks. In the event that the conference is oversubscribed, participants will be chosen to include at least one representative from each participating laboratory. This conference has an excellent track record for highlighting the work of younger investigators and women. To encourage participation by junior investigators, a special lecture is presented by a graduate student who has written the best Ph.D. thesis since the previous meeting. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This Neurobiology of Drosophila conference focuses on advances made using the combined power of genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry, cell biology, electrophysiology, imaging, and behavioral analysis to address fundamental issues in neurobiology using the model organism Drosophila melanogaster. A driving principle of the entire field is that the lowly fruit fly, while seeming to have little in common with humans, shares many of the same genes, molecules and neural wiring -albeit far simpler - with vertebrate animals. Building on one hundred years of research in fly genetics, the fly neurobiology field is a burgeoning field of endeavor with many laboratories around the world making significant advances in the field. Understanding how these systems work in Drosophila has enormous relevance to our efforts to elucidate how these things function in higher animals, with consequences including how we think about neurological disease, brain evolution and other major themes of research in humans. Many of the research techniques that are developed for use in the fly have considerable utility in research into nervous system function in vertebrates and mammals. The aim of the conference is to provide a forum to bring together a diverse group of scientists working in different areas of the field of fly neurobiology. The meeting will be of moderate size and will have no parallel sessions so as to facilitate discussion, exchange of ideas and techniques, and to promote new collaborations in this rapidly evolving field. The scientific organizers are elected by vote of the previous participants, thus ensuring a fresh perspective on the scientific exchange. All applicants are encouraged to submit an abstract and the majority of participants will present a talk or poster. Speakers will be chosen by session leaders and the meeting organizers from the most timely and interesting abstracts submitted a few months in advance of the conference, ensuring that late-breaking science is covered in all of the talks.