2012 Teratology Society Annual Meeting - Student/New and Early Stage Investigator

描述（由申请人提供）：畸形学会成立于1960年，旨在促进与先天性（出生）缺陷的原因和预防有关的信息交流。虽然在过去的50年里，人们在了解和预防出生缺陷方面取得了很大进展，但出生缺陷仍然是当今世界主要的公共卫生问题 并且是美国婴儿死亡的主要原因。此外，公众的关注范围已经扩大到包括广泛的发育介导的疾病，这些疾病可能受到多种因素的影响，这些因素不仅包括药物和化学品，还包括饮食、遗传和社会经济因素。该协会的成员多元化，其中包括来自政府，学术和工业部门的临床医生，科学家和科学政策监管机构，特别适合应对这些挑战。2012年，该协会将在马里兰州巴尔的摩的巴尔的摩万豪海滨酒店举行第52届年会。本次会议的主题包括发展中国家的孕产妇/胎儿健康，核灾难对发展的影响，维生素D缺乏对发展的影响，有关孕产妇和胎儿健康的国际监管争议，以及评估发育安全性的新计算方法。 该协会理解鼓励和指导学生和新的和早期阶段的调查人员（学员）的重要性。教育和培训是学会战略目标的关键要素，会议中还包括鼓励受训者参与的活动和会议。有一个平台会议，包括从受训者提交的摘要中竞争性选择的演讲。演讲由资深学会成员评判，两位最佳演讲者获奖。其余的学员摘要包括在整个会议的各个环节中。那些被选中展示海报的人在他们的海报板上有标志，以表明他们的学员身份，并争夺最佳海报奖，鼓励演讲者和知名科学家之间的互动。此外，还有一个职业之夜活动，旨在促进学员和科学家在轻松的论坛上建立联系，促进与未来计划和职业机会有关的公开讨论。还鼓励受训人员担任协会大多数委员会的临时成员，从而加深他们对协会的参与。 该申请的具体目的是：1）申请资金用于学生和新的和早期阶段的研究人员参加2012年年会的旅行奖励，2）部分支持主要非会员演讲者的旅行费用。学会认为，其受训人员是学会和科学家社区所培养的科学事业的未来。旅行奖励有助于抵消否则可能使受训者无法参加的经济负担。申请书还要求提供资金，以部分支付应邀的非成员发言者的旅费。 公共卫生相关性：畸形学会是一个致力于预防和治疗出生缺陷的专业组织，汇集了学术，工业和政府卫生科学家，他们调查导致出生缺陷和发育障碍的原因和生物过程。致力于支持，鼓励和培训学生和新的和早期阶段的调查人员，学会理解让他们参与年会的重要性，以保持在公共卫生的这一重要领域的受训人员的持续供应。年度会议的科学目标以及培训和外联目标都需要外部支助，用于学生和博士后研究员旅费奖励和应邀演讲者旅费。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Teratology Society was founded in 1960 to foster the exchange of information relating to the causes and prevention of congenital (birth) defects. While much progress in understanding and preventing birth defects has been made over the past 50 years, birth defects still remain a major public health concern in the world today and are the leading cause of infant mortality in the U.S. Furthermore, public concerns have expanded more broadly to include a wide range of developmentally-mediated disorders which can be affected by a multitude of factors which include not only drugs and chemicals, but also diet, genetics and socioeconomic factors. The Society's diverse membership, which includes clinicians, scientists and science policy regulators from governmental, academic, and industrial sectors, is uniquely suited to address these challenges. In 2012, the Society will hold its 52nd Annual Meeting at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel in Baltimore, MD. The topics for this meeting include maternal/fetal health in developing countries, effects of nuclear disasters on development, impact of Vitamin D deficiency on development, international regulatory controversies concerning maternal and fetal health, and novel computational approaches for assessing developmental safety. The Society understands the importance of encouraging and mentoring students and new and early stage investigators (trainees). Education and training are key elements of the Society's strategic goals and events and sessions are included in the meeting that encourage trainee participation. There is a platform session comprised of talks competitively selected from trainee-submitted abstracts. The presentations are judged by senior Society members and the two top presenters receive an award. The remaining trainee abstracts are included in sessions throughout the meeting. Those selected to present posters have signage at their poster board to indicate their trainee status and compete for best poster awards, encouraging interaction among the presenters and the established scientist. In addition, there is a career night event that is designed to promote networking between trainees and scientists in a relaxed forum that promotes open discussions related to future plans and career opportunities. The trainees are also encouraged to serve as ad hoc members on the majority of the Society's committees, thereby deepening their involvement within the Society. The specific aims of this application are: 1) to request funds for Travel Awards to students and new and early stage investigators to attend the 2012 Annual Meeting and 2) to partially support travel expenses for key non-member speakers. The Society believes that its trainees are the future of both the Society and the scientific endeavors fostered by its community of scientists. Travel awards help offset the financial burden that might otherwise prevent trainees from attending. The application also requests funds to partially defray travel costs for invited non-member speakers. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The Teratology Society, the professional organization dedicated to the prevention and treatment of birth defects, brings together academic, industrial, and governmental health scientists who investigate the causes and biological processes leading to birth defects and developmental disabilities. Committed to the support, encouragement, and training of students and new and early stage investigators, the Society understands the importance of involving them in its Annual Meeting to maintain a continuous supply of trainees in this important area of public health. Both the scientific objectives and the training and outreach goals of the annual meetings require external support for student and postdoctoral fellow travel awards and for invited speaker travel.