2014 Visual System Development Gordon Research Seminar

描述（由申请人提供）：本申请是为新成立的视觉系统开发戈登研究研讨会（GRS）提供部分支持，该研讨会将于2014年5月24日至25日在意大利卢卡的文艺复兴托斯卡纳IL Choco度假村举行。GRS研讨会旨在为从事视觉科学研究的优秀研究生和博士后研究人员提供机会，在一个不令人生畏的论坛上聚集并展示同行中当前未发表的研究成果。此外，会议的亲密性为领导者和下一代视觉科学家之间的互动，促进合作和分享职业支持提供了机会。GRS先于已建立的视觉系统开发戈登研究会议（GRC），因此GRS的与会者已经对讨论形式，研究主题和科学讨论感到满意，并且更有可能积极参与与出席会议的资深科学家的讨论

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This application is for partial support of the newly established Visual Systems Development Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) to be held on May 24-25, 2014 at the Renaissance Tuscany IL Choco Resort in Lucca, Italy. The GRS seminar is designed to provide outstanding graduate students and postdoctoral research fellows who conduct vision science research the opportunity to assemble and present current, unpublished research amongst peers in a non-intimidating forum. Additionally, the intimacy of the meeting offers the opportunity to interact, foster collaborations and share career support amongst the leaders and next generation of vision scientists. The GRS precedes the established Visual Systems Development Gordon Research Conference (GRC), and therefore attendees of the GRS are already comfortable with discussion formats, research topics and scientific discussions and are more likely to actively participate in discussions with the senior scientists attending the GRC. Furthermore, concerted effort is made to encourage participation and garner interest of under-represented minorities in developmental biology and vision science research. To achieve the initiatives stated above, the meeting will include a keynote talk by Bill Harris (Cambridge University) and three scientific sessions totaling twelve speakers selected from submitted abstracts. After each talk, ample time is given for scientific discussion amongst attendees. Further work is presented during two, 90- minute poster sessions that provide additional forums for scientific discussion. The collegial atmosphere is cultivated in these scientific discussions, over meals, and through an additional social hour on Saturday evening. Through these interactions, attendees will be presented with the emerging questions in the field of vision sciences. Understanding the developmental principles that regulate the development of the eye and associated visual centers in the brain has provided and will continue to provide fundamental insights into areas such as stem cell biology, proliferation/fate/differentiation processes in general, as well as ocular and visual disease mechanisms.