2020 Molecular & Cellular Neurobiology Gordon Research Conference and Gordon Research Seminar

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Project Summary The 2020 Gordon Research Conference on Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology will bring together neuroscientists from academia and industry to discuss the latest breakthroughs in the study of the nervous system. Recent technological innovations, including optogenetics, genome editing, tissue clearing, super resolution microscopy, and single cell sequencing have empowered the study of the brain at an unprecedented level of detail. Scientific sessions will highlight recent discoveries on the development of the nervous system, synaptic function, neural circuits underlying behavior, brain imaging and connectomics, and molecular and cellular mechanisms of neurological diseases, including neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders. A major goal of this international conference will be to foster interactions among scientists at all levels and from different backgrounds in order to stimulate new collaborations and directions of neuroscience research. Discussion will be encouraged both in the scientific sessions as well as during time set aside for more informal interactions. To promote the next generation of neuroscientists, short talks will be selected from abstracts submitted by students, postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty members. The GRC will also feature a Power Hour, an informal session for all attendees to discuss challenges women face in science and to support the professional growth of women by providing an open forum for discussion and mentoring. Finally, this GRC will be preceded by a Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) on Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology, which will feature a keynote speaker and be open only to students and postdoctoral fellows. The GRS will serve as a forum for trainees to broaden their peer network and will complement the GRC in bringing together scientists from around the world to discuss and identify new directions in molecular and cellular neurobiology. An explosion in recent technological advances has empowered neuroscientists to examine fundamental and translational neuroscience in unprecedented detail. For example, optogenetics has provided insight into when and how the activation of a selected neuron(s) or neural circuit causes physiological or pathological effects. iPSC technology makes it possible to isolate somatic cells from patients and generate “cell models” of neurological and psychiatric disorders by differentiating (or directly converting) these cells into precise types of neurons and glia. Genomics and proteomics allow for identification of susceptibility genes and a global view of intricate signaling networks. Epigenetic studies may reveal a novel coding mechanism of synaptic plasticity, learning and memory. Genome editing using CRISPR/Cas9 has been revolutionary in both generating specific mutations for modeling studies and for performing genomewide modifier screens in human cells and neurons. Most recently, single cell sequencing is revealing novel types of cells in the brain and novel cell states and is empowering the study of whole brain connectomics. The leading researchers in the field will present these cutting-edge issues and their implications will be discussed at the meeting.