2016 and 2018 Visual Systems Development Gordon Research Conference & Gordon Research Seminar

 2016年戈登研究会议（GRC）的“视觉系统开发”为来自许多学科的初级和高级科学家提供了一个论坛，分享未发表的创新研究。这一两年期会议是在全球资源中心主持下于2000年设立的，该组织以其会议的高质量和前沿性质而闻名于世。下一届“视觉系统开发”GRC将于2016年8月7日至12日在佛蒙特州西多佛的Mount Snow会议设施举行，并于2016年8月6日至7日举行戈登研究研讨会（GRS）。这是一个理想的环境，鼓励激烈和充满活力的讨论，在一个学院的气氛。科学家们对视觉系统的发展有着共同的兴趣，但他们的工作是在不同的模型系统上进行的，他们很少有机会在这样一个集中的环境中进行科学的互动。具体目标是促进跨学科的互动，促进视觉研究人员之间的社区意识，为其他领域的科学家提供与视觉相关的研究的跳板，并在支持性的科学环境中指导学生。受邀的演讲者包括杰出的学者和有前途的年轻科学家，他们正在将新方法应用于视觉系统和其他交叉领域。除了受邀的演讲者，所有参与者都可以在高度互动的海报会议上展示他们的研究。还将选择简短的谈话 从提交的海报摘要，并在每一届会议的综合。视觉系统开发GRC已经建立了作为该领域领先会议的声誉，并继续获得非常积极的评价，特别是增加了一个由学员组织的GRS会前会议。GRS聚集了约40-45名研究生和博士后学员，在GRC开始之前立即介绍和讨论他们的研究。一些高级调查员将参加GRS提供建议和反馈，从而培养我们未来的主要调查员的职业生涯。保持这些会议新鲜和相关的指导原则是我们致力于探索新的主题，并为每次连续的会议收集一个全新的演讲者阵容。本申请中描述的特定程序旨在表示眼睛发育、功能、进化和疾病的广度，还描绘了主题焦点。因此，2016年会议将突出具有转化影响的及时主题，如“干细胞到器官”，“电路，突触和生物钟”和“眼部疾病机制”。“这次会议继续扩大其范围，促进刺激之间的串扰发育生物学家和研究人员专注于视觉科学的转化方面。2016年的GRC/GRS会议将鼓励更多地了解驱动视觉系统发展和维护的基本原则，并期待这些发现能够更好地治疗眼部和其他神经系统疾病。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): A The 2016 Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on "Visual Systems Development" provides a forum for junior and senior scientists from many disciplines to share unpublished, innovative research. This biennial meeting was established in 2000 under the auspices of the GRC, an organization internationally known for the high quality, cutting edge nature of its meetings. The next "Visual Systems Development" GRC will be held August 7-12, 2016, and the accompanying Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) on August 6-7, 2016, at the Mount Snow Conference Facility, in West Dover, Vermont. This is an ideal setting for encouraging intense and invigorating discussions in a collegial atmosphere. Scientists, who share a common interest in the development of the visual system, but work on diverse model systems, have few opportunities to interact scientifically in such a focused setting. The specific objectives are to foster interactions across disciplines, promote a sense of community among vision researchers, provide a springboard into vision-related research for scientists from other fields, and mentor students in a supportive scientific setting. The invited speakers include both prominent scholars and promising young scientists who are applying new approaches to the visual system and other intersecting fields. In addition to the invited speakers, all participants can present their research at highly interactive poster sessions. Short talks will also be selected from the submitted poster abstracts, and integrated in each session. The Visual System Development GRC has established a reputation as the leading conference in its field, and has continued to garner extremely positive reviews, particularly for adding a trainee- organized GRS pre-meeting. The GRS assembles ~40-45 graduate and postdoctoral trainees to present and discuss their research immediately before the GRC begins. A few senior investigators will attend the GRS to provide advice and feedback, thereby nurturing the careers of our future principal investigators. A guiding principle that keeps these conferences fresh and relevant is our commitment to explore novel themes, and to gather a completely new cast of speakers, for each successive meeting. The specific program described in this application aims to represent the breadth of eye development, function, evolution and disease, yet also delineate thematic foci. Thus, the 2016 meeting will highlight timely topics with translational impact, like "Stem Cells to Organs," "Circuitry, Synapses and Biological Clocks," and "Ocular Disease Mechanisms." This meeting continues to expand its scope by promoting stimulating cross talk between developmental biologists and investigators focused on translational aspects of vision science. The 2016 GRC/GRS meetings will encourage greater understanding of the basic principles that drive the development and maintenance of the visual system, with the anticipation that these findings lead to better treatments for ocular and other neurological diseases.