FIFTH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON THE BIOLOGY OF VERTEBRATE SEX DETERMINATION

描述（由申请人提供）：申请资助将于2009年4月举行的第五届脊椎动物性别决定生物学国际研讨会。自1997年成立以来，每三年举行一次会议。整个国际领域都在研究各种脊椎动物系统，包括两栖动物、鱼类、鸟类、爬行动物、单孔动物、有袋动物和真动物哺乳动物，包括猪、山羊、马、老鼠和人类。由于几乎不可能跟上这么多不同系统的进步，这次会议的目的是交流信息，使用比较的方法来推进我们对性别决定和性别分化过程的理解。前四次会议促成了大量的合作：交换了试剂，计划了实验，讨论了看待性别决定的新方法。大约80%的第四届研讨会的参加者是初级科学家。我们期待第五次会晤同前四次会晤一样富有成果和激励人心。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Funds are requested to partially support the 5th International Symposium on the Biology of Vertebrate Sex Determination to be held in April of 2009. This meeting has been held at 3-year intervals since its inception in 1997. The meeting is attended by the entire international field working on diverse vertebrate systems including amphibians, fish, birds, reptiles, monotremes, marsupials, and eutherian mammals, including pigs, goats, horses, mice, and humans. As it is nearly impossible to keep up with the advances made in so many diverse systems, the objective of this meeting is to exchange information, using a comparative approach to advance our understanding of the process of sex determination and sex differentiation. A great deal of collaboration came about as a result of the first four meetings: reagents were exchanged, experiments planned and new ways of looking at sex determination discussed. Approximately, 80% of the participants of the 4th symposium were junior scientists. We expect the 5th meeting to be as productive and stimulating as the previous four. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Sexual development during embryogenesis results in the formation of males and females that produce sperm and eggs, respectively. Birth defects in sexual development result in clinically significant abnormalities that include intersexes, common genital abnormalities such as hypospadias, infertility, and pathologies such as cancer. The proposed conference will bring together senior and junior scientists from around the world studying different types of vertebrate animals to learn more about sexual development to apply new knowledge to the treatment of sexual disorders and disease.