FASEB Summer Research Conference on Retinal Neurobiology and Visual Processing

描述（由申请人提供）：概要/摘要本申请要求为“视网膜神经生物学和视觉处理”会议提供部分资金，该会议由美国实验生物学学会联合会（FASEB）管理，将于2010年7月11日至16日在萨克顿河，VT举行。这是这一系列非常成功的两年期会议中的第十次会议，这些会议为具有不同背景的研究人员建立了一个独特的论坛，以讨论愿景。会议的主要目标是汇集来自神经生物学，计算生物学和视觉研究不同领域的参与者，讨论最先进的技术，并应用创造性的科学思维来理解视网膜视觉的神经生物学基础。我们的170名参与者包括积极参与视网膜研究的成熟和年轻的研究人员，他们在历史上相互作用，提供了一个刺激，自由和生动的思想交流。 该计划对该领域的最新研究进行了批判性的回顾，及时解决了视觉界高度关注的问题，并为未来的工作提供了指导。将在全体会议上出现的主要会议主题是：1）发展和细胞命运，2）电路重塑对疾病的反应，3）带状突触，4）视觉信号的可塑性，5）代谢信号动力学，6）信息流入和流出视网膜，7）内视网膜的突触和电路机制，以及8）来自其他感觉系统的教训。计划举办一个关于视网膜研究分析技术的互动讲习班。最后，第九届会议的特点是从初级同事提交的海报摘要中选出令人兴奋和及时的工作。为了宣传我们的两个海报会议，并从一开始就让我们的年轻参与者参与进来，第一个上午的会议以“数据闪电战”为特色，我们的20名年轻同事提供了他们的海报演示的五分钟概要。 从本申请中提供的拟议计划和数据可以看出，我们会议的一个独特目标是为博士前和博士后学员以及早期独立研究人员提供机会，以相互交流并与该领域的知名领导者分享他们的想法。为此，我们的演讲者名单包括大量的研究生，博士后研究员和年轻的研究人员。他们的列入突出了令人兴奋的新课题，并促进了我们的视觉研究社区的新成员。通过这一战略，我们的会议为研究生提供了了解其他研究领域和探索博士后可能性的机会，并为博士后研究员提供了一个宝贵的机会，以表明他们已经准备好承担初级教师职位。 公共卫生相关性：视网膜是排列在眼睛后部并将视觉世界的信息发送到大脑其他部分的神经组织，它的疾病困扰着美国和世界其他地区的很大一部分人口。根据国家眼科研究所的数据，超过300万40岁以上的美国人患有严重的视力障碍，其中约100万人失明。在同一年龄组中，超过170万人患有晚期年龄相关性黄斑变性（AMD）。糖尿病性视网膜病变折磨着另外400万人。对健康视网膜功能和疾病对视觉处理影响的基础研究是NEI资助的持续预防失明研究的重要组成部分。在这一奋进中至关重要的是视觉科学家社区之间公开交流新的研究成果。FASEB视网膜神经生物学和视觉处理会议是视网膜生物学和视觉处理领域的首要会议。这个广泛关注的前沿会议吸引了来自世界各地的最优秀的视网膜科学家，并提供了一个亲密的环境，以最大限度地提高最高水平的科学互动。在过去的20年里，该会议每两年举行一次，并激发了许多合作，产生了具有高度影响力的新颖工作。这一令人兴奋的趋势将继续与拟议的计划在2010年会议上，将于7月11日至16日在萨克顿河，佛蒙特州。将探讨视网膜研究的不同领域，具体的全体会议解决：视网膜电路的发展;电路重塑响应疾病;视网膜神经元之间的专门突触连接的功能重要性;视网膜电路和视觉信号的活动依赖性变化;由神经递质谷氨酸触发的细胞内信号传导途径的动力学;从视网膜神经元通过视神经发送到大脑其他部分的信号的信息内容;视网膜网络内部的电路处理;以及来自其他感觉系统的神经科学研究的见解。一个下午是专门为视网膜研究分析技术的非正式，互动研讨会。 我们在这次会议上大力促进该领域的年轻人的参与：全体会议上的大量发言者是研究生或博士后研究员，整个口头会议都以他们令人兴奋和及时的工作为特色，这些工作来自海报会议摘要。此外，第一个上午会议的特点是“数据闪电战”，其中非常简短的概要是由我们的年轻调查员，介绍他们给整个集团和广告他们的海报和我们的两个海报会议。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Summary/Abstract This application requests partial funding for the conference on "Retinal Neurobiology and Visual Processing", administered by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), to be held in Saxtons River, VT July 11-16, 2010. This is the tenth meeting in this series of highly successful biennial conferences that have established a unique forum for researchers with varied backgrounds to discuss vision. The primary goal of the meeting is to bring together participants from diverse areas of neurobiology, computational biology and vision research to discuss state-of-the-art techniques and apply creative scientific thinking to understanding the neurobiological basis of retinal vision. Our 170 participants include both established and young investigators actively involved in retinal research and who historically interact, providing a stimulating, free and lively exchange of ideas. The proposed program provides a critical review of recent research in the field, addresses timely questions that are of high interest to the vision community and serve as a guidepost to future work. The major session topics that will be present in plenary sessions are: 1) Development and Cell Fate, 2) Circuit Remodeling in Response to Disease, 3) Ribbon Synapses, 4) Plasticity of Visual Signaling, 5) Metabotropic Signaling Dynamics, 6) Information Flow In and Out of the Retina, 7) Synaptic and Circuit Mechanisms in the Inner Retina, and 8) Lessons from Other Sensory Systems. An interactive workshop on Analytical Techniques for Retinal Research is planned. Finally, a ninth session features exciting and timely work selected from submitted poster abstracts from junior colleagues. To advertise our two poster sessions and involve our younger participants from the outset, the first morning session features a "Data Blitz" in which 20 of our junior colleagues provide five-minute synopses of their poster presentations. As can be seen from the proposed program and data provided in this application, a unique goal of our meeting is to provide opportunities for pre- and post-doctoral trainees, as well as early stage independent investigators, to meet and share their ideas with each other and with established leaders in the field. To this end, our speaker list includes a significant number of graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and young investigators. Their inclusion highlights exciting new topics and promotes our new members of the vision research community. Through this strategy, our conference offers opportunities for graduate students to learn about other areas of research and explore postdoctoral possibilities and gives postdoctoral fellows a valuable chance to show that they are ready to assume junior faculty positions. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Diseases of the retina, the neural tissue that lines the back of the eye and sends information about the visual world to the rest of the brain, afflict a significant fraction of the population in the United States and the rest of the world. According to the National Eye Institute, more than 3 million Americans over the age of 40 suffer from serious visual impairment, about 1 million of whom are blind. More than 1.7 million in that same age group suffer from advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Diabetic retinopathy afflicts another 4 million. Basic research into the function of the healthy retina and the effects of disease on visual processing is a crucial component of the research funded by the NEI in the ongoing fight to prevent blindness. Of critical importance in this endeavor is the open exchange of new research findings among the community of vision scientists. The FASEB conference on Retinal Neurobiology and Visual Processing is the premier meeting in the field of retinal biology and visual processing. This broadly focused, cutting-edge meeting attracts the best retina scientists from around the world and provides an intimate setting to maximize scientific interactions at the highest level. This conference has been held biennially over the past 20 years and has stimulated many collaborations resulting in novel work with high impact. This exciting trend will continue with the proposed program at the 2010 conference, to be held July 11-16 in Saxtons River, Vermont. Diverse areas of retinal research will be explored, with specific plenary sessions addressing: development of retina circuitry; circuitry remodeling in response to disease; the functional importance of specialized synaptic connections between retinal neurons; activity dependent changes in retinal circuitry and visual signaling; the dynamics of intracellular signaling pathways triggered by the neurotransmitter glutamate; the information content of signals sent from retinal neurons through the optic nerve to the rest of the brain; circuit processing in the inner part of the retinal network; and insights from neuroscience research in other sensory systems. One afternoon is devoted to an informal, interactive workshop on analytical techniques for retinal research. We make a strong effort at this meeting to foster participation by young people in the field: a significant number of speakers in the plenary sessions are graduate students or postdoctoral fellows, and an entire oral session features their exciting and timely work, which is drawn from poster session abstracts. In addition, the first morning session features a "Data Blitz" wherein very brief synopses are presented by our young investigators, introducing them to the entire group and advertising their posters and our two poster sessions.