2019 Cerebellum Gordon Research Conference and Gordon Research Seminar

Gordon Research Conferences, East Greenwich RI

Investigators

Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY This proposal seeks partial support for the 5th biennial Cerebellum Gordon Research Conference (GRC), and the associated Cerebellum Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) that takes place in the 2 days preceding the main conference and is organized, run and attended exclusively by students and postdocs. The GRC and GRS will be held July 13-19, 2019 at Les Diablerets Conference Center in Switzerland. This conference will highlight cutting-edge research that is revolutionizing how we think about the contribution of the cerebellum to brain function, not only to motor control but also to cognitive processes. These discoveries are being used to develop novel therapeutic strategies, which have already started targeting the cerebellum to treat a variety of neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders, from ataxia and dystonia to autism and schizophrenia. The increasingly broad involvement of cerebellar circuits in normal brain function and disease, coupled with rapid technical advances to probe and manipulate its function, raise important questions that can only be answered by sharing information and establishing lines of communication between investigators working at different levels of analysis. Thus, the scientific program for the conference has been especially designed to appeal to a diverse audience, integrating talks by scientists from different demographic groups, at different career stages and with a wide range of expertise in basic research, clinical and translational approaches. Women, junior investigators, and scientists from underrepresented groups are being actively recruited to participate via multiple outreach channels. To promote the exchange of ideas and technical information, the conference will follow the Gordon Research format, which provides ample opportunity for discussion and interactions between participants after each presentation, at poster sessions, and during meals and receptions. By bringing together leaders in the field and up-and-coming junior investigators working at multiple levels of analysis, and giving them an opportunity to present and discuss their newest findings in a lively and collegial forum, the conference will promote a vibrant exchange of ideas that will stimulate new research, spark collaborations, and produce scientific advances that would not be possible otherwise.