2001 Rustbelt RNA Meeting to be held November 2-3, 2001, at the Lodge at Deer Creek Park in Mt. Sterling, Ohio

Ohio University, Athens OH

Investigators

Abstract

The Rustbelt RNA Meeting will be held November 2-3, 2001, in the Lodge at Deer Creek State Park in Mt.Sterling,Ohio.The Rustbelt RNA Meeting (RRM)is the only major Midwest regional meeting of RNA researchers. Approximately 100 participants are expected. The Rustbelt RNA Meeting was originally envisioned by Drs.Dan Schoenberg, Chris Milcarek and Tim Nilson, among others ,to address the needs of Midwestern RNA researchers for a regional meeting. A need was perceived for a meeting venue that would include not only faculty,but also postdoctoral researchers and students, in a location readily accessible to universities in the area bounded by Cleveland, Columbus and Pittsburgh.The geographical scope was later expanded to include researchers from neighboring states because of their enthusiasm for the idea. The objective of the RRM is to provide an inexpensive, high caliber, interdisciplinary regional meeting for RNA researchers in the Midwest. An emphasis is placed on participation by undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral trainees such that in the previous two years trainees made up 75-80% of the attendees and gave 80-85% of the presentations.The RRM has also attracted and served young independent investigators as a place to showcase their emerging research program. For each of the past two years approximately a third of the attending PI's were junior faculty. The meeting is open to principal investigators, postdoctoral fellows, graduate and undergraduate students who are interested in the broad interdisciplinary field of RNA research. The meeting format is designed to foster interaction between trainees at the participating institutions with each other and with the participating principal investigators.