FASEB 2001 Conference on the Biology & Chemistry of Vision

Federation Of Amer Societies For Exper Biology, Rockville MD

Investigators

Abstract

Lay Abstract for Pugh (0110402) The biology and chemistry of the photoreceptor cells of the retina has been one of the most exciting and productive areas in basic and clinically relevant visual science. This field includes fundamental research on the structure and function of the molecules of biological photoreceptors cells and their G-protein cascade signaling, including the details of the generation and modulation of the electrical responses. The binannual FASEB conference on this topic has been since its beginning in 1985 a premier meeting in which scientists with different approaches, different preparations (ranging from mouse to frog to fruit flies), and overlapping goals interact productively, sharing their most recent results in a highly congenial and interactive environment. The 2001 FASEB meeting on the Biology and Chemistry of Vision well represents the best science in the field, including sessions on classic but nonetheless current topics (Phototransduction: Protein Structure and Function; Regulatory Proteins of Transduction; Phototransduction in Single Rods and Cones), topics that are very "hot" (The cone and rod retinoid cycles in health and disease), and topics of burning interest in the application of fundamental science to eye disease therapeutics (Animal Models and Gene Transfer to the Retina). The meeting also is strongly catholic in its view of fundamental vision processes, incorporating for example, a session on Phototransduction in Invertebrates, and a session in which non-mammalian model systems (Xenopus; zebrafish) are featured. National Science Foundation funding for the conference will be used to support travel fellowships to the meeting for young scientists, graduate students and post-doctoral fellows, who are making presentations at the meeting, and for some travel support for speakers. NSF support has played an important role in developing the careers of the young scientists in this field, by providing them the opportunity to interact personally with the leaders in the field over a five day period in an informal setting.