Conference:Progress and Directions in Olfactory System Development, Tucson, AZ January 18-20, 2003

University Of Arizona, Tucson AZ

Investigators

Abstract

Dates: January 18, 2003-January 20, 2003. Location: Tucson, AZ at the Westin LaPaloma under the auspices of the University of Arizona Until recently, understanding of the organization and development of the primary olfactory pathway lagged far behind understanding of developmental processes in the visual and auditory systems. In the last half decade, however, technical and conceptual breakthroughs have allowed astonishing progress toward understand the olfactory pathway. The proposed conference will provide a timely accounting of the current status of research in olfactory system development. It is designed with three objectives: (1) to identify critical puzzles of olfactory system development that must be solved: (2) to highlight promising approaches to solving these puzzles; and (3) to provide direction for essential research in the next few years. The conference thus will be a working conference, using as its primary mechanism a series of discussion sessions whose moderators and panels will reflect the field's long-standing and productive use of model systems from across the animal kingdom. Seven 2-hour discussion sessions are planned, six of which will focus on the following questions: (1) what processes initiate the formation of the olfactory periphery and the olfactory bulb, the first olfactory processing center in the brain; (2) what molecular patterns govern the formation of the olfactory periphery; (3) how do olfactory receptors and their support cells develop and mature and how malleable is that process; (4) how do olfactory receptor axons find their target region in the developing brain; (5) how are glomeruli formed; and (6) how does behavior influence the circuitry of the olfactory bulb. The seventh session will be a summary session, with a focus on future directions. The conference is intended mainly for members of the broad olfactory community, at all levels including trainees, support for whom is the focus of the current proposal. Several participants whose primary research areas lie in other sensory systems but whose interests lie in related developmental questions also will be invited. Our overriding goal is to emerge with a firm sense of where the field is and where it needs to go, in so doing, setting the stage for future research initiatives that will take the field more rapidly toward revealing the mechanisms underlying olfactory system development. A subsidiary goal is to spark new collaborative interactions among people in the field. We expect that the trainees who will be involved will come away with a much stronger understanding of the critical issues facing the field. They also will have the opportunity to help define the experimental directions needed to resolve those issues. By constructing a venue to facilitate extended discussion, we expect to forge a broader understanding of the implications and limitations of the current research, to cross-fertilize ideas, to set the stage for new collaborations, and to identify necessary avenues for new research.