Satellite Conference: Annual Meeting of the Society of Neuroscience on October 25,2004; San Diego, CA

University Of Connecticut, Storrs CT

Investigators

Abstract

This is a request for funds to support a satellite meeting "Glial Meeting" during the Annual Meeting for the Society for Neuroscience. The PI currently has funds from NSF (grant #0316893 titled 'Molecular mechanisms of glial progenitor cell differentiation') awarded to Akiko Nishiyama through the Integrative Biology and Neuroscience Division. The funds will be used to support a Glial Meeting, which is listed as a satellite/ancillary meeting to the 2004 Society for Neuroscience meeting in San Diego. The following description of the meeting will be printed in the Program: 'There is increasing recognition that glia is not glue. The Glial Meeting is an informal gathering for investigators from diverse backgrounds to share new and exciting findings in glial biology and identify unsolved problems. There will be one or two short presentations followed by informal discussion and interactions among all attendees. Light refreshments will be served.' It will be held from 6:30 to 9:00 pm on October 25, 2004, in one of the meeting buildings in San Diego, CA, in the middle of the week during which the Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience will be held. This meeting attracts more than 25,000 participants and is an excellent occasion to promote informal interaction among a diverse group of investigators interested in glial biology. The first Glial Meeting was held in 2003 and was organized by Dr. Harold Kimelberg in New Orleans, also during the Annual Neuroscience Meeting. This year, we are fortunate to have Dr. James Goldman from Columbia University who will present a talk on his recent studies on glial cell migration in living slices. Dr. Goldman has been studying the development and pathology of various types of glial cells for a number of years and has been one of the key contributors to uncovering the origin and migratory behavior of astrocytes and oligodendrocyte lineage cells. The meeting will include a number of minorities and women as participants. Since the organizer is a women and from a non-white background, the speaker was chosen from a general the population and was selected on the basis of one with the best scientific qualifications.