MEETING: The Shape of the Future: A Workshop To Consolidate and Advance the Field of Evolutionary Developmental Biology. NESCent, Durham, NC - 2013

Duke University, Durham NC

Investigators

Abstract

Evolutionary developmental biology (more commonly called 'EvoDevo') seeks to understand the form of living organisms by examining how evolutionary history has shaped the way such organisms develop and grow. The traditions and techniques of experimental embryology, functional morphology, population genetics, developmental biology, and evolutionary ecology are all major contributors to the field. Advances in life-science technologies provide significant new opportunities for exploring questions that are integral to EvoDevo and that cross these traditional disciplinary boundaries. The National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent) will hold a workshop that brings together EvoDevo researchers with the aims of reviewing the current state of evodevo, attending to the opportunities and challenges that new technologies bring to the field, and mapping a future for the science. The workshop will generate a community-driven set of recommendations for best practices in the experimental and observational approaches to EvoDevo research. Workshop outcomes will also include identification of current gaps in training infrastructure, and suggested potential community-based solutions to these problems. The workshop report will become or serve as a template for an EvoDevo white paper, reflecting the definition, priorities, needs and future outlook of the EvoDevo field.