Developmental Biology Gordon Research Conference 2015, Hadley, Massachusetts, June 21-26, 2015

Gordon Research Conferences, East Greenwich RI

Investigators

Abstract

This award supports the 2015 Gordon Research Conference on Developmental Biology. This five-day conference, which has been running since 1970, is recognized as the major, mid-size meeting in Developmental Biology, bringing together about 150 outstanding senior and junior scientists for discussions of the recent advances in the field. Twenty-nine invited speakers, chosen based on their creative contributions to the field and their ability to promote fruitful discussions, have confirmed their attendance. The nine sessions cover classic topics and emerging areas in the field: Morphogenesis; Epigenetic Control of Development; Cellular Polarity; Stem Cell Biology; Small ncRNAs in Development; Intercellular Signaling; Self-Assembly within Cells; Transgenerational Inheritance; Transcription and Patterning. The intellectual merit of this meeting derives from its small size, which promotes interactions between participants, and the assembly of many top scientists in developmental biology. It spans a wide variety of experimental systems and focuses on areas of exceptional activity or promise. This combination leads to fruitful comparative analyses, raises new questions about underlying mechanisms and often leads to new collaborations. By maximizing both formal discussion and informal interactions, the Gordon Conference on Developmental Biology will help to define both the present state and the future of the field. With respect to broader impacts, this meeting will benefit the larger community in four respects. First, it will help train and inspire the next generation of scientists, by exposing students and postdoctoral fellows to exciting science and scientists. Second, it will be a forum for those who teach science in smaller colleges and high schools, to hear about the latest findings and to discuss topics with experts. Third, it will benefit junior faculty who can present their work in talks and posters and who can get to know the more senior members of the developmental biology field. For each session, time has been allotted for speakers chosen from abstracts submitted by the participants. Fourth, half of the invited speakers are women and two are minorities. In addition, we will encourage minorities to participate. These features will offer opportunities to minorities to participate in an excellent conference, and conversely, it will give all participants the opportunity to learn about exciting research conducted by their minority and female colleagues.