Meeting: Cnidofest: A workshop on cnidarian model organism biology, September 6-9, 2018, St. Augustine, FL

University Of Florida, Gainesville FL

Investigators

Abstract

The Cnidarian Model Systems Meeting (Cnidofest 2018) will take place September 6-9, 2018 at the University of Florida's Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience in St. Augustine, Florida. This meeting will focus on cnidarians, a group of mostly marine animals that includes jellyfish, sea anemones, and corals, with a focus on animals that are considered "emerging model systems" species that are particularly well-suited for answering important biological questions. Recent breakthroughs in technology have allowed researchers to answer a greater diversity of biological questions using cnidarians, and rapid progress is occurring in many fields, especially developmental biology, neurobiology, and physiology. The growing North American cnidarian research community will meet at Cnidofest 2018 to discuss their latest research findings, exchange ideas, learn about new technologies, and form collaborations. The meeting emphasizes interactions between experienced scientists and trainees, with a focus on increasing diversity. The ultimate goal of the meeting is to foster the growth, intellectual diversity, and collaborative spirit of the cniderian research community at a time when it is rapidly expanding (in both size and diversity of research questions). Cnidarians are excellent laboratory models for making fundamental biological discoveries, including in neurobiology, developmental biology, physiology, and biomechanics. Many qualities make cnidarians great laboratory models: 1) They have simple, well-understood body plans as well as fascinating life cycles. 2) They hold an informative phylogenetic position as the clade that is sister to bilaterians; discoveries made in cnidarians are often reflective of deeply conserved processes. 3) Many life stages of cnidarians are transparent, making them amenable to live imaging. 4) Some cnidarians are models for studying self/non-self recognition and others are used to study intracellular symbioses, such as those found in reef-building corals. 5) Many cnidarians are great models for studying regeneration, stem cells, and aging. These topics will be the major scientific focus of the meeting. In addition, the meeting will emphasize new technological approaches that will greatly enhance cnidarian research. Two technology speakers will present seminars on emerging technologies 1) microfluidics for measuring neural circuit activity and behavior and 2) single cell RNA sequencing for understanding development. Providing a platform for the interaction of cnidarian scientists at all levels will greatly benefit the community. Interactions will be fostered among participants through a dynamic schedule that includes traditional oral presentation sessions, lightning talks, poster presentations, and plenty of time to encourage informal discussion over breaks and meals, which are all done as one group. The ultimate goal is to grow and diversify the community in terms of breadth of research topics and broadening participation by multiple groups. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.