2020 International Symposium on Olfaction and Taste (ISOT, Portland, Oregon, June 20 - 24, 2020

University Of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia PA

Investigators

Abstract

The main goal of this project is to provide sponsorship for a research conference, The International Symposium on Olfaction and Taste ("ISOT"). The ISOT conference is a truly international assembly hosting cutting-edge research on the chemical senses of smell and taste, which play a critical role in behavior in most animal species. ISOT convenes every four years, rotating locations between the United States, Europe, and Japan, reflecting the close international cooperation of the three major societies that spotlight the chemical senses. The 18th ISOT meeting is hosted in Portland, Oregon, June 20-24, 2020, with an expected attendance of 1,000 participants. As the largest gathering of chemosensory scientists under one roof, ISOT provides a forum for communicating the latest advances in the field. The 2020 research program features more than 25 symposium presentations and plenary sessions, highlighting the theoretical, behavioral, biological, ecological, and computational underpinnings of the olfactory and gustatory systems. The breadth of topics featured at the conference, and the opportunity for interactions and dialogue among so many attendees, has a broad scientific impact on promoting basic research knowledge on the chemical senses and inspiring new ideas and collaborations. Another important aim of the conference is the promotion of thematic, gender, and geographic diversity, as well as diversity across levels of career stage. To achieve these goals, the project provides support for participation of junior scientists to attend ISOT, and also emphasizes inclusion of women, underrepresented minorities, and persons with disabilities. ISOT is the flagship international research conference on the chemical senses, where attendees are hosted to cutting-edge olfactory and gustatory research that crosses species, methods, and levels of analysis from the microscopic to the macroscopic and from the synthetic to the naturalistic. A major goal is to focus support on topical and timely areas of research that oftentimes fall between the cracks, with four symposia that have been carefully tailored to fit the express mission of the NSF, with topics featuring the importance of invertebrate neuroscience, big data approaches, theory and modeling, and the ethology of real-world behavior. Importantly, the high caliber and concentration of scientists expected at ISOT 2020, across all training levels, provides a fertile medium for education and career development. In line with this aim, the project provides support for two ISOT workshops ("Learning How to Communicate Your Chemosensory Research" and "Addressing Career Issues Facing Women in Science"), which are both designed to highlight specific obstacles -- and solutions -- as junior scientists develop into independent investigators. Together these opportunities should have a broad societal impact on cultivating the next generation of scientists and ambassadors in the chemical senses, in line with the goals of the NSF to enhance full participation of women, URMs, and persons with disabilities in STEM fields, and to provide educational techniques in how to advance public engagement with science and technology. 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.