Frontiers in Developmental Biology: Concepts, Techniques and Model Organisms

Society For Developmental Biology, Bethesda MD

Investigators

Abstract

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Funds are requested for support of instructors and students in the Americas to participate in Frontiers in Developmental Biology: Concepts, Techniques and Model Organisms, the satellite short course of the Fourth International Meeting of the Latin American Society of Developmental Biology (LASDB), to be held at the Leloir Institute, Buenos Aires, Argentina, October 23 - November 1, 2008. This will be the second major collaborative training event between the Society for Developmental Biology and LASDB in Latin America, with the participation of distinguished scientists and top students from the United States (15) and Latin America (15). The first short course was held in spring of 2005 in Brazil, and it was supported by grants from NSF's Pan American Advanced Studies Institute (PASI) Program and NICHD's Conference Grants. A questionnaire sent last year, two years after the course, to the students (13 responded) and instructors (14 responded) indicated that this kind of short course filled the gap between the formal training at the universities and the broader research opportunities found in the "real world." In addition, exchange opportunities were developed and a few students arranged for further training in some of the instructors'laboratories in the United States and Chile. The students of the short course (most if not all) are expected to enter the pipeline for supply of future investigators in developmental biology and related areas. For this they will be exposed to the fundamental questions and research tools used in this interdisciplinary field. The instructors were selected primarily for the excellence of their research in respective subject areas, their dynamic teaching approach, and their willingness to continue collaborative efforts after the course. They will give a balanced view of the potentials and limitations of several different, mainstream, and emerging model organisms and technologies. Besides the traditional organisms such as Arabidopsis, Drosophila, zebrafish, and frog, local insects (Triatoma), fish (Austrolebias sp and Orestias sp), and emerging organisms such as planarian, medfly, and sea squirt (Ciona) will be included. The poster and round table sessions will provide additional opportunities for the students to present specifics of their own projects, as well as to engage in broader discussion of important, related issues not covered in the lectures, such as teaching and science writing. Students will be selected from applications submitted by graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in the U.S., and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and young faculty from Latin America, based on previous experience and interest in the field. Latin American faculty who are considering a change in the focus of their research to developmental biology will also be eligible. This short course will be the second one co-organized by SDB and LASDB to broaden exposure of students in this hemisphere to the field of developmental biology, in the form of a training event of the highest quality, as well as to offer opportunities to work with established groups in the various countries. In summary, the short course serves the following purposes: training of a cadre of young investigators in the Americas eager to use innovative approaches and indigenous and model organisms to expand the knowledge base and understanding of developmental processes;fostering senior and junior investigators to a culture of borderless cooperation in mutually supportive alliances that will further advances in the field;providing an open forum for discussion of current topics in developmental biology which are relevant to education and science policy in the participating countries and the Western Hemisphere;serving as a resource for colleagues who might plan to organize similar courses in other parts of the World, or even within the United States. PROJECT NARRATIVE: This short course Frontiers in Developmental Biology: Concepts, Techniques and Model Organisms aims in training postdoctoral fellows and advanced graduate students in the fundamental questions and innovative approaches in the research area they have chosen: developmental biology. The selected participants are in the pipeline for supplying future investigators/faculty in this and related fields, and will enhance collaborative research efforts among the laboratories in the Americas, since this course is organized jointly by the Society for Developmental Biology (in U.S.A.) and the Latin American SDB.