The planned conference on Neurobiology of Drosophila will convene a group of junior and senior scientists to discuss the latest advances in the neurobiology research that are being made in the highly successful model system the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. This proposal seeks support for the 2011 conference, which is the 14th biennial international meeting in this series. This meeting focuses on advances made using the combined power of genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry, cell biology, electrophysiology, imaging, and behavioral analysis to address fundamental issues in neurobiology. The topics covered will range from i) Sensory systems: ii) Behavior, brain function &its evolution;iii) Neurological disease models &cellular mechanisms;iv) Neural circuits - development, evolution and function;v) Synaptic transmission, development and plasticity;vi) Neural development &evolution;and vii) Technological innovations &applications. By vote of the previous participants, the meeting will remain of moderate size (430 participants) and will have no parallel sessions so as to facilitate discussion, exchange of ideas and techniques, and to promote new collaborations in this rapidly-evolving field. All applicants will be encouraged to submit an abstract and the majority of participants will present a talk or poster. Speakers will be chosen by session leaders and meeting organizers from the most timely and interesting abstracts submitted a few months in advance of the conference: this will ensure that late-breaking science is covered in all of the talks. In the event that the conference is oversubscribed, participants will be chosen to include at least one representative from each participating laboratory. This conference has an excellent track record for highlighting the work of younger investigators and women. To encourage participation by junior investigators, a special lecture is presented by a graduate student who has written the best Ph.D. thesis since the previous meeting.
This Neurobiology of Drosophila conference focuses on advances made using the combined power of genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry, cell biology, electrophysiology, imaging, and behavioral analysis to address fundamental issues in neurobiology using the model organism Drosophila melanogaster. A driving principle of the entire field is that the lowly fruit fly, while seeming to have little in common with humans, shares many of the same genes, molecules and neural wiring -albeit far simpler - with vertebrate animals. Building on one hundred years of research in fly genetics, the fly neurobiology field is a burgeoning field of endeavor with many laboratories around the world making significant advances in the field. Understanding how these systems work in Drosophila has enormous relevance to our efforts to elucidate how these things function in higher animals, with consequences including how we think about neurological disease, brain evolution and other major themes of research in humans. Many of the research techniques that are developed for use in the fly have considerable utility in research into nervous system function in vertebrates and mammals.
The aim of the conference is to provide a forum to bring together a diverse group of scientists working in different areas of the field of fly neurobiology. The meeting will be of moderate size and will have no parallel sessions so as to facilitate discussion, exchange of ideas and techniques, and to promote new collaborations in this rapidly evolving field. The scientific organizers are elected by vote of the previous participants, thus ensuring a fresh perspective on the scientific exchange. All applicants are encouraged to submit an abstract and the majority of participants will present a talk or poster. Speakers will be chosen by session leaders and the meeting organizers from the most timely and interesting abstracts submitted a few months in advance of the conference, ensuring that late-breaking science is covered in all of the talks.
