This proposal seeks partial support for the 4th Ferret Brain Meeting, which will be held in Baltimore, Maryland, from 10/29 to 10/30/2020. The goal of the Ferret Brain Meeting is to bring together the larger community of neuroscientists working in the ferret. Ferrets offer distinct advantages for neuroscience research ? they have a complex brain, capable of sophisticated processing, with established functional and structural similarities to the primate. At the same time, ferrets share some of the advantages of research in rodents, such as the availability of larger animal numbers, and most recently the development of transgenic animals. Finally, ferrets are uniquely suited for developmental studies because of very early parturition. Research in the ferret spans a diverse range of topics, and the Ferret Brain Meeting is currently the only venue that brings all of the labs together. On the basis of a shared animal model, we will discuss recent research findings and new ideas. An important component is to share technological advances, and to coordinate further tool development efforts. The first transgenic ferret line has recently been developed, but transgenic ferrets will only become widely available if we can combine efforts across labs, and involve commercial ferret breeders as well. In general, we aim to build a strong, collaborative community that significantly benefits and advances the research in all of our labs. An important component of the Ferret Brain Meeting is to promote graduate students and postdocs. Generally, the meeting is single track with many opportunities for participants to interact, which will provide trainees with plenty of opportunity to network. In addition, trainees will present their work in a poster session, and at least 6 of 15 talks at the meeting will be given by trainees. We will honor the best trainee presentation with the Barbara Chapman Young Investigator Award. At the 4th Ferret Brain Meeting, we will also test an outreach program aimed at increasing participation of underrepresented minorities in neuroscience. More specifically, we plan to use the conference as a platform for recruiting undergraduates from these backgrounds to neuroscience. The Ferret Brain Meeting is an exciting opportunity for this effort ? it will not only introduce undergraduates to cutting-edge science, but because of the meeting's small size, it will allow them to meet the involved scientists (faculty and trainees). To start this outreach effort, the organizers of the 4th Ferret Brain Meeting will work with their local institutions to recruit undergraduates to the meeting, but we intend to expand this effort at future meetings.
The Ferret Brain Meeting brings together a community of neuroscience researchers working in a shared model species and studying a diverse set of topics. The exchange of information and ideas that will take place at the 4th Ferret Brain Meeting will allow the participating community of faculty and trainees to learn from each other, to coordinate community-wide efforts (such as tool development and grant applications), and to promote trainee careers. By building a vibrant community of interacting labs, we aim to accelerate the community's research beyond what would be achievable individually.
