This competing continuation application aims to address a critical need to provide the highest-caliber training to the next generation of scientist by supporting travel expenses of pre- and post-doctoral students to attend the annual meeting of the International Society for Developmental Psychobiology (ISDP). Active participation of trainees at the ISDP meeting will achieve the following specific aims: 1) Expose pre-and post-doctoral trainees to a broad range of scientific paradigms; 2) Promote thinking across levels of analysis to foster increased translational relevance; 3) Increase retention of trainees in science-related fields, especially trainees from under-represented categories (e.g. racial/ethnic, gender, disability, gender-identity, sexual orientation); 4) Attract junior scientists from within and outsde the U.S. to the meetings to promote global collaborations; and 5) Facilitate broad, inclusive scientific interactions among junior trainee scientists and between trainees and senior scientists. Annual meetings of ISDP feature invited speakers, symposia, oral talks and posters that span developmental questions across species including humans, with special attention to the effects of biological factors operating at any level of organization. Funds from the previous versions of the grant have provided partial travel support for students and postdoctoral fellows to present research at the meetings and to benefit from the research-career promoting opportunities the meetings afford. The present proposal requests 5 years continuation of support from NIH to bring the brightest students and post-doctoral fellows to the meeting where they will be able to interact with senior, mid-career, and other junior scientists examining critical questions related o typical and atypical development. The society and its meetings are truly international in scope, attracting scholars from across the globe; the 2015 meeting was held in San Sebastian, Spain and 71 pre- and post-doctoral trainees from 9 countries attended. Students and postdoctoral fellows are the lifeblood and future of our science and scholarly society; their professional development is key to advancing the science at the heart of ISDP. For many of the senior members, beginning when they were students, ISDP has played an important and sustaining role in advancing their scientific and academic or research careers. Multiple year support facilitates a culture of active and continued participation at the ISDP meetings among graduate students and postdoctoral trainees, prolonging the impact of ISDP well beyond the period of support.
The proposal requests funds to provide partial support for travel expenses of graduate students and postdoctoral researchers to attend annual meetings of the International Society for Developmental Psychobiology (ISDP) in 2016-2020. Focusing on supporting trainees is directed at fulfilling the continuing congressional mandate to ensure adequate numbers of highly trained scientists to meet the nations biomedical and behavioral research agenda. The program also meets NIH priorities for promoting translational research by emphasizing the integration of basic and clinical research approaches.
