Research on the nematode worm C. elegans ranges from investigating such global problems as the circuitry and function of an entire nervous system and the organization of a genome, to investigating elements involved in control of gene expression and specification of the fates of individual cells. C. elegans has become an important experimental organism for the study of many aspects of animal biology, particularly the genetic and molecular bases of development and behavior. The international meeting has run biennially since 1979 and is the only International meeting dedicated to C. elegans. We are requesting funds to help cover costs and travel of six percent of participants to attend the international C. elegans Meeting to be held at the University of California in Los Angeles, CA, in 2003. We are also requesting similar funds for the 2005 meeting to be held at a location to be determined. The Organizing Committee will rank applications for support, basing their funding decisions on 1) the potential contributions of the applicants to the meeting, 2) the benefits the applicants will receive from attending the meeting and 3) minority status. As this is the only international meeting dedicated to C. eIegans research, the committee is particularly anxious to encourage participation of women and minorities. Previous C. elegans meetings have led to the exchange of knowledge, ideas, methods, mutants, and clones and have been vital in fostering the sense of excitement and the collegiality and cooperativity that characterize this field.
