This proposal requests support for the 2004 FASEB Summer Research Conference on "Retinal Neurobiology and Visual Processing". This meeting will be the seventh biannual conference in this series devoted specifically to the structure and function of the retina. Retinal research is undergoing an era of unprecedented growth and achievement. A variety of new imaging, physiological, and molecular methods are being developed and utilized to address the question of how retinal neurons are organized into functional neural circuits. Because retinal processing is key to our understanding of vision, and the retina is at the forefront of neural circuit analysis, this conference will have far-reaching effects on the general study of neuroscience. The presentations will cover many facets of retinal biology including: the cellular molecular mechanisms underlying development; the basis of neural signaling; the identification of neural circuits by which the retina processes various aspects of visual input; the code by which retinal output is conveyed to the brain; and the resulting abilities and limitations of visual behavior.
This five-day conference expects to attract approximately 180 participants from around the world. Thirty-five internationally recognized experts will present their work in informal talks, which are organized in nine thematic sessions, chaired by leaders in each field. Furthermore, emphasis has been placed on the contributions of younger scientists in the early career stage. In addition, there will be in informal workshop on a topic selected before the meeting participants. Finally, all participants are invited to present posters during poster sessions.
Conference format is designed to foster direct scientific exchange among participants. Efforts are being made to encourage students and postdocs, from underrepresented minority groups to attend this meeting. Proceedings will not be published, but abstracts of the talks and posters will be collected into a booklet which will be made available to all attendees and to others in the field who requested. Because this conference attracts most of the fields leading investigators, it has been highly successful in disseminating results, and has significantly affected the course of retinal research.
