Funds are requested to support attendance at the 7th International Conference on Plasmodesmata, which will take place from 21st-26th March 2010, in Sydney, Australia. Plasmodesmata are tiny channels that connect plant cells to their neighbors, and are important for plant growth and crop yields because they control the movement of nutrients and spread of plant diseases. Because research in this field is multidisciplinary, and extremely active, it is important that researchers in diverse subject areas have the opportunity to meet and discuss their research. Many important discoveries have been made in this area by US scientists. Plasmodesmata research is also highly interactive, and has many international collaborators who are essential to advance the science rapidly. Therefore attendance at this conference by a diverse pool of US scientists will be highly beneficial both to basic research and to agriculture.
It is expected that the conference will contribute significantly to science and education. First, the conference will foster interactions between scientists with skills in diverse areas. Second, involvement of students and post docs will be strongly encouraged by the secluded and interactive environment, and by having each participant present a talk or a short oral presentation alongside his or her poster. Participation by minority and female scientists will also be strongly encouraged. This will be achieved by identification and encouragement of individuals, as well as by advertising the conference widely. Success of the conference will be assessed by a written questionnaire distributed among all attendees.
This project supported nine US researchers, including graduate students, post doctoral researchers, junior faculty members and a faculty member who works at a primarily undergraduate institution to attend the 7th International Conference on Plasmodesmata, which was held from 21st-26th March, 2010, in Sydney, Australia. Plasmodesmata are microscopic channels that connect plant cells and allow the passage of nutrients, developmental signals and also some pathogens between cells. Because of their fundamental importance, research into plasmodesmata is a multidisciplinary and extremely active field, and attendance at the conference allowed workers in diverse subject areas to meet and discuss their research. All of the individuals supported presented their research to the conference attendees, either in a talk or poster format. Many exciting new discoveries were discussed, including significant ones by US scientists, and their attendance at this conference allowed the continuation of a highly collaborative field, and allowed the initiation of new collaborations. The conference attendees at this meeting enjoyed an extremely interactive and productive conference in an environment that was highly conducive to scientific exchange. At the conference, many scientific exchanges occurred, both between US researchers and between US and international researchers, and there is no doubt that the conference had a major impact of this rapidly evolving interdisciplinary field of biological research. The supported individuals gained valuable experience in presenting their research findings to an international group of scientists. The senior members of the conference, including the organizers, paid careful attention to discussing research with junior participants, and mentoring them in analysis of their research and fostering effective collaborations. It is likely that many new disoveries of potential benefit to US agriculture will arise as a result of interactions made during this conference.
