The Society for Developmental Biology has held annual meetings since its founding in 1939 and they have become the major conference to attend to learn about the latest findings in developmental biology. This three-year award will support three annual meetings: in Montreal, Canada (2012), in Cancun, Mexico (jointly with the 17th International Congress, 2013), and at the University of Washington, Seattle, (2014). The meetings attract an increasingly international audience, especially now that technological advances provide cross-disciplinary approaches to probe previously unresolved mechanisms. They cover questions that have fascinated scientists as well as many lay people for centuries: How does the genome of a fertilized egg specify all the different cell types and organs in the adult? What are the environmental (macro and micro) effects on the development and maintenance of organisms? The meetings are timely, describing major progress toward understanding developmental processes at the genetic, cellular, and systems biology levels. Speakers at the platform (plenary and concurrent) sessions, as well as authors of posters discuss topics from the core of developmental biology and report on exciting and important new advances. The meetings also traditionally provide an important venue to share and discuss unpublished data. Essential training is provided, as students and postdoctoral fellows have ample opportunity to discuss their results with their peers and with senior investigators. SDB meetings also provide a forum to educate practicing scientists and trainees to communicate with non-specialists, especially in regard to issues such as the "debates" appearing in news media and political circles concerning teaching evolution, human cloning, and stem cell research. This is important because developmental biology represents a significant opportunity for understanding evolution and preservation of species, and for contributing to the well being of our planet and its biodiversity.
