The planned conference on the """"""""Neurobiology of Drosophila"""""""" will convene a group of junior and senior scientists to discuss the latest advances in the neurosciences which are being made in the highly successful model system of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. This proposal seeks support for three successive biennial meetings to be held in 2001, 2003 and 2005. The 2001 conference is the 9th biennnial international meeting in a series that focuses on the advances made as the combined power of genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry, cell biology, and behavioral analysis are brought to bear on fundamental problems in neurobiology. The topics covered will range from molecular biology to complex behavior and include: neuron and glial specification, cell-cell signaling in development, axon guidance and target recognition, synaptic plasticity, neurophysiology, sensory systems, and complex behavior (i.e., circadian rhythms and learning and memory). By vote of the previous participants, the meeting will remain of moderate size (300 participants) in order to facilitate discussion, exchange of ideas and techniques, and to promote new collaborations in this rapidly evolving field. All applicants will be required to submit an abstract and all participants will give either a talk or present a poster. There are no overlapping sessions, and the design of the Cold Spring Harbor facilities insures that all participants will have an opportunity to present and discuss their work. The speakers will be chosen from the most timely and interesting abstracts submitted a few months in advance of the conference to insure that late-breaking science is covered in all of the talks. In the event that the conference is oversubscribed, participants will be chosen to insure at least one representative from each participating laboratory This conference has an established history of highlighting the work of younger investigators and women. To encourage participation by junior investigators, a special lecture is presented by the graduate student who has written the best Ph.D. thesis since the previous meeting (Elkins lecture). The subsequent meetings (2003 and 2005) will follow a similar format and will include topics that are highly relevant at the time of the meeting.
