This small grant will support a workshop to evaluate and initiate a National Center Network focusing on a Physiological Research, Integration, Synthesis and Modeling (PRISM) program. The concept will be explored during a two-day workshop on March 17-19, 2007 at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) facility (Santa Barbara, CA).
The specific aims of this workshop are to develop a document that
1) refines the key elements of the NCN-PRISM program to reflect the broad interests of the organismal biological community,
2) identifies current and potential partners for this endeavor, and
3) outlines a development scheme for supporting the program.
Fifteen scientists representing the areas of physiological research, conservation, biomedicine, and zoological park communities have been identified to participate in this initial workshop. Each has expressed an interest in the development of an integrated program for comparative and ecological physiology. Through a series of presentations, discussions and writing assignments this group will evaluate the need, logistics and costs of creating a national center network for integrative physiology. The NCEAS was selected as the location for the workshop to encourage discussions with its director concerning the successful steps towards developing a national synthesis center (using NCEAS as an example) and the potential for future collaboration with the proposed PRISM Center.
