The fourth Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Neuroethology: Behavior, Evolution, and Neurobiology will be held August 10-15, 2008 at Magdalen College, Oxford, UK. The 2008 conference will focus on the evolution of neural circuits underlying behavior. It will also feature an innovative program, called "Neuroethology 2050", which is designed to enhance the participation and the experience of graduate students and post-docs attending the meeting. This conference will challenge accepted ideas about how neural circuits produce behavior. The topics to be discussed range from the origin of nervous systems to the use of animal models for studying distinctly human traits. The broader impact of the meeting is in the dissemination of ideas and the exposure that it will provide to young investigators. Unlike many other small, focused meetings, the GRC endeavors to substantially include younger scientists, women scientists and scientists belonging to historically under-represented groups. The 2008 Neuroethology GRC will include a Gordon-Kenan Graduate Research Seminar to enhance the experience of graduate students and post-docs attending the GRC. This will take place on the two days preceding the main conference and will be chaired by a graduate student and two post-docs with assistance from the two faculty vice chairs of the GRC. The theme of this pre-meeting seminar is "Neuroethology 2050" and participants will discuss their vision of the field of Neuroethology in the year 2050. The goal is for this unique pre-conference to "break the ice" and encourage the next generation of investigators to participate fully in the week of discussions that will follow. The interdisciplinary nature of the Neuroethology field is of major long-term benefit to its participants in their role as academicians and University teachers. The PIs have a long history of dedication to training at several levels.
