This award will support the registration and travel costs for junior attendees of the 2010 FASEB Summer Conference on Retinal Neurobiology and Visual Processing. Basic research into the function of the retina is crucial for understanding neurobiological mechanisms involved in the functional aspects of visual systems. Crucial to this effort is the open exchange of new research findings among the community of vision scientists. The FASEB Summer Conference on Retinal Neurobiology is the premier meeting in the field of retinal biology and visual processing. This cutting-edge meeting attracts the best retina scientists from around the world and maximizes scientific interactions at the highest level. Diverse areas of retinal research will be explored, including development of retina circuitry and remodeling of that circuitry upon extrinsic insults, the specialized synaptic connections between retinal neurons, activity dependent changes in retinal circuitry, and the information contained in the signals sent from the retina to the rest of the brain. Every effort is made to foster participation in this conference by young people in the field: a significant number of speakers in the plenary sessions are graduate students or postdoctoral fellows, and an entire oral session features their exciting and timely work, which is drawn from poster session abstracts. In addition, a "Data Blitz" session features very brief presentations by young investigators, thereby introducing them to the entire group and advertising their posters and the two poster sessions.
The 2010 "Retinal Neurobiology and Visual Processing" meeting was held at Vermont Academy in Saxtons River, Vermont, July 11-16, 2010. The rationale for this biennial meeting on Retinal Neurobiology and Visual Processing was four-fold: 1) to provide an intimate scientific setting that is unique in the retina field; 2) to provide a broad focused and high quality meeting to attract first-rate neuroscientists to the visual system; 3) to generate ideas and discussions at this conferences to stimulate novel, high-impact research; 4) to fill an important and distinct niche, providing an essential alternative to large society meetings. Responses to a questionnaire indicated that the meeting was successful on all counts. 69% of participants ranked this conference as the best in terms of scientific value; 100% indicated that the most important research in the field was discussed; 97% indicated that the conference helped them generate new ideas for their research; 98% thought that the poster sessions were effective; 100% thought that the discussion periods were utilized effectively. Ten formal sessions (including a "Data Blitz" session featuring 15 four-minute, two slide talks by junior researchers selected from the poster abstracts) and two workshops were held. The formal sessions were entitled: 1) Data Blitz; 2) Lessons from Other Sensory Systems; 3) Circuit Remodeling in Response to Disease; 4) Ribbon Synapses; 5) Plasticity of Visual Signaling; 6) Metabotropic Signaling Dynamics; 7) Information Flow in the Retina; 8) Synaptic and Circuit Mechanisms in the Inner Plexiform Layer; 9) Highlights of the Poster Sessions; 10) Development and Cell Fate. The formal sessions were held in the morning and evening with the afternoons free for informal discussion and viewing of the poster presentations. The second afternoon featured a workshop entitled "Analytical Techniques for Retinal Research," and the third afternoon's workshop was titled "Retinal Diseases: Mechanisms and Treatment." The last evening was highlighted by the presentation of the Boycott Prize (for outstanding career contributions to retinal research), awarded this year to Dr. David Vaney. Fifteen-minute discussion periods were formally incorporated into the schedule following each plenary presentation, ensuring a dynamic exchange of ideas by all participants following every talk. The audience participation was outstanding, particularly on the part of the younger participants. The intimate and informal setting of the meeting allowed for high quality interactions within the planned sessions, meals, and free time during the afternoons and following the evening session.
