Building the Nervous System: Insights from Development, Evolution and Disease

The 2022 Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Neural Development at Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island will bring together senior and junior scientists from all over the world who work on the mechanisms of neural developmental using modern molecular, cellular and organismal approaches. They study neurogenesis, neural diversity and the lineages of neural stem cells, as well as the assembly of neural circuits and the essential contribution of glia to neural development. Their state-of-the art approaches include: iPS and ES cells, in vitro reprograming and in vivo trans-differentiation; molecular genetic techniques and genomic approaches such as genomic profiling or epigenetic analyses, single cell mRNA sequencing as well as CRISPR-based DNA scarring for high throughput lineage analyses; and live-imaging of brain development and high-resolution light and EM microscopy. These studies use a variety of organisms from classical model organisms such as worms, flies, fish and mice to more diverse species including reptiles and non-human primates. This allows them to address unique questions as well as the evolution of developmental processes. They are also using organoids and human tissues to study development of our species and as a complementary model system to study developmental brain diseases and find cures for neuro-psychiatric diseases such autism, schizophrenia, medulloblastoma and Parkinson. The meeting will aim to promote extensive exchanges between scientists at different stages of their career and with very different backgrounds, with the goal of promoting diversity. Every opportunity will be taken to encourage interactions amongst all scientists as well as with journal editors and members of funding agencies that support research in this field.

A GRS reserved to PhD students and postdocs will precede the meeting, organized and run by trainees, and will include sessions on related topics. It will emphasize the need for extensive interactions among rising scientists to build successful programs.