Integrating the Regulation of Synaptic Transmission Across Cellular and Circuit Levels

We have emphasized integration across pre-, post-, and peri- synaptic signaling. Talks regarding post-synaptic receptors and downstream responses are juxtaposed with the regulation of presynaptic release throughout the meeting. The bidirectional influence of synaptic transmission and nuclear function and transcription is featured as is synapse structure and function at high resolution. Synapse development and plasticity are key components of synaptic transmission and are integrated across sessions. Understanding disease processes that affect or are mediated by synapses will also be added to several appropriate sessions, rather than being a separate session. This full integration is an innovative approach to encourage the engagement of all perspectives throughout the entire meeting. We have achieved a healthy balance of senior and junior scientists. Senior scientists have established reputations that draw attendees to a meeting and are able to initiate lively discussions. Junior scientists provide fresh ideas and often have a better understanding of modern innovations and technical details. To maximize the contribution of young investigators, we have expanded the "Short Talk" selections. Based on the submitted abstracts, ten students/postdocs/junior faculty members will be chosen for brief talks. We expect to identify "rising neuroscience stars" for these talks.

Funding Assistance

We have obtained NIH and private funding for this conference to support some of your costs to attend the meeting. As many other GRCs have done, we would like to allocate as much funding as possible for junior faculty, postdocs, students, and others who may have limited resources.

If you require funding assistance to attend this GRC, please send a brief paragraph (less than 150 words) explaining your request for financial support to amescherich@austin.utexas.edu.

We will do our best to allocate funding to support as many of these requests as possible.

Regards,
Kristen and Alison