Developmental Biology is at the center of the Life Sciences. It addresses complexes processes from cell-cell signaling to embryogenesis, pattern formation, organogenesis, neurogenesis, sex determination, aging and cell death, cell and tissue polarity, and epigenetics. microRNAs and morphogens were discovered by developmental biologists who have also provided important technological advances, from in situ hybridization to in vivo imaging, from genome manipulations to RNAi. The impact of the field is a result of the study of simple or more complex whole organisms (rather than isolated cells or molecules) using a wide variety of technological and intellectual approaches. These studies now expand into new areas such as regeneration, systems biology, and growth control. Hence, Developmental Biology has been and will continue to be a core discipline of the Life and Medical Sciences.

This conference will involve more than 40 talks and ~80 posters followed by extensive discussion. The sessions will cover classic topics and emerging areas in developmental biology: asymmetry and growth, morphogen gradients and positional information, signaling, evolution, stem cells and regeneration, morphogenesis, transcriptional control, regulatory networks, epigenetics and organogenesis. The invited speakers use a wide variety of experimental approaches and model systems and represent some of the most productive and creative members in the field. They are also individuals with the capacity to generate useful discussions. An additional set of speakers will be selected from the ~120 other attendants based on the quality of their abstracts and with a focus on junior investigators.

We expect that the conference will create opportunities for sharing results, technologies and ideas, forge collaborations, coordinate community resources, foster the exposure of junior investigators and trainees, and help define the future of the field.