Understanding Perception, Cognition, and Action in Health and Disease

The long-term goal of the Eye Movement Gordon Conference is to increase our understanding of eye movements to advance our basic science knowledge and to improve our ability to diagnose and treat disorders of ocular motility, gaze control, and vision, and additionally to understand how eye movement abnormalities can be used to diagnose underlying brain disease and injury. To accomplish this goal, we have put together a program that reflects the diverse expertise and research areas that include the remarkably broad intellectual landscape of our field. We will assemble 38 invited speakers and discussants that span the full range of scientists – from trainees to senior investigators whose research spans the full breadth of our field – from the molecular level to whole system behavior. The program will have 9 sessions on a wide range of topics including: infantile nystagmus; control of fixational eye movements; understanding how individual differences alter eye movements; eye movements during reading and during decision-making; how new cutting edge approaches are opening up new understanding of how eye movements are controlled by the brain; how vestibular implants can alter eye movement abnormalities; and finally how eye movements can be used as biomarkers to diagnose central nervous system dysfunction. Four poster sessions will facilitate scientific exchange and mentoring among all participants. “Power Hour: Committed to Inclusion and the Professional Development of Women and Underrepresented Minorities in Science” will provide an opportunity to support the professional growth of women and under-represented minorities, and is open to all attendees, and will focus on building inclusive laboratory and research practices. From the associated GRS, we will draw speakers for the morning sessions to give short talks to provide an opportunity for trainees to present to the entire conference. In size and intensity, the Eye Movements Gordon Research Conference is significant in our field for its ability to disseminate the latest unpublished scientific advances, foster productive new insights and collaborations, stimulate interest in eye movement research among young investigators, and increase the diversity of the research workforce, all with the ultimate goal of accelerating the discovery of desperately needed new therapies for people with disorders of ocular motility, gaze control, and visual function.