Genetics, Genomics, and Evolution of the Eye

The 2018 Gordon Research Conference on Visual System Development will provide a forum for scientists investigating the genetics, genomics, and evolution of the visual system, and to share the latest and most exciting new results and innovative technologies. The goals of this meeting are to foster interactions across disciplines, stimulate new ideas and collaborations, provide a springboard into vision-related research for scientists from other fields, and mentor students and postdocs in a supportive scientific setting. This conference will also encourage greater understanding of the basic principles that drive the development and maintenance of the visual system, with the anticipation that these findings will contribute to better treatments for ocular and other neurological diseases. The opening keynote session will feature talks from Dr. Rachel Wong, University of Washington and Dr. Julie Daniels, University College London. Throughout the meeting speakers will discuss a range of disciplines, model systems and approaches in sessions that include retinal patterning and cell fate specification, axon guidance and synaptogenesis, central visual system development, regeneration, non-neuronal development, genomics, and emerging model systems. A number of poster abstracts will be selected for short talks, ensuring participation by junior investigators and the presentation of late-breaking stories. This meeting, along with the associated student/post-doctoral fellow Gordon Research Seminar (GRS), will foster interactions among students, early-career investigators, and more established scientists, supporting stimulating discussions and interactions, across diverse disciplines within the field of vision science.