Conferences
Other Events
Conference attendees become acquainted with one another in a game of science speed dating.
Organizers invite participants based on evaluation of abstract submissions. Interested applicants must register online and submit a research abstract relevant to the meeting topic.
All participants are expected to contribute to the intellectual content of the meeting, including graduate students and postdocs. To achieve these goals, all of the attendees will be active members of the research field and will present their work in a talk or poster format.
Registration is closed for all Spring 2013 conferences.
Registration for Fall 2013 conferences closes at 2pm ET on May 15.
Recent advances in molecular genetics, optogenetics, and neuroimaging are bringing us closer to revealing the logic and function of neural circuits underlying our sense of touch. This meeting will focus on mammalian low-threshold mechanoreceptors (LTMRs) and their associated neural circuits within the spinal cord, brain stem and cortex that underlie tactile perception, object and form recognition, and the affective component of touch. Topics will include: functions of LTMR subtypes; tools for visualizing and manipulating LTMRs; functional organization of LTMR endings; identification of postsynaptic targets of LTMRs; organization of interneurons and projection neurons of the spinal cord dorsal horn; organization of somatosensory brain stem nuclei; and model systems and behavioral assays for understanding the roles of LTMR afferents in tactile sensation. We will bring together molecular geneticists, physiologists and behavioral scientists using rodent, human, and non-human primates model systems, with the goal of revealing the principles and core logic of mammalian tactile circuitry.
Apply for participation and submit your abstract.
Find out more about Janelia Conference Student Scholarships.
Organizers
David Ginty, HHMI/Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Steven Hsiao, Zanvyl Krieger Mind/Brain Institute
Ellen Lumpkin, Columbia University
Karel Svoboda, Janelia Farm Research Campus/HHMI
Invited Participants
Diana Bautista, University of California, Berkeley
Sliman Bensmaia, University of Chicago
Michael Caterina, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Elaine Chapman, University of Montreal
James Craig, Indiana University, Bloomington
Xinzhong Dong, HHMI/Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Esther Gardner, NYU School of Medicine
Gregory Gerling, University of Virginia
Daniel Goldreich, McMaster University
Mitra Hartmann, Northwestern University
Shawn Hochman, Emory University
Roland Johansson, Umeå University
Richard Koerber, University of Pittsburgh
Gary Lewin, Max-Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine
Qiufu Ma, Harvard Medical School
Francis McGlone, Liverpool John Moores University
Daniel O'Connor, Johns Hopkins University
Håkan Olausson, University of Gothenburg
Ardem Patapoutian, The Scripps Research Institute
Carl Petersen, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
Frank Rice, Albany Medical College
Ranulfo Romo, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Cornelius Schwarz, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research
Rebecca Seal, University of Pittsburgh
Cheryl Stucky, Medical College of Wisconsin
Fan Wang, Duke University
John Wood, University College London
C. Jeffery Woodbury, University of Wyoming
The goal of this meeting is to identify challenges in cryo-EM to prepare samples for single particle analysis, 2D crystallography and tomograms, and in the processing and interpretation of data obtained in each case. Challenges include, for example, heterogeneity and aggregation (single particles), disorder and stacking (2D crystals), and CTF correction and classification (tomography). The small size of the meeting provides an ideal environment for in-depth discussions and speakers are encouraged to discuss results that indicate a challenge but where a solution was not yet found.
Apply for participation and submit your abstract.
Find out more about Janelia Conference Student Scholarships.
Organizers
Tamir Gonen, Janelia Farm Research Campus/HHMI
Nikolaus Grigorieff, HHMI/Brandeis University
Invited participants
Yifan Cheng, University of California, San Francisco
Joshua Finkelstein, Nature Publishing Group
Adam Frost, University of Utah
Qiu-Xing Jiang, UT Southwestern Medical Center
Andres Leschziner, Harvard University
Thomas Marlovits, Institute of Molecular Biotechnology, Austria
Peter Rosenthal, MRC National Institute for Medical Research
Sjors Scheres, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
Ingeborg Schmidt-Krey, Giorgia Institute of Technology
Synaptic vesicles, the secretory organelles that store and secrete non-peptide nuerotransmitters, have been extensively characterized. Yet, how these organelles are generated and regenerated during repeated cycles of exo-endocytosis remains poorly understood. While strong evidence implicates clathrin-mediated budding in their formation after each cycle of exocytosis, the precise steps leading from a newly formed clathrin coated vesicle to a new, neurotransmitter filled, synaptic vesicle and the role of endosomal intermediates remain unclear. Clathrin-independent pathways of endocytosis are thought to operate in parallel with clathrin-mediated endocytosis. Mechanisms underlying the incorporation of key membrane proteins (in a roughly defined stoichiometry relative to each other) in synaptic vesicles and those that determine their very small and highly homogenous shape are largely unknown. It is anticipated that an answer to these questions will not only advance knowledge of mechanisms in synaptic transmission, but also have broad implications in the field of membrane transport. The goal of the workshop is to bring together investigators from different fields to foster discussion, interactions and potential collaborations.
Apply for participation and submit your abstract.
Find out more about Janelia Conference Student Scholarships.
Organizers
Pietro De Camilli, HHMI/Yale University
Volker Haucke, Leibniz Institute for Molecular Pharmacology, Berlin
Timothy Ryan, Weill Cornell Medical College
Invited Participants
Bruno Antonny, Institut de pharmacologie, Moléculaire et Cellulaire, Valbonne, France
Juan Bonifacino, National Institutes of Health
Edwin Chapman, HHMI/University of Wisconsin
Oliver Daumke, Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine
Robert Edwards, University of California, San Francisco
Barth Grant, Rutgers University
John Heuser, Washington University School of Medicine
Reinhard Jahn, Max-Planck-Institute for Biophysical Chemistry
Yishi Jin, HHMI/University of California, San Diego
Erik Jorgensen, HHMI/University of Utah
Jürgen Klingauf, University of Muenster
Michael Kozlov, Tel Aviv University
Peter McPherson, McGill University
Silvio Rizzoli, European Neuroscience Institute (ENI) Göttingen
Margaret Robinson, University of Cambridge
Aurelien Roux, University of Geneva
Kang Shen, HHMI/Stanford School of Medicine
Oleg Shupliakov, Karolinska Institutet
Shigeo Takamori, Doshisha University, Japan
Patrik Verstreken, VIB Center for the Biology of Disease
Mark von Zastrow, University of California, San Francisco
Beverly Wendland, John Hopkins University
Ling-Gang Wu, National Institutes of Health
Xiaowei Zhuang, HHMI/Harvard University
Joshua Zimmerberg, National Institutes of Health
Hormones and neuromodulators play an important role in adjusting behavior to match the physiological and developmental needs of an organism, but the underlying neural circuits are not well understood. This conference will draw on both vertebrate and invertebrate systems to examine the mechanisms by which circulating molecules influence the neural circuits that control complex behavior. We will combine speakers at various levels of analysis from behavior to circuits to molecules and utilizing different physiological and developmental systems. The aim will be to assess the state of the field and, through a comparative approach, establish common themes and novel approaches.
Apply for participation and submit your abstract.
Find out more about Janelia Conference Student Scholarships.
Organizers
Lynn Riddiford, Janelia Farm Research Campus/HHMI
Scott Sternson, Janelia Farm Research Campus/HHMI
James Truman, Janelia Farm Research Campus/HHMI
Invited Participants
David Crews, University of Texas at Austin
Mario de Bono, Medical Research Council (MRC)
Barry Dickson, Research Institute of Molecular Pathology, Vienna
Catherine Dulac, HHMI/Harvard University
Ki Ann Goosens, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Klaus Hartfelder, University of São Paulo
Darcy Kelley, Columbia University
Joseph LeDoux, New York University
Frederic Libersat, Ben Gurion University of the Negev
Ryszard Maleszka, Australian National University
Michael Nusbaum, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Nirao Shah, University of California, San Francisco
Benjamin White, National Insitute of Mental Health/NIH
John Wingfield, University of California, Davis
Larry Young, Emory University School of Medicine
Dusan Zitnan, Slovak Academy of Sciences
Wavefront engineering has greatly expanded the capability of optical microscopy and measurements in biological systems. Recent breakthroughs in measuring and controlling optical wavefront have led to many important applications, including deep tissue microscopy with improved imaging quality and depth, optical tweezers with sophisticated shape and momentum distribution, and three-dimensionally patterned optogenetic excitation. This conference will bring together leading experts in a variety of research fields that employ innovative wavefront control technologies for biomedical applications.
Apply for participation and submit your abstract.
Find out more about Janelia Conference Student Scholarships.
Organizers
Meng Cui, Janelia Farm Research Campus/HHMI
Na Ji, Janelia Farm Research Campus/HHMI
Invited Participants
Eric Betzig, Janelia Farm Research Campus/HHMI
Claude Boccara, ESPCI ParisTech
Martin Booth, University of Oxford
Stephen Boppart, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Wonshik Choi, Korea University
Kishan Dholakia, University of St. Andrews
Valentina Emiliani, Université Paris Descartes
Mathias Fink, ESPCI ParisTech
Sylvain Gigan, ESPCI ParisTech
Peter Kner, University of Georgia
Joel Kubby, University of California, Santa Cruz
Pablo Loza-Alvarez, Institute of Photonic Sciences
Jerome Mertz, Boston University
Donald Miller, Indiana University Bloomington
Wei Min, Columbia University
Rafael Piestun, University of Colorado at Boulder
Demetri Psaltis, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
Alexander Rohrbach, University of Freiburg
Austin Roorda, University of California, Berkeley
Yaron Silberberg, Weizmann Institute of Science
Lihong Wang, Washington University in St. Louis
David Williams, University of Rochester
Chris Xu, Cornell University
Over the past decades, the visual system of insects has emerged as a powerful model system to investigate the underlying mechanisms of neuronal network function. The purpose of this meeting is to bring together scientists interested in visual perception, focusing on such areas as the biophysical limits of vision, motion vision and polarized light detection, through navigation and multisensory integration. We anticipate that this small meeting of leading scientists working in these areas will provide a forum for vigorous discussion of novel approaches and insights into visual system function.
MEETING AGENDA
Organizers
Tom Clandinin, Stanford University
Karin Nordström, Uppsala University
Michael Reiser, Janelia Farm/HHMI
Invited Participants
Emily Baird, Lund University
Alexander Borst, Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology
Dmitri Chklovskii, Janelia Farm/HHMI
Damon Clark, Stanford University
Claude Desplan, New York University
Michael Dickinson, University of Washington
Mark Frye, HHMI/University of California, Los Angeles
Uwe Homberg, Philipps-Universität Marburg
Andrew Huberman, University of California, San Diego
Kei Ito, University of Tokyo
Vivek Jayaraman, Janelia Farm/HHMI
Mikko Juusola, University of Sheffield
Chi-Hon Lee, National Institutes of Health
Ian Meinertzhagen, Dalhousie University
David O'Carroll, University of Adelaide
Shannon Olsson, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology
Daniel Osorio, University of Sussex
Thomas Poggio, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Dario Ringach, University of California, Los Angeles
Mandyam Srinivasan, University of Queensland
Nicholas Strausfeld, University of Arizona
Daniel Tomsic, University of Buenos Aires
King-Wai Yau, Johns Hopkins University
Predator-prey interaction is a zero-sum game wherein speed and accuracy determine the victor. While different species often have sensory and motor systems adapted to their particular ecological niche, the problems of prey capture and escape retain many common elements: detection, tracking, evasion, etc. To what extent do different organisms use the same algorithm to solve common behavioral problems? Are the strategies used by a predator- prey pair adapted to exploit each other¹s relative weaknesses? This conference will bring together researchers investigating prey capture and escape in a variety of animal models, together representing some of the most impressive and dynamic behaviors in nature. By exploring both commonalities and differences in behavioral strategy, neural circuitry, and sensory/motor mechanics, we hope to begin identifying general principles that unify these diverse systems.
MEETING AGENDA
Organizers
Gwyneth Card, Janelia Farm/HHMI
Anthony Leonardo, Janelia Farm/HHMI
Bill Mowrey, Janelia Farm/HHMI
Katie von Reyn, Janelia Farm/HHMI
Ryan Williamson, Janelia Farm/HHMI
Invited Participants
Mark Alkema, University of Massachusetts Medical School
Malcolm Burrows, University of Cambridge
Jérôme Casas, UMR CNRS
Kenneth Catania, Vanderbilt University
Stacey Combes, Harvard University
William Conner, Wake Forest University
Paolo Domenici, IAMC-CNR Oristano
Florian Engert, Harvard University
Fabrizio Gabbiani, Baylor College of Medicine
Cole Gilbert, Cornell University
Melina Hale, University of Chicago
Roger Hanlon, Marine Biological Laboratory
Jens Heberholtz, University of Maryland
Ron Hoy, Cornell University
Stephen Liberles, Harvard University
Frederic Libersat, Ben Gurion University of the Negev
John Miller, Montana State University
Cynthia Moss, University of Maryland
Kiisa Nishikawa, Northern Arizona University
Karin Nordström, Uppsala University
Robert Olberg, Union College
Sheila Patek, University of Massachusetts
Ronen Segev, Ben Gurion University
Daniel Tomsic, University of Buenos Aires
This meeting brings together leaders from several areas of biological sequence analysis, with an emphasis on advancing the underlying theoretical models that many problems share. Topics will include recognition of DNA cis-regulatory elements; evolutionary approaches for remote homology detection; analysis of next-gen sequencing data for functional genomics; and combined phylogenetic and population genetic models for studying sequence evolution.
MEETING AGENDA
Organizers
Sean Eddy, Janelia Farm/HHMI
Katherine Pollard, University of California, San Francisco
Adam Siepel, Cornell University
Invited Participants
Serafim Batzoglou, Stanford University
Mathieu Blanchette, McGill University
Graham Coop, University of California, Davis
Richard Durbin, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute
Barbara Englehardt, Duke University
Manolo Gouy, CNRS - Lyon
Philip Green, University of Washington
David Haussler, HHMI/University of California, Santa Cruz
Jotun Hein, University of Oxford
Asger Hobolth, Aarhus University
Ian Holmes, University of California, Berkeley
Curtis Huttenhower, Harvard School of Public Health
Anders Krogh, University of Copenhagen
Christopher Langmead, Carnegie Mellon University
Ari Löytynoja, Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki
Gerton Lunter, University of Oxford
Rasmus Nielsen, University of California, Berkeley
Uwe Ohler, Duke University
Ivan Ovcharenko, National Institutes of Health
Elena Rivas, Janelia Farm/HHMI
Ingo Ruczinski, Johns Hopkins University
Mikkel Schierup, Aarhus University
Saurabh Sinha, University of Illinois
Johannes Soeding, University of Munich
Yun Song, University of California, Berkeley
Marc Suchard, University of California, Los Angeles
Olga Troyanskaya, Princeton University
Tandy Warnow, University of Texas at Austin
Planar Cell Polarity (PCP) is required for cell and tissue development in many contexts, and has been studied extensively in Drosophila. Its importance in vertebrate development became apparent only in the past decade, and it is now also being studied in mice, zebrafish, and humans. It is of increasing interest in the fields of stem cell biology and cancer, and defective PCP appears to play a role in the pathophysiology of several human disorders, including ciliopathies, cystic kidney disease, hydrocephalus, hearing loss, and nail dysmorphogenesis. A follow-up to the first meeting held in Italy in 2010, this conference will bring together leaders in the PCP field working in various model systems to share recent experimental results, insights, and tools, and to establish connections for future discussions and collaborations.
MEETING AGENDA
Organizers
André Goffinet, University of Louvain
Jeremy Nathans, HHMI/Johns Hopkins University
Tony Wynshaw-Boris, University of Califoria, San Francisco
Yingzi Yang, National Institutes of Health
Jennifer Zallen, HHMI/Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Invited Participants
Paul Adler, University of Virginia
Kathryn Anderson, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Jeff Axelrod, Stanford University
Seth Blair, University of Wisconsin
José Casal, University of Cambridge
Ping Chen, Emory University
Andrew Copp, University College London
Charlotte Dean, Medical Research Council, Harwell
Michael Deans, Johns Hopkins University
Danelle Devenport, Princeton University
Suzanne Eaton, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics
Lisa Goodrich, Harvard Medical School
Kenneth Irvine, HHMI/Rutgers University
Raymond Keller, University of Virginia
Diana Laird, University of California, San Francisco
Peter Lawrence, University of Cambridge
Xiaowei Lu, University of Virginia
Helen McNeill, Mount Sinai Hospital
Marek Mlodzik, Mount Sinai Hospital
Cecilia Moens, HHMI/Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Mireille Montcouquiol, Université de Bordeaux
Jennifer Murdoch, Royal Holloway, University of London
François Schweisguth, Institut Pasteur
Michael Simon, Stanford University
Lila Solnica-Krezel, Washington University School of Medicine
Shankar Srinivas, University of Oxford
Gary Struhl, HHMI/Columbia University
David Strutt, University of Sheffield
Ann Sutherland, University of Virginia
Masatoshi Takeichi, RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology
Fadel Tissir, University of Louvain
Elena Torban, McGill University
John Wallingford, HHMI/University of Texas at Austin
Yimin Zou, University of Califoria, San Diego
This meeting will bring together leading investigators working on sensory systems in various genetically tractable models to clarify common themes, as well as distinctions, among the different organisms. Topics include mechanosensation, olfaction, magnetoreception, chemosensation, gustation, phototransduction and others. There will be a particular emphasis on animal behaviors driven by sensory signaling.
MEETING AGENDA
Organizers
Cori Bargmann, HHMI/Rockefeller University
Craig Montell, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Invited Participants
Diana Bautista, University of California, Berkeley
Yehuda Ben-Shahar, Washington University in St. Louis
Richard Benton, University of Lausanne
David Berson, Brown University
Michael Caterina, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Xinzhong Dong, HHMI/Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Catherine Dulac, HHMI/Harvard University
Miriam Goodman, Stanford University
Elena Gracheva, Yale School of Medicine
Samer Hattar, Johns Hopkins University
Jeffrey Holt, Children's Hospital Boston
David Keays, Institute of Molecular Pathology
Ching Kung, University of Wisconsin - Madison
Gary Lewin, Max-Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine
Emily Liman, University of Southern California
Patrick McGrath, Georgia Institute of Technology
Teresa Nicolson, HHMI/The Vollum Institute
Michael Nitabach, Yale School of Medicine
Ardem Patapoutian, The Scripps Research Institute
Steven Reppert, University of Massachusetts Medical School
Nicholas Ryba, National Institutes of Health
William Schafer, Medical Research Council
Piali Sengupta, Brandeis University
Greg Suh, New York University Langone Medical Center
Dan Tracey, Duke University
Leslie Vosshall, HHMI/The Rockefeller University
Shawn Xu, University of Michigan
Frank Zufall, University of Saarland
Laurence Zwiebel, Vanderbilt University
This meeting will bring together groups working on circuitry, behavior and invivo physiology. Presentations and discussions will focus on the following: the role of vibrissa sensorimotor control in the larger framework of neuroscience; advances in anatomical methods, including possible coordination of efforts in quantitative anatomy; prospects for delineating the molecular basis and cellular pathways of mechanosensory input from the vibrissa; advances in in vivo recording and stimulation methods (electrical and optical) for awake animals; advances in methods for behavioral analysis and cell-type specific electrophysiology; open conflicts in the existing database, including possible coordination of efforts for their resolution.
Organizers
Alison Barth, Carnegie Mellon University
Mitra Hartmann, Northwestern University
David Kleinfeld, University of California, San Diego
Karel Svoboda, Janelia Farm/HHMI
Invited Participants
László Acsády, Institute of Experimental Medicine, Hungary
Hillel Adesnik, University of California, Berkeley
Ehud Ahissar, Weizmann Institute of Science
Kevin Alloway, Pennsylvania State University
Rony Azouz, Ben Gurion University
Laurent Bourdieu, Ecole Normale Supérieure
Michael Brecht, Humboldt-Universitat zu Berlin
Randy Bruno, Columbia University
Jose Carmena, University of California, Berkeley
Manuel Castro-Alamancos, Drexel University College of Medicine
Ken Catania, Vanderbilt University
Daofen Chen, National Institutes of Health
Christiaan de Kock, VU University Amsterdam
Georges Debrégeas, Ecole Normale Supérieure
Martin Deschênes, Centre de Recherche Universite Laval Robert-Giffard
Mathew Diamond, International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA)
Adrienne Fairhall, University of Washington
Daniel Feldman, University of California, Berkeley
James Gnadt, National Institutes of Health
David Golomb, Ben Gurion University
Arthur Houweling, Erasmus University Medical Center
Ilan Lampl, Weizmann Institute of Science
Miguel Maravall, Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicante, CSIC-UMH
Christopher Moore, Brown University
Marcel Oberlaender, Max Planck Florida Institute
Carl Petersen, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
Tony Prescott, University of Sheffield
Dima Rinberg, Janelia Farm/HHMI
Bernardo Rudy, NYU Langone Medical Center
Jackie Schiller, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology
Cornelius Schwarz, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research
Gordon Shepherd, Northwestern University
Daniel Shulz, Unité de Neurosciences Information et Complexité (UNIC)
Daniel Simons, University of Pittsburgh
Stephen Smith, Stanford University School of Medicine
Garrett Stanley, Georgia Institute of Technology
Fan Wang, Duke University
Julius Zhu, University of Virginia
Recent developments in multielectrode recording methods and imaging have unveiled a wealth of data about the dynamics of neural circuits during behavior in animal model systems. In parallel, theoreticians have developed abstract network models that combine rich temporal dynamics with plastic synapses to produce powerful learning and discriminative mechanisms. This meeting aims to bring together experimentalists and theoreticians in an attempt to compare abstract circuit models to experimental evidence from neural circuits in behaving animals. The goal is for participants to bridge the gap between theory and experiment by identifying principles of neural circuit operation that may subserve and promote adaptive behavior.
MEETING AGENDA
Organizers
Joshua Dudman, Janelia Farm/HHMI
Timothy Gardner, Boston University
Alla Karpova, Janelia Farm/HHMI
Joseph Paton, Champalimaud Neuroscience Programme
Invited Participants
Misha Ahrens, Harvard University
Dean Buonomano, University of California, Los Angeles
Stijn Cassenaer, California Institute of Technology
Mark Churchland, Columbia University
Rui Costa, HHMI/Champalimaud Center for the Unknown
Sophie Denève, Ecole Normale Supérieure
Michale Fee, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Rainer Friedrich, Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research
Stefano Fusi, Columbia University
Surya Ganguli, Stanford University
Tom Jessell, HHMI/Columbia University
Michael Long, NYU Langone Medical Center
Eugene Lubenov, California Institute of Technology
Wolfgang Maass, Technische Universität Graz
Christian Machens, Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown
Zachary Mainen, Champalimaud Neuroscience Programme
Valerio Mante, Stanford University
Michael Mauk, University of Texas at Austin
Bence Ölveczky, Harvard University
Eva Pastalkova, Janelia Farm/HHMI
Alfonso Renart, Champalimaud Center for the Unknown
David Sussillo, Stanford University
Jochen Triesch, J.W. Goethe University, Frankfurt
Xiao-Jing Wang, Yale University
Membrane proteins are vital for life. They remove waste products and bring essential nutrients into the cell. They help maintain homeostasis and are vital for sensing, sending and receiving information and for the propagation of action potentials. The purpose of this meeting is to bring selected principle investigators from around the world to the Janelia Farm Research Campus to showcase what is known about different membrane protein families from a structural perspective and to discuss the future directions of membrane protein structural biology.
Registration is closed for this meeting.
MEETING AGENDA
Find out more about Janelia Conference Student Scholarships.
Organizers
Susan Buchanan, National Institutes of Health
Tamir Gonen, Janelia Farm/HHMI
Thomas Walz, HHMI/Harvard Medical School
Invited Participants
Jeff Abramson, University of California, Los Angeles
William Catterall, University of Washington School of Medicine
Jue Chen, HHMI/Purdue University
James Chou, Harvard Medical School
Raimund Dutzler, University of Zurich
Joshua Finkelstein, Nature Publishing Group
Eric Gouaux, HHMI/Oregon Health & Science University
Reinhard Grisshammer, National Institutes of Health
Hans Hebert, Karolinska Institutet
Wayne Hendrickson, Columbia University
Katherine Henzler-Wildman, Washington University in St. Louis
Kaspar Locher, ETH Zurich
Roderick MacKinnon, HHMI/The Rockefeller University
Poul Nissen, University of Aarhus, Denmark
Nicholas Noinaj, National Institutes of Health
Krzysztof Palczewski, Case Western Reserve University
Douglas Rees, HHMI/California Institute of Technology
John Rubinstein, University of Toronto
Leonid Sazanov, Medical Research Council (MRC)
Raymond Stevens, Scripps Research Institute
Daniela Stock, Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute
Kenton Swartz, National Institutes of Health
Justin Taraska, National Institutes of Health
Chris Tate, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
Tomitake Tsukihara, Osaka University
Bert Van den Berg, University of Massachusetts Medical School
Gabriel Waksman, University College London
Da-Neng Wang, Skirball Institute
Matthew Whorton, Rockefeller University
Mark Yeager, Scripps Research Institute
Ming Zhou, Columbia University Medical Center
Rooms in the guest house look out over a small pond toward a hardwood forest.
They typically run for two and a half days, beginning Sunday evening and ending mid day on Wednesday.
Accommodations
All external participants are housed on-site in our guest house. Units are single queen rooms. A fitness center is available for guests' use.
Size
Janelia conferences range from small workshops for more intimate discussions to larger meetings of up to about 60 people.
Structure
Each conference normally has at least one external and one internal organizer (usually a Janelia lab head). Meetings are announced on the Janelia website each March and September and openly advertised so that interested members of the scientific community may apply online. The conference organizers invite participants based on their research abstract and ability to contribute to the scientific discussion. Presentations may include talks and/or posters.
Cost
HHMI funds the local costs of the meeting, including food and accommodation for all participants. Travel costs are discussed below.
Travel
Travel costs are not normally covered, but Janelia has some funds available to provide travel assistance to a fraction of participants. If you need such assistance in order to attend, please apply in the “travel funds request” field during online registration.
In accordance with our conference travel policy, participants who have applied and been approved for support in advance of the meeting will be reimbursed up to a fixed amount based on the average cost of advanced-purchase, coach class air travel from the participant's geographical region to Janelia. If approved, participants must attend the entire conference to qualify for reimbursement. Download our detailed travel policy for more information.
Abstract Book
To facilitate interactions, all conference participants are asked to provide a short abstract on their research interests, which will be included in an abstract book.
Publication
Presentations at Janelia conferences do not constitute scientific publications, and their scientific content may not be shared outside of the conference without the express permission of the presenter. Permission is required for sharing through tweets, websites, or blogs as well as more traditional means of communication. This has been the standard ethic for dissemination of unpublished results presented in closed scientific meetings, and we feel that this ethic is important to promote the free exchange of unpublished material, which is in the interests of all participants. The advent of new Internet technology does not change the standards for ethical conduct of science.
For these reasons, participants are not permitted to record presentations or posters by electronic or photographic means without the express permission of the presenter. Given these assurances, presenters should speak openly and not allude to any data or experiments that they are not prepared to discuss in full.
The application to participate in a Janelia conference contains the following statement, and each participant must agree to these provisions: "Presentations and posters are not to be recorded by electronic or photographic means, and the scientific content of Janelia conference presentations, posters, and discussions is not to be shared outside of the conference, without the express permission of the presenter. Permission is required for sharing through tweets, websites, or blogs as well as more traditional means of communication. Authors are requested to omit references to the scientific content of Janelia conferences from any publication."
Internal Web-Casting
We record platform talks and broadcast them within Janelia’s laboratory building via the intranet ONLY for the convenience of our resident and visiting scientists. We hold these recordings for seven days after the talk and then delete them from our systems. All participants must agree to this recording.
Child Care
We have child care available for children between the ages of six weeks and five years (space permitting, see http://centers.brighthorizons.com/learninglab/). The hours are 7:30 am to 6:30 pm. Participants must pay for child care and the cost varies depending on the child's age. Some paperwork is required in advance (vaccination certificates, etc.). Please contact the child care director at (571) 209-4025 for more information.
Janelia Conference Scholarships for Students from Disadvantaged Backgrounds
Conference scholarships that cover the cost of travel and specified associated out-of-pocket expenses (for example, poster printing) are offered by Janelia Farm to graduate students who would otherwise be unable to participate in our meetings. These scholarships will allow graduate students who are members of a group underrepresented in the sciences, who come from disadvantaged backgrounds, or who are actively involved in promoting diversity in the sciences to attend conferences at Janelia. They will function to increase access of these students to leading scientists and to enrich the possible recruiting pool for Janelia Farm. One scholarship will be awarded per conference.
Eligibility
Any matriculated graduate student may apply. To be eligible for consideration, an applicant must self-identify as a member of a group underrepresented in the sciences, as having come from a disadvantaged background, or as being interested in promoting diversity in the sciences.
A student is considered to come from a disadvantaged background if he or she comes from an environment that may have hindered him or her from obtaining the knowledge, skills, and ability required to enroll in an undergraduate institution. For example, students from very-low-income families (such as those eligible for food stamps or public housing) or whose parents did not go to college are considered to come from a disadvantaged background.
Application
The scholarship application deadline for spring 2013 conferences is November 14, 2012. Applicants are asked to:
- Specify which conference they wish to attend
- Explain why they will both benefit and contribute scientifically in attending
- Explain how they believe they meet the eligibility requirements
- Provide a CV
- Provide a reference from their academic advisor
- Register online for the conference of choice
Applications will be assessed by the Janelia Farm Conference Program administrator in conjunction with the conference organizers.
Logistics
Scholarship applicants must also formally register for their conference of choice at http://conference.janelia.org/cms. Scholarship applications cannot be considered if the conference registration process is not completed.
Apply for a Janelia Conference Scholarship
Why do I have to submit an abstract and what should I write?
Abstracts for JFRC conferences serve several purposes: they help the organizers plan the meeting agenda, act as a scientific introduction for the attending participants who may not know your research well, and allow you to state your future research goals, which may elicit useful assistance or suggestions. We ask that all participants submit an abstract, even if it is short.
How can I confirm that my abstract submission is complete?
Upon completion of the required items, which are the presentation title, author(s), abstract, and key words, you will receive an e-mail confirmation with a summary of all of the information entered in our online registration. Because this notification will be sent to your e-mail address, please avoid entering confidential information during registration.
Make sure you have saved all abstract information before the submission deadline for the conference. Once the submission deadline has passed, you will be able to view your abstract information.
If you have any questions regarding accommodations, meals, or transportation/parking, please contact the Campus Services department at reservations@janelia.hhmi.org. If you have technical problems or have any other questions about the Janelia conference program, please send an email to Conference Management at conference@janelia.hhmi.org.
How can I ensure that an assistant or alternate contact is included in all conference e-mail correspondence?
You can specify an assistant/alternate e-mail address on the "Contact Info" tab in the registration system. All conference notifications are sent to both the primary e-mail address and the assistant/alternate e-mail address for your account.
When will I find out if I have been accepted to participate in the conference?
Approximately four months before the date your conference begins, you should be notified of your status. However, this may vary. We will inform you as soon as the organizers have made their decisions.
What if I need to make changes to my abstract or personal information after the registration website has closed?
Because the conference organizers require your abstract for creating the final agenda, we ask that you please complete all registration information in advance of the deadline. However, if you do need to make modifications, please send an e-mail to conference@janelia.hhmi.org.
Is there a registration fee to attend Janelia conferences?
There is no registration fee for our conferences, and we cover the cost of food and housing.
How do I get to Janelia Farm Research Campus?
Directions to Janelia can be found at http://www.janelia.org/campus-community/janelia-farm-campus. We recommend you use Washington Dulles International Airport when traveling, as it is a short cab ride from campus. Directions from Dulles Airport will be emailed one to two weeks prior to the start of the meeting. We suggest that you print all directions and have them on hand when using ground transportation to ensure that you do not get lost (printable directions from Dulles to Janelia). If you need additional assistance getting to campus, please call our main line at 571-209-4000 to reach the reception desk.
JFRC does not offer transportation to campus, but does offer a shuttle service to Washington Dulles International at the close of each meeting. You may sign-up to use this service at check-in.
Please note JFRC is a secure campus and you will not be allowed access prior to your scheduled arrival date.
Does Janelia Farm pay for my travel expenses?
Conference organizers are allotted funds to provide travel scholarships to a fraction of participants. In accordance with our travel policy, travel expenses for these participants will be reimbursed up to a fixed amount based on the average cost of advanced-purchase, coach class air travel from the participant’s geographical region to Janelia Farm. Unless otherwise approved, you must attend the entire conference in order to receive your reimbursement. Download our detailed travel policy.
Can I drive to the meeting and park my car on campus?
Yes, but please let us know ahead of time so that we can arrange this with campus security.
How do I reach Janelia Farm from Washington Dulles International Airport?
You will need to take a cab from the airport to Janelia Farm. It is about a 15-minute, $30 ride.
How do I get back to Washington Dulles International Airport after the conference?
We provide free shuttle service from Janelia farm back to Dulles Airport. Three shuttles will leave at staggered times to accommodate all travelers. The trip takes approximately 15 - 20 minutes. You can sign up for a shuttle at the reception desk any time during your conference. If the shuttle times are not amenable to your flight schedule, you can request a cab by filling out the appropriate form at the reception desk. The cab ride to Dulles Airport is about $30.
How far in advance do I need to arrive at the airport for my return flight?
It is recommended that you arrive at the airport three hours in advance for international flights and two hours in advance for domestic flights. However, this time-frame is largely dependent on the day/time of your travel and whether you are checking baggage. We do provide a kiosk for printing your boarding pass before leaving Janelia Farm.
When can I arrive and check-in for my Janelia Conference?
We typically expect check-ins to occur after 3 pm on the first day of the conference, which is normally a Sunday. However, if your travel plans call for you to arrive earlier, we will do what we can to accommodate you. Our reception area is staffed 24 hours a day; however, if you have any questions regarding the conference, you must wait until the designated registration period to speak with a conference coordinator.
If you arrive early and would like to purchase refreshments, you may use the credit allotted on your room key. This credit is available to you throughout your stay and is intended for use in Bob's, our campus Pub.
What happens during check-in?
At check-in you will receive your room key, which also has credit applied to it for your use at Bob’s Pub. You will also receive your conference abstract book and an updated agenda if any changes have been made. At this time, or any time during the conference, you can sign up for a shuttle or cab service back to Dulles Airport.
Where will I stay when I attend a Janelia Conference?
You will receive your room key to the guest house and conference materials at the registration desk upon your arrival. If you live locally and do not need accommodations, please notify conference management on the travel page of the registration process.
What are the rooms like in the Janelia guest house?
Each guest room has a private bath, queen size bed, desk, iron and ironing board, hair dryer, and alarm clock. Upon request we can provide bedrails, a portable crib, or a mini refrigerator for medications or dietary needs. The guest house features a 24/7 fitness center with locker rooms, free weights, and aerobic exercise equipment.
What will I eat while at Janelia Farm?
We will provide you with breakfast, lunch, and dinner. For snacks and other options, feel free to use the credit applied to your room key at Bob's Pub, which is open all day.
What if I have special needs regarding meals or accommodations?
Please notify us of any special needs you may have in the "special needs" section during the online registration. You may also e-mail Campus Services at reservations@janelia.hhmi.org.
When will I receive the meeting agenda?
Those who are invited or who apply and are chosen to participate will receive a provisional agenda following registration, when it is available. A more current agenda will be sent along with directions from Washington Dulles International Airport about one week prior to the meeting. The agenda will also be posted on our web site.
How big are the poster boards?
Our poster board size is approximately 45 inches tall by 45 inches wide (1.14 meters x 1.14 meters).
Do I need to bring my own laptop?
No. We have both PCs and MACs available for your use, but feel free to bring your own if you wish. You can bring your presentation on a disc or other portable hard drive. Keep in mind that our optimal screen resolution is 1920 x 1080.
Do I have to attend the whole meeting?
Yes. By agreeing to participate in a Janelia conference, you agree to stay for the entirety of the meeting. Only in rare instances do we permit participants to arrive late or leave early.
What should I do if I am unable to attend the conference?
We are sorry you will not be joining us. Once you are logged into the Web system, under the "Conference Info" section you will find "Decline Registration." Please click the "Decline Registration" button. Once you have declined registration, we will note that you will not be attending and you will no longer receive any notifications regarding the conference.
Am I expected to present my work at the conference?
We do expect everyone to be an active participant, by presenting either a talk or a poster.
