Bridging Diverse Perspectives on the Mechanistic Basis of Foraging

The ability to develop and execute adaptive foraging strategies in response to changing, complex environments is an essential tool of survival for many species, from insects to rodents to humans. Interest in the neural basis of foraging and its associated cognitive, sensory, and motor processes has exploded in recent years. As neuroscience moves towards an increasingly integrated understanding of brain function, studying ethologically relevant foraging behaviors offers an important opportunity for progress. However, gaining a mechanistic understanding of diverse foraging behaviors and their neural underpinnings requires collaboration across disciplines including systems neuroscience, cognitive science, ethology, ecology, and theory. This conference aims to foster intellectual exchange across these disciplines by bringing together some of the brightest minds excited about the neural basis of foraging to address three key questions:

1. Is it possible to establish mechanistic principles of foraging that are shared across species?
2. How can the study of foraging contribute to our understanding of cognitive or sensory processes in the brain?
3. What key questions and knowledge gaps should drive the future direction of foraging research?

Through a combination of talks, panel discussions, and poster presentations we hope to bridge diverse perspectives and work towards a roadmap for this emerging field.

Janelia will cover lodging and meals for all participants, and travel support is available to those in need (please indicate need in that portion of the application). Participants are expected to stay for the duration of the workshop and will also have an opportunity to extend their stay for continued discussion and collaborative time. 

The meeting will begin at 6pm ET on the first day and end by 1pm ET on the last.

Applications are closed

Please note: Because Janelia conferences are intentionally small and selective, we may not be able to accommodate all applicants. We strive for as broad a representation across labs as possible and therefore may limit participation to one person per group. Preference is given to applicants who are active researchers in the field and intend to present their work as a poster or selected talk.