Conference: Society for Developmental Biology Annual Meetings 2023-2025

A key question in biology is: “How does a single, fertilized egg cell produce all the different cell types, tissues and organs of the adult organism; what genetic, molecular and cellular mechanisms regulate this process?” The field of developmental biology addresses this question that has intrigued humans since ancient times. Scientists working in this field study various organisms, ranging from bacteria to invertebrates to vertebrates, including humans, and also plants.

They use up-to-date techniques and methodologies to answer their specific questions. Knowledge acquired from such studies by numerous investigators around the world enriches our understanding of developmental processes, and also provides a fundamental basis for practical applications that enhance health and wellbeing of living organisms on this planet.

Since 1939 the annual meetings of the Society for Developmental Biology (previously Society for the Study of Development and Growth) have been the major forum for reporting discoveries, exchanging ideas and establishing collaborations among developmental biologists in North America and beyond. Cutting edge technologies have moved the field into the genomic era, allowing investigators to interrogate single cells during development and obtain high resolution images of cellular and molecular movements.

Such studies also provide information about how cells or tissues change in disease states; and why some tissues are able to regenerate while others cannot. These new technologies have also raised awareness of ethical practices; the SDB annual meetings have provided an important venue for rational discourse, as well as opportunities to train the next generation of developmental biologists.

The goal of the three proposed annual Society for Developmental Biology (SDB) meetings is to continue to provide the primary meeting venue for scientists in developmental biology and related fields world-wide. Meetings will comprise plenary and concurrent sessions with talks by seasoned and new investigators, dedicated poster sessions and workshops/roundtables on topics of special and current interest.

Multiple talks will be selected from submitted abstracts to ensure breadth and encourage new and diverse inputs. In keeping with SDB’s educational mission, the programs also include professional development workshops for trainees and pre-tenure faculty, postdoctoral symposia and networking opportunities for all. A unique feature of this meeting is the Hilde Mangold Postdoctoral Symposium, where two postdoctoral fellows review eligible abstracts from their peers, select the top seven/eight for short talks and co-chair the symposium.

They practice peer review and session chairing under the mentorship of the SDB president, an outstanding career development opportunity for these junior scientists. The SDB meetings are planned to be in-person but building on virtual meeting experience developed during the COVID pandemic, recordings of platform sessions will be made available for a short period post meeting, with permission of the speakers, for those who could not attend in-person.

While viewers will not be able to have live exchanges with speakers, they may contact the speakers via email with questions. SDB is committed to providing a welcoming, inclusive and respectful environment for all meeting participants, to encourage frank exchange of ideas and to inspire future collaborations.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.