Retinal Neurobiology and Visual Processing - Project Summary/Abstract We seek renewed partial support for the next three meetings (2024, 2026 and 2028) of the premier conference on retinal neuroscience: “Retinal Neurobiology and Visual Processing,” administered by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB). This unique forum attracts top retinal and vision scientists with diverse backgrounds in systems and cellular neurobiology, computational and developmental biology and vision research. Interaction is extensive throughout the five-day meeting and offers stimulating debate, sound guidance, and fertile ground for collaboration. The 2024 conference will be held June 16 - 21 at the Southbridge Hotel & Conference Center in Southbridge, Massachusetts and represents the 16th meeting of this highly valued biennial conference, which was first held in 1992. The provisional program provides a comprehensive survey of groundbreaking new research into topics of profound interest to the early-vision community, including: 1) retinal synapses; 2) circuit development; 3) photoreceptors and outer retinal processing; 4) retinal ganglion cells: coding and computation; 5) non-image forming vision; 6) retinal pathways and behavior; 7) degeneration and regeneration and 8) visual processing: beyond the retina. In addition, two interactive workshops are planned: new advances in molecular techniques for cellular and systems neuroscience; and career development for early investigators. Two special sessions will feature exciting and timely work selected from submitted poster abstracts from junior colleagues, especially graduate students. These highly popular “Data Blitz” sessions allow 24 junior colleagues to present a five-minute synopsis of their poster to the full conference audience. This ensures active engagement of junior participants and stimulates attendance at the poster sessions. Programming for the 2026 and 2028 meetings will be developed closer to those dates, to allow organizers to feature the latest work, but the goals remain constant: a diverse and engaging set of formal presentations; and intensive and productive informal exchanges spanning the retinal processing field. As reflected in the proposed program and documented positive feedback from younger attendees, we design the meeting to engage and serve our pre- and postdoctoral trainees, as well as early-stage independent investigators. We provide travel awards to help junior members attend the meeting, provide opportunities to speak or otherwise present their work and provide poster prizes to acknowledge their accomplishments. Graduate students obtain experience in public presentation, expand their conceptual and technical horizons and enjoy extended access to world-class faculty as they plan the next stage of their careers. We reserve many plenary talks for advanced postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty to enhance their visibility and career development and place special emphasis on recruiting speakers from underrepresented groups in science.
