Developmental Biology of the Sea Urchin and Marine Invertebrates (DBSUMI) Meeting XXVII - Meeting Rationale. In October 2023, the international community of who use marine invertebrates
as research models to address fundamental questions in developmental, cell, ecological, and
evolutionary biology will meet for The Developmental Biology of the Sea Urchin and other Marine
Invertebrates (DBSUMI). This will be the 27th forum for this meeting, which has been held
approximately every 18 months since 1980. Throughout the years, these meetings featured topics
relevant to a broad range of biologists working on subjects ranging from gamete interactions, egg
activation, cell fate determination and patterning, axis specification, gene expression, genomics,
morphogenesis, cell signaling, evolution, ecology, immunology, neurogenesis, regeneration and
experimental technology.
Importantly, advances in these fields apply not only to sea urchins but more broadly across
biological systems. To facilitate these broad findings, the original “sea urchin community” has
intentionally expanded the field by inviting researchers working on the cell and developmental biology
of other marine invertebrate models including tunicates, hemichordates, cephalochordates, molluscs,
polychaetes, cnidarians, ctenophores, and sponges. Each model has its own unique ability to answer
fundamental questions that can solve questions related to human development, health and disease. The
conceptual basis of comparative studies lies in their ability to identify commonalities of mechanisms
and processes across multiple taxa, which in turn reveal unifying principles of biology. Famous
examples for major discoveries arising from studies in marine organisms include our knowledge of cell
divisions and cyclins, and the role of microtubule motor kinesins, and the development of GFP and
other fluorescent proteins as widely-used tools in biomedical science.
Thus, our goal is to establish DBSUMI as the “must attend” conference for labs
using marine invertebrate model systems to answer a broad range of questions that are
highly relevant to human development and health. One central focus of the program is to
facilitate in-depth discussions among scientists. The combination of talks, discussion periods, and
informal social gatherings allow the integration of findings from diverse systems. DBSUMI XXVII and
its future iterations will be indispensable for the growth and vitality of this scientific community, as
unique comparative approach across a wide range of marine invertebrate models is underrepresented at
any cell, evolutionary and/or developmental biology meetings. To continue expanding and
modernizing the meeting, the organizers are introducing new initiatives and seeking NIH meeting
funding to support their implementation.
Specific Objectives. We are inviting more PIs, post-docs, and graduate students from non-sea urchin
labs to this meeting than in previous iterations. Many of these labs use aquatic models for human
disease with NIH-funded research programs (e.g. within NIGMS, NIEHS, NINDS, and NICHD). To
highlight the relevance of marine invertebrate research for understanding human disease mechanisms,
we are continuing to hold a dedicated plenary session “Aquatic Models for Human Disease” in the
DBSUMI XXVII meeting. Additionally, we will continue the highly successful pre-meeting workshops
directed by experts on cutting-edge technologies that have be originally developed in other model
systems and require tweaking to be applicable in marine invertebrates. These workshops are an
essential aspect of the meeting because there is currently no other forum where labs primarily working
on marine invertebrates can share their technical expertise. DBSUMI has consistently promoted the
careers of junior scientists, but for the first time, we are scheduling “lightning talks”, as well as
lunchtime career table themes. These events are designed to increase participation of junior scientists
while at the same time encouraging network building with senior scientists. Finally, we are promoting a
plenary session made up of speakers who are experts on ways to increase the diversity of URM and
persons with disabilities.
Past meetings have secured funding from the NSF, Society for Developmental Biology (SDB)
and vendors to support primarily students and postdocs to attend. This year we are seeking funding
from the NIH (NICHD, NIAID, NIEHS and ORIP) to defray the cost of initiatives designed specifically
to foster a sense of community among trainees and make the meeting available to a wider community.
We are requesting funds for 1) room and board for an extra night’s stay for 30 workshop participants, 2)
event space rental for the workshops, 3) funding to support providing a virtual attendance option and
4) travel awards for students and postdocs.
