The Santa Cruz Conference on Developmental Biology
3-7 August 2006
University of California Sant Cruz

The Santa Cruz Conference on Developmental Biology is a highly interactive small meeting presenting the latest research in a beautiful and intimate setting at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Up to 200 participants can attend the conference, which emphasizes molecular advances in development and pattern formation. In addition to the confirmed speakers, talks will be selected from the applicants. There are two clear major goals of the meeting. The first is to teach each other. The planned program will be a superb course in advanced developmental biology, and help those working with each particular organism to keep abreast of exciting new developments in the study of other organisms. This will be important not just for established investigators, but also for the many students and postdoctoral fellows who will attend the meeting. The second goal is communication to facilitate rapid research progress. We know of numerous collaborations that arose as a direct result of the last Santa Cruz meetings, and we anticipate more of the same.

The invited participants are intentionally diverse, drawing together workers that study vertebrates, invertebrates and plants. Furthermore, the experimental strategies will be varied: talks will present experimental techniques ranging from experimental embryology and cell biology to genetics, genomics, molecular biology and biochemistry. The talks from each of these varied sub-areas will not be segregated into their own sessions; instead they will be integrated throughout the meeting to maximize interactions and emphasize interconnections.

The meeting will offer ample opportunity for both formal and informal discussion among participants.