Project Grant 2630505

CONFERENCE: INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ARABIDOPSIS RESEARCH-ICAR 2027 -MANY BREAKTHROUGHS IN PLANT SCIENCE IN THE LAST 50 YEARS HAVE RELIED ON INSIGHTS FROM EXPERIMENTS USING THE MODEL PLANT ARABIDOPSIS THALIANA (ARABIDOPSIS). THOUSANDS OF RESEARCHERS USE ARABIDOPSIS IN THEIR STUDIES AND THE KNOWLEDGE DERIVED FROM THIS RESEARCH PROVIDES BOTH A BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF THE BIOLOGY OF FLOWERING PLANTS AND FREQUENTLY INFORMS A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF CROP SPECIES. IMPORTANTLY, THE KNOWLEDGE GAINED BY STUDYING ARABIDOPSIS SUPPORTS RATIONAL IMPROVEMENTS IN A VARIETY OF AGRICULTURAL TRAITS THROUGH PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY APPROACHES THAT WILL RESULT IN PLANTS ENGINEERED TO HAVE INCREASED YIELD, GREATER SYNTHESIS OF NUTRITIONALLY BENEFICIAL MOLECULES, DROUGHT-TOLERANCE, AND PEST-RESISTANCE, TO NAME SEVERAL EXAMPLES. THE SUCCESS OF THE ARABIDOPSIS FIELD HAS BEEN GREATLY FACILITATED BY THE OPENNESS AND COLLEGIALITY OF A RESEARCH COMMUNITY THAT MEETS AND SHARES RESEARCH WITH COLLEAGUES AT THE ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ARABIDOPSIS RESEARCH (ICAR). ICAR 2027 WILL BE HELD IN JULY 2027 IN MADISON, WISCONSIN, AND WILL FEATURE SCIENTIFIC TALKS ACROSS A BROAD RANGE OF TOPICS BY LEADERS IN THE FIELD. THERE WILL ALSO BE NUMEROUS OPPORTUNITIES FOR EARLIER CAREER SCIENTISTS TO PRESENT THEIR WORK AND NETWORK WITH OTHER COMMUNITY MEMBERS. THIS AWARD WILL SUPPORT PARTICIPATION IN ICAR 2027 BY GRADUATE STUDENTS, POSTDOCTORAL SCHOLARS, AND BEGINNING INVESTIGATORS. IN ADDITION TO SCIENTIFIC TALKS, PARTICIPANTS WILL PRESENT THEIR WORK THROUGH POSTER DISCUSSION SESSIONS AND ENGAGE IN LEARNING WORKSHOPS SO THAT PROFESSIONAL OBJECTIVES ARE MET. ALTOGETHER, THIS AWARD WILL SUPPORT THE PIPELINE OF SCIENTISTS SKILLED IN PLANT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY TECHNIQUES TO BETTER SUPPORT A ROBUST U.S. BIOECONOMY. A KEY FACTOR IN THE COLLABORATIVE INTERACTIONS AMONG ARABIDOPSIS RESEARCH LABS HAS BEEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET AND SHARE RESEARCH WITH COLLEAGUES FROM AROUND THE WORLD. ICAR 2027 WILL COVER A BROAD RANGE OF IMPORTANT AND CURRENT TOPICS IN 22 PLATFORM TALKS BY SCIENTIFIC LEADERS IN SESSIONS THAT ARE ATTENDED BY ALL PARTICIPANTS. THE TOPICS INCLUDE CELL AND MEMBRANE BIOLOGY, GENOME DIVERSITY, PLANT GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT, GENETICS, BIOTECHNOLOGY AND GENOME EDITING, PLANT RESPONSES TO ENVIRONMENTAL AND PATHOGEN STRESSES, NATURAL VARIATION IN PLANTS, AND TRANSLATION TO CROP SPECIES. THE PROGRAM WILL ALSO INCLUDE TWO POSTER SESSIONS DURING WHICH PARTICIPANTS, ESPECIALLY GRADUATE STUDENTS AND POST-DOCTORAL RESEARCH TRAINEES, WILL PRESENT THEIR WORK TO COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN INTERACTIVE SMALL GROUP DISCUSSIONS WHERE BIOTECHNOLOGY METHODS ARE OFTEN SHARED BETWEEN RESEARCHERS. THE MEETING WILL ALSO INCLUDE 27 COMMUNITY-PROPOSED SESSIONS, WHICH ARE CURATED BY THE NORTH AMERICAN ARABIDOPSIS STEERING COMMITTEE, ON A VARIETY OF DIVERSE TOPICS THAT IN PAST YEARS EXAMINED INCLUDED: SINGLE CELL BIOLOGY, GENE EDITING, ORGANELLE COMMUNICATION UNDER STRESS, ADVANCES IN PLANT NUTRITION, PLANT GROWTH AND DEFENSE, PREDICTIVE MODELING, TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS, NEW BIOTECHNOLOGY TOOLS AND APPLICATIONS IN PLANT MOLECULAR GENETICS, BIOCHEMICAL PROCESSES, EPIGENETICS, RNA MODIFICATIONS, QUANTITATIVE IMAGING, AND OMICS APPROACHES. THIS GRANT WILL SUPPORT THE PARTICIPATION OF EARLY CAREER RESEARCHERS, GRADUATE STUDENTS AND POST-DOCTORAL RESEARCHERS, COVERING REGISTRATION COSTS AND SOME TRAVEL. CONSISTENT WITH OUR COMMITMENT TO TRAINING, EARLY CAREER RESEARCHERS WILL BE PRIORITIZED FOR ORAL PRESENTATIONS SELECTIONS IN THE 27 COMMUNITY-LED SESSIONS. 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.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.