Expanding engagement and mentorship of developing scientists through ISDP Annual Meeting participation

The present proposal addresses a critical need to recruit and retain a diverse and talented pool of scientists, by providing direct travel support to trainees to permit them to actively participate in the annual meetings of the International Society for Developmental Psychobiology (ISDP), a well-established, yet exciting and vital, scientific society devoted to a broad range of scientific questions that cross many levels of analysis. The mission of ISDP is to promote and encourage research on the development of behavior in all organisms. The annual meetings feature invited speakers, symposia, oral talks and posters that span developmental questions across species including humans, with special attention to the effects of biological factors operating at any level of organization. Funds from this grant have provided support for pre- and postdoctoral trainees to travel to these meetings. The present proposal requests 5 years continuation of travel support from NIH to continue supporting our ability to bring the brightest students and postdoctoral fellows to this meeting where they will be able to interact with others examining critical questions related to normal and abnormal development using scientific paradigms ranging from the molecular to the clinical. Providng multi-year support encourages a culture of active and continued participation at the ISDP meetings among graduate students and postdoctoral trainees, prolonging the impact well beyond the period of support requested.