Tree Shrew Discovery Meeting

Project Summary/Abstract The tree shrew shares many advantages with rodents for biomedical research, such as small body size, short reproductive cycle, and low maintenance cost. Importantly, it is phylogenetically closer to primates than rodents, and exhibits a more developed visual system and higher cognitive capabilities. These unique characteristics have led to a growing interest among biomedical researchers in using tree shrews as a model organism. With the support of an R13 grant from the NEI, two meetings were recently held to bring together the community of established and new investigators who use tree shrews in their studies, with a focus on visual neuroscience. These meetings have helped scientific and technical exchange and have started to build a collaborative community of tree shrew researchers. Here the PIs propose to build on this momentum and establish a regular Tree Shrew Discovery conference, taking place once every two years. In each of these meetings, the organizers aim to achieve the following goals: (1) to share the latest scientific discoveries and novel technical developments; (2) to facilitate the training of diverse predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees, as well as independent scientists who are new to tree shrew research; and (3) to continue building a collaborative scientific community among tree shrew researchers. These meetings will allow for efficient exchange around topics including species characteristics, breeding and rearing, experimental procedures and techniques, and development of viral and genetic tools. Given the many advantages it offers for biomedical research, the tree shrew model will continue to play an important and expanding role in addressing fundamental neuroscientific questions. To vision sciences in particular, tree shrew research will help advance our understanding of visual system function and development, ultimately leading to therapeutic solutions for myopia, glaucoma, amblyopia, as well as other visual disorders.