Weinstein Cardiovascular Development and Regeneration Conference

PROJECT SUMMARY The aim of this proposal is to support with partial funding the arrangement and execution of the 2025 Weinstein Cardiovascular Development and Regeneration Conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Weinstein Cardiovascular Development and Regeneration Conference originated from a series of annual meetings in which investigators funded by three separate RFAs on Cardiac Development in 1986, 1988, and 1990 came together under the direction of Dr. Constance Weinstein and colleagues at the NHLBI. Subsequent to these initial RFAs, the Weinstein Conference has been maintained for more than 30 years by a community-led international steering committee independent of any society or organization. Since its inception, the 3-day Weinstein Conference has been the premier opportunity for basic science and clinical researchers in the field of cardiovascular development to interact and present novel data and ideas on various traditional and emerging topics pertinent to cardiogenesis, congenital heart defects, and adult heart disease emanating from embryonic origins. This meeting is one-of-a-kind for several reasons: first, it is entirely driven entirely by local and international organizing committees made up of researchers with no affiliation with societies; second, the collegial environment promotes the dissemination and discussion of innovative, unpublished data, thereby increasing the impact of the scientific content; and third while the meeting is attended by many of the senior leaders in the field, the overarching objective of our conference is to promote the professional development of trainee scientists and early career investigators. Notably, across the 3 days of our conference only two scientific talks are delivered by invited speakers, the two keynote seminars; all other talks are selected from abstracts where junior scientists proposing talks on unpublished data are overwhelmingly favored. In this proposal, financial support is requested for the 2025 Weinstein Conference to be held in Milwaukee. Funds will specifically be used 1) to supplement registration fees for trainees to keep costs at a minimum and encourage attendance, and 2) to provide financial assistance in the form of travel awards for under-represented minorities.