Recipient Organization
DONALD DANFORTH PLANT SCIENCE CENTER
975 NORTH WARSON ROAD
ST. LOUIS,MO 63132
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The 11th International Conference on Cell-Cell Signaling in Plant Development, Physiology, and Disease (PD2024) is a gathering of plant biologists who study plasmodesmata and intercellular trafficking in plants. It is held every three or so years by the by the community of plant scientists who study these intriguing plant structures. The meeting will be organized into eight (sessions) each focused on a particular theme. We expect that PD2024 will have a significant impact on the field of plasmodesmatal biology as the community gathers to discuss new research and revisit older ones. It will also positively impact plant biology research in other fields as new research on how plasmodesmata impact growth, development, and defense is shared, and new hypotheses are developed and subsequently tested. We expect that the publications arising from the meeting, the Digital Abstract book, and Special Issue of the Journal of Experimental Botany, will also be of interest to the wider community.AFRI funds will be used primarily to support attendance by participants who might otherwise not be able to attend, with special focus on early career scientists and scientists from underserved communities (expected impact: subsidized attendance of ~30 scientists). Additional funds will support full participation by attendees who might otherwise be excluded, e.g., by providing ASL interpreters or CART captioning services to ensure that hard-of-hearing and deaf scientists can fully engage with the meeting. Several agricultural stakeholders and agricultural researchers, including project directors currently or recently funded by AFRI's Physiology of Agricultural Plants (A1152) program area have been invited to and/or have already confirmed that they will participate in the meeting.
Animal Health Component
30%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
40%
Applied
30%
Developmental
30%
Goals / Objectives
The major goal of the project is to provide financial support early career scientists and persons from groups traditionally underrepresented in science who which to attend the Plasmodesmata 2024: International Conference on Cell-Cell Signaling in Plant Development, Physiology, and Disease.The project objectives are:To facilitate the sharing of research discoveries and progress,To establish an environment that fosters collaboration and encourages interdisciplinary approaches that will contribute to future progress in illuminating plasmodesmata biology.To provide a safe and supportive venue where early career scientist can share their research and ideas.To offer structured activities that foster network building.
Project Methods
The proposed Conference on Cell-Cell Signaling in Plant Development, Physiology, and Disease (dubbed PD2024) will bring together scientists from across disciplines and the globe who study intercellular communication and plasmodesmata. The four-day meeting will allow scientific discourse as well important opportunities for networking for scientists at all stages of their careers. PD2024 will particularly focus on early career scientists, giving them opportunities to present their research to wider audiences and to engage with carefully planned training activities centered on networking and career building. Our primary need is to provide financial support early career scientists and persons from groups traditionally underrepresented in science to encourage their scientific and professional development and to broaden participation in this emerging field of plant biology. Most of the project funds will be used for this purpose. The travel awards will lower the cost of meeting attendance, travel, and housing for participants who otherwise may not be able to attend, making it possible for these scientists to participate in the meeting. Funds will also be directed toward providing American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters and/or transcription (CART) services for deaf/hard-of-hearing attendees, should they request these accommodations.Efforts will include the following:Each session of PD2024 will include a presentation by an early career scientist who will be selected from the submitted abstracts. Session chairs will work to ensure that these speakers are treated respectfully during the question-and-answer portion of the presentation.A dedicated session of Early Career Talks and shorter 'lightning talks' that will be exclusively delivered by early career scientists (See Table 3). Our early career colleagues will indicate their interest in participating in these sessions on registration. An online training session led by the Session Chair and members of the LOC will be offered to all participants. This will be a good training opportunity that will also serve to level the playing field among the participants. Together with the poster sessions, the lightning talks will be a valuable approach to ensuring broader participation in the meeting.Scheduled networking lunches will allow early career scientists to have conversations with senior colleagues who are leaders in the field. We envision that participants will be seated at tables for lunch and guided conversations. Participation would be voluntary to ensure that those involved are truly desirous of partaking.Evaluation will include:We expect attendees to submit review articles to a special issue of the Journal of Experimental Botany. Submission will be measured as a sign of successful engagement.The number of attendees applying for travel awards and using ASL interpretation services will also be used a gauge for the success of recruiting efforts of member of underrepresented minorities.