Annual Meeting Preview: Optimize Your Time at Neuroscience 2014
With more than 15,000 scientific presentations, nearly 600 exhibitors, 51 symposia and minisymposia, and numerous workshops and networking opportunities, Neuroscience 2014 is an unparalleled venue for the sharing and discussion of neuroscience research. This year’s meeting features new workshops and expanded planning resources and builds on popular programs from last year. Maximize your annual meeting experience by adding these events to your itinerary and utilizing SfN’s helpful planning tools.
Workshops
In addition to the successful “Careers Beyond the Bench” workshop, scientists can attend many other workshops at Neuroscience 2014 focusing on issues such as mentoring, career advancement, and communicating science to the public.
Mentor-Mentee Interaction: How to Have a Difficult Conversation
Career coach Samantha Sutton will teach attendees how to skillfully craft a difficult conversation with a mentor or mentee. Attendees will gain conflict resolution skills and learn how to build strong professional relationships in the lab. This workshop will also include “role plays” to help participants sharpen their skills and prepare for real experiences.
Internationalizing Your Research, Training, and Funding Experience
This session is a new take on last year’s “Making the Most of Your International Training” workshop. Representatives from private and public funding agencies will present and host a roundtable discussion about the value of international research experience and how to obtain funding.
How to Effectively Communicate Your Science to the Public
An experienced panel will provide researchers with advice about how to communicate neuroscience to general audiences, focusing on writing, public speaking, and using various forms of social media.
Teaching Neuroscience: Online Learning
This year’s teaching workshop will discuss the benefits of “blended learning,” combining aspects of traditional courses with online components. Panelists will discuss helpful online resources and neuroscience Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs).
Meet-the-Expert series
The “Meet-the-Expert” series is a popular group of sessions that gives attendees a behind-the-scenes look at factors influencing various neuroscientists’ groundbreaking research. Each of the sessions allows attendees to engage in an informal discussion over breakfast. Experts at Neuroscience 2014 will include: Diane Lipscombe of Brown University, Julie Fiez of the University of Pittsburgh, Helen Mayberg of Emory University, and Kenton Swartz of NIH.
For a full list of workshops at Neuroscience 2014, visit SfN.org/workshops.
Dialogues Between Neuroscience and Society
From the smells, to the colors, to the tastes, a rich sensory experience takes place when we enjoy a meal. Our perceptions of taste and smell, and how we save these culinary experiences in our memory, are made possible by the brain. At Neuroscience 2014, noted chef, restaurateur, and former Top Chef contestant Bryan Voltaggio will discuss how he strives to create culinary treasures that transform how his guests think about food. The lecture, Food for Thought: Tastes, Aromas, and Memories of Food, is open to the public and will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, November 15, in Hall D of the Washington Convention Center.
Presidential Lecture Series
The 2014 Presidential Lecture Series, “Cells of the Brain,” will explore a variety of research topics relating to brain development and vision. Each year, the SfN president selects neuroscientists to present research on topics stemming from his or her area of interest. SfN President Carol Mason’s research explores the mechanisms of mammalian brain and visual systems development, looking specifically at axon guidance in visual pathways.
This year’s lecturers are Kelsey Martin of UCLA, Gordon Fishell of New York University, Botond Roska of the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, and Fiona Doetsch of Columbia University.
Public Advocacy Forum
This Neuroscience 2014 forum will focus on the implications for science funding in an era of global brain initiatives. The U.S., Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and other parts of the world have identified neuroscience as a priority. Yet, in many places, science budgets remain flat or are falling. This forum will tackle questions such as: How will these large-scale projects impact the field? What role will private funding play in these initiatives? How will funding practices influence individual research projects, primary investigators, universities, businesses, and science as a whole?
Enhanced Planning Resources
In a continued effort to help attendees take full advantage of their time at Neuroscience 2014, SfN is expanding its organizational tools that make the meeting easier to navigate. Find lectures, symposia, and topics of interest faster through these mobile tools.
Neuroscience Meeting Planner
The Neuroscience Meeting Planner allows attendees to build and save itineraries, browse sessions and events by day or type, and search for author indexes. The advanced search will also feature more specific search options to help users.
Meeting Mobile App
The Meeting Mobile App, available on Android, Apple, and e-reader devices, has improved the Schedule View and enhanced the Advanced Search with filters that can search by half-day, session type, or theme. Build your itinerary offline, or sync your personal schedule to the Neuroscience Meeting Planner. Improved email notes will allow you to reference back to items you have favorited or starred. Performance improvements have increased the speed and reliability of the mobile app.
Curated Itineraries
Neuroscience 2014 will feature eight curated itineraries to help researchers navigate the annual meeting by identifying lectures and events pertaining to specific topics. This year, the eight topics will be: addiction research, neurobiology of visual processing, neurodegeneration, psychiatric disorders, sleep and circadian clocks, spinal cord, synapses, and visual cognition and perception. Attendees can add all or part of the curated itinerary to their schedules through the Neuroscience Meeting Planner or mobile app.
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