NEUROBIOLOGY OF DROSOPHILA MEETING COLD SPRING HARBOR LABORATORY October 3 - 7, 2023 ABSTRACT This proposal requests support for a unique international meeting, the biennial Neurobiology of Drosophila conference at Cold Spring Harbor to be held in 2023, the 20th meeting in this series. For the 2023 edition, the organizers have focused the meeting on topics of direct bearing on the central goals of the NIH Neuroscience Blueprint and BRAIN initiative, in particular the mission of NINDS, but also those of NICHD, NIDA, NIAAA, NIA, NIMH and NIAID. The meeting will explore the latest advances being made in the highly successful model system the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster through the combined power of genetics, molecular biology, cell biology, electrophysiology, imaging, and behavioral analysis to address fundamental issues in neurobiology with direct relevance to human health and disease. The meeting will have eight oral sessions:1) Neurological Disease and Injury; 2) Neuromics (Connectomics and Cell Types); 3) Cell Biology of the Neuron; 4) Technological Innovations; 5) Circuits and Behavior; 6) Synaptic transmission and plasticity ; 7) Sensory Modalities; and 8) Neurodevelopment. There will be three poster sessions presenting work drawn from each of these areas, as well as career development sessions representing diverse trajectories in and out of academia. Finally, there will also be two special plenary presentations: the keynote Benzer Memorial Lecture and the Elkins Memorial Lecture, which is an honor awarded to the student who has written the best Ph.D. thesis since the previous meeting. The 2023 Benzer Memorial Lecture will be given by Dr. Marc Freeman (Director and Senior Scientist, Vollum Institute, Oregon Health and Science University), whose pioneering work has shed light on the role of glia in nervous system development, disease, and injury. The meeting will remain of moderate size (~450 participants) in order to facilitate in-person discussion, exchange of ideas and techniques, and to promote new collaborations in rapidly evolving fields; in addition, virtual participation will be available to include those who cannot come in person. Roughly half the attendees have previously attended the meeting, highlighting its importance and relevance, and the new attendees bring fresh ideas and extend the meeting's reach. All applicants will be encouraged to submit an abstract and the majority of participants, typically over 75%, will present a talk or poster. Speakers will be chosen by session leaders and meeting organizers from the most timely and interesting abstracts submitted a few months in advance of the conference: this will ensure that late- breaking science is covered in all of the talks. This meeting has always attracted investigators across many career stages and has a historically excellent record of promoting the scientific development of young investigators; the majority of plenary session speakers are trainees. Special attention will be paid to recruit of a diverse group of speakers and attendees, and to run a meeting that is inclusive and welcoming, sharing new findings and technological developments at the forefront of the rapidly moving and influential field of Drosophila neurobiology.

NEUROBIOLOGY OF DROSOPHILA MEETING COLD SPRING HARBOR LABORATORY October 3 - 7, 2023 Project Narrative This Neurobiology of Drosophila conference focuses on advances made using the combined power of genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry, cell biology, electrophysiology, imaging, and behavioral analysis to address fundamental issues in neurobiology using the model organism Drosophila melanogaster. A driving principle of the entire field is that the lowly fruit fly, while seeming to have little in common with humans, shares many of the same genes, molecules and neural wiring – albeit far simpler – with vertebrate animals. Building on one hundred years of research in fly genetics, the fly neurobiology field is a burgeoning field with hundreds of laboratories around the world making significant advances. Understanding how neurons and circuits develop and work in Drosophila has enormous relevance to our efforts to elucidate nervous system function in higher animals, with significant impacts on how we think about neurological disease, brain evolution, circuit mechanisms underlying complex behavior, and other major themes of research in humans. Many of the technologies and research techniques developed for use in the fly have considerable utility for research in vertebrates and mammals. The overarching aim of the conference is to provide a forum to bring together a diverse group of scientists working in different areas to advance the impact of fly neurobiology. The meeting will be of moderate size (~450 participants) and will have no parallel sessions in order to facilitate discussion across disciplines, the broad exchange of ideas and techniques, and to promote new collaborations in this rapidly evolving field. The scientific organizers are elected by the previous participants, thus ensuring a fresh perspective on the scientific exchange. The 2023 organizers have focused the upcoming meeting around topics and themes of direct relevance to the primary mission of the National Institutes of Health, in particular the goals of the NIH Neuroscience Blueprint and NIH BRAIN initiative. All applicants are encouraged to submit an abstract and the majority of participants will present a talk or poster. Speakers will be chosen by session chairs, who are emerging leaders in their respective fields, and the meeting organizers from the most timely and interesting abstracts submitted a few months in advance of the conference, ensuring that late-breaking science is covered in all of the talks.