Conference: 2022 Meeting of the Pan-American Society for Evolutionary Developmental Biology (Vancouver, Canada July 17-20, 2022)

Evolutionary Developmental Biology (EvoDevo) is an integrative field that sits at the intersection of Evolutionary Biology, Developmental Biology, Genetics, Genomics, and Physiology. One main goal of EvoDevo is to understand how genotype gives rise to phenotype. But in addition, EvoDevo workers are interested in reconstructing the evolution of developmental mechanisms.

One strategy to achieve this is to utilize naturally occurring variation between organisms to link genotype and phenotype and hence reveal how changes in genotype results in developmental and evolutionary change. To accomplish this, EvoDevo researchers apply modern developmental, genetic, genomic, and bioinformatic tools to a broad range of canonical and non-canonical model organisms.

The mission of the Pan-American Society for Evolutionary Developmental Biology (PASEDB) is to: 1) promote and support EvoDevo in the Americas, 2) provide a forum for communication and collaboration between workers in the field and related disciplines and, 3) promote training and education in EvoDevo and related disciplines. The members of PASEDB view the continued vitality and growth of the EvoDevo community as essential to progress and innovation in several fields, including some directly relevant to human and environmental health.

PASEDB is also strongly committed to achieving appropriate representation of women, racial/ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, and other individuals who have been traditionally underrepresented in science. The main way PASEDB is addressing these concerns is by organizing a biennial conference where established researchers and trainees representing a diverse cross-section of the field can meet to exchange ideas, network, and establish collaborations.

The activity will support the attendance of postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and junior faculty to the 2022 Biennial Meeting of PASEDB which will be held jointly with the Society for Developmental Biology in Vancouver, Canada. In doing so, the project will facilitate the exchange of ideas, collaborations, and sense of community needed to advance knowledge and train the next generation of scientists.

Due to the highly interdisciplinary nature of the field, these benefits will extend to related fields including Evolutionary Biology, Developmental Biology, Genetics, Genomics, and Physiology. Attendees will also participate in several activities designed to help promote appropriate representation of women, racial/ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, and other individuals who have been traditionally underrepresented in science.

The activity will support attendance of 8 postdoctoral scholars, 12 graduate students and 4 junior faculty at the 2022 Pan-American Society for Evolutionary Developmental Biology. Attendees will participate in several activities designed to help promote the future leaders in EvoDevo and to achieve appropriate representation of groups traditionally underrepresented in science.

These will include a postdoctoral fellow symposium, workshops for persons of color, members of the LGBTQ community, women in science, and EvoDevo researchers in Latin America. Participants will also be chosen to achieve gender parity, and at least 30% of funded attendees will be from groups traditionally underrepresented in science.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.