NSF Award
2439773
Since 1975, the triennial International Congress of Invertebrate Reproduction and Development (ICIRD) has showcased high-quality research across the entire breadth of animal life. This conference is highly integrated along several dimensions, as it brings together biologists from many nations and institution types who are conducting research on many different invertebrate animal species. Further, their research examines reproduction and development at diverse biological levels, from ecological context to the roles of individual genes. This award supports the resumption of the ICIRD series, after the scheduled 15th Congress was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. More specifically, the award will support the attendance of 14 US researchers at different career stages at the Congress, to be held June 6-10, 2025 in Washington, DC. This meeting presents an excellent opportunity to support early career trainees in the field of invertebrate reproductive biology to network and learn about the exciting new advances in the field. The Broader Impacts of the conference include the support of early career researchers and the advancement of research programs. <br/><br/>The International Congress of Invertebrate Reproduction and Development (ICIRD) is a conference that takes a unique pan-metazoan view of reproduction, with a focus on less-studied taxa. Scientific topics to be covered at the conference include, but are not limited to: regeneration/body maintenance/asexual reproduction, invertebrates as food, evo-devo of reproductive mechanisms, gametogenesis and fertilization, evolution, genomic and genetic tools for pan-metazoan reproductive biology, larval development, and metamorphosis. By bringing together diverse researchers who work on many different animal phyla at several biological levels, broad patterns will appear that are not likely to emerge in conferences focused on a single taxon or level of organization. This award will be utilized to defray the costs for early career researchers (early-career PIs, post-doctoral fellows and student trainees) to attend and participate in the Congress.<br/><br/>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.
