The 2010 Auditory System Gordon Research Conference (GRC) will bring together top researchers to discuss molecular, cellular, and cognitive aspects of the sense of hearing. The goal is to share the newest findings that shed light on how acoustic information is detected and processed as it flows through circuits from the cochlea to the cortex and back. Emphasis is given to the auditory system as a whole, with sessions devoted to specialized features of auditory processing, such as mechanotransduction, synaptic transmission, and auditory behavior, as well as auditory dysfunction and efforts to develop new therapies. Invited speakers represent a wide variety of disciplines and use diverse methods and model systems, including molecular biology and developmental genetics in zebrafish and mice, electrophysiology in bats, and psychoacoustics in humans. To underscore the spirit of the conference, the meeting will begin with keynote addresses by Dr. Jim Hudspeth and Dr. Shihab Shamma, who will provide primers on the current questions and the typical tools brought to bear in two very different types of auditory research, as illustrated by their own most recent discoveries.

The conference will take place in a rural and collegial setting, with a schedule designed to stimulate cross-fertilization of ideas and facilitate the identification of emerging themes in auditory neuroscience. In addition to the invited speakers, several short talks will be selected from submitted abstracts. All participants will also be able to share their results during highly interactive poster sessions each afternoon and following the evening sessions. There will be ample opportunity for informal conversations and brainstorming sessions during the free afternoons and at shared meals. All attendees, including invited speakers, are urged to stay for the duration of the meeting. Junior investigators are also invited to gather for a smaller Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) preceding the GRC, where ~40 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows will exchange ideas with each other and with a small number of senior investigators who will be available for scientific feedback and career advice. Since this is a new meeting in the field, potential participants for both the GRC and GRS are encouraged to contact the Chairs with any questions regarding the scope of topics covered, the structure of the meeting, and opportunities for travel fellowships. Together, the Auditory System GRC and GRS will provide the perfect environment for participants to establish new collaborations and gain a fuller knowledge of how their own work relates to collective efforts to understand the sense of hearing.