CSHL Conference on Molecular Mechanisms of Neuronal Connectivity 2026

About This Grant

ABSTRACT/Project Summary Molecular Mechanisms of Neuronal Connectivity September 8-11, 2026 The proposed meeting to be held at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on “Molecular Mechanisms of Neuronal Connectivity” in September 2026 will assemble leaders in the field, junior faculty, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students to discuss new, cutting-edge developments in the areas defined in the meeting title. This proposal seeks support for the fifteenth of a biennial series of meetings held at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory that has emerged as the premiere meeting in the world for this field. Topics to be discussed for the 2026 meeting will include: programs of circuit wiring, axon targeting, axon regeneration, synapse assembly, the roles of synapses in neural circuits, and glial control of neuronal circuitry and neuronal repair. The planned sessions and invited session chairs will emphasize new technologies and experimental approaches. Approaches include cell biology, biochemistry, genetics, structural biology, bioinformatics, computational biology and electrophysiology. Importantly, the meeting brings together research from multiple systems, including various vertebrate and invertebrate model organisms and human stem cells for investigating neural connectivity and function. Given the broad approaches currently employed in this field, communication among international researchers is essential to advance research and understanding of fundamental mechanisms that regulate wiring of the nervous system and how these mechanisms may relate to the causes and potential cures for neurological disease. Oral presentations will be selected by the session chairs in consultation with the organizers. Each session will be chaired by two leading scientists in the field and the session chairs will give presentations on their cutting-edge research. Selected speakers primarily include graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty. Two special lectures will be presented to provide essential background critical to stimulating discussion between scientists working on related but distinct areas. There will also be two poster sessions where the majority of participants can present their work. The meeting will be of moderate size, and we expect 250-350 neuroscientists in attendance.