Transportation

Hi all!
 
We are looking forward to seeing everyone next week for the 2013 Conference on Neural Tube Defects.
 
Transportation options from Austin Bergstrom International Airport (ABIA) to The AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center:

  • Capital Metro Bus Route 100 (aka the Airport Flyer) costs $1/trip and leaves about every 30 minutes. It will take you to a central location on campus (the Trinity and 18th stop). You can walk to the ATT Center in 15 minutes or less.
  • Taxi service from ABIA is roughly 27$ (up to 4 persons) each way. Taxis are queued at the airport on the lower level.
  • SuperShuttle is a 3rd party shuttle service from ABIA. The charge is per person (16$). No reservation from the airport is required, however, one is required on the return trip from the hotel.
  • Sedan services are available through private contractors as well.

More information on ground transportation can be found here.

The weather should be lovely for the conference with clear skies and temperatures in the high 80s(F)/20s(C) during the day and cooler in the evenings.

Registration is now open!

Registration is now available online for the conference! Registration information can be found under the NTD 2013 tab on this site.

Registration fees include:

  • Complete Abstract Booklet
  • Welcome Reception on Monday evening, October 7th, 2013
  • Breakfast, Lunch, & Coffee Breaks, Tuesday, October 8th-Thursday, October 10th, 2013
  • Barbecue Dinner in the Texas Hill Country on Tuesday evening, October 8th, 2013
    (includes shuttle bus transportation)
  • Poster Session and Reception on Wednesday evening, October 9th, 2013
Image courtesy of Austin Convention and Visitor's Bureau. 

Image courtesy of Austin Convention and Visitor's Bureau. 

Please note that there are two links on the registration page. If you are a Postdoctoral Fellow or PhD Candidate, please complete the trainee registration for the conference.

If you have any dietary restrictions, food allergies, or special meal requirements, please email them to <ntd2013@austin.utexas.edu> once your registration is completed.

See you in October!

 

Financial Support and Registration Updates

Several of you have asked about potential financial support for your pre- and post-doctoral trainees. Just as we did in 2011, trainee registration will be substantially discounted ($150) in comparison with the general registration fee of $325. Registration is slated to begin in early June, at which time another email will be sent.

In addition, we usually try to gather up as much financial support as possible and use that to pay for trainee lodging and any short fall in conference fees caused by the reduced registration. Many of the conference grants and funding mechanisms we use for this do not become available until just before the conference. This means that it is a good idea to prebook travel now. At the last conference, we were able to cover the hotel rooms for all 46 trainees that were in attendance. We hope to be able to do the same this year.

If you have trainees that need financial support, please email their names and status (Pre- or Post-doctoral) to NTD 2013 <ntd2013@austin.utexas.edu>.

Image courtesy of the Austin Convention and Visitor's Bureau http://www.austintexas.org/​

Second Call for Abstracts

The selection committee is still accepting abstracts for the 2013 Conference on Neural Tube Defects for one more month.

The deadline for submissions will be Friday, May 31st.

The abstract template along with the submission guidelines can be found here.

Abstracts can be emailed to NTD 2013 <ntd2013@austin.utexas.edu>.

See you in October!

Image courtesy of the Austin Convention and Visitor's Bureau http://www.austintexas.org/​

Image courtesy of the Austin Convention and Visitor's Bureau http://www.austintexas.org/​

Important Information about Lodging

Abstracts are starting to roll in and this year's conference is sure to be well attended. ​Registration for the conference will begin this summer, but we want to suggest that you make your lodging reservations as soon as possible.

The conference is scheduled between the two weekends of the Austin City Limits Music Festival, which means that it will be a very exciting time to be in Austin. Unfortunately, it also means that there will be lots of out-of-town visitors and that hotel reservations will fill up rather quickly.

Photo courtesy of the Austin Convention &amp; Visitor's Bureau ​

Photo courtesy of the Austin Convention & Visitor's Bureau

​

There is a block of rooms at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center where the conference is being held and they are currently accepting hotel reservations for the 2013 conference. Through the website you can book, modify or cancel your hotel reservations at any time and receive updated information about the event. ​

There are also ​number of Hotels, inns, and B&Bs in the vicinity of the conference center, which I have included on the Google map that can be found on the maps page.

​

First Call for Abstracts

The selection committee is now accepting abstracts for the 2013 Conference on Neural Tube Defects.​

Abstracts should be no more than one page in length (single-spaced in 11-pt font or larger) and should contain the following information:​

  • Title
  • Author(s)​
  • Affiliation(s)​
  • ​Contact information for the corresponding author, including email address

Also include the category that best describes the subject of your proposed abstract:

  • Pre-doctoral Trainee Presentation
  • Post-doctoral Trainee Presentation
  • Epigenetic Mechanisms
  • Environmental Risk Factors
  • Folate and Other Nutrients
  • Genetics
  • Embryology and Development
  • Emerging Technologies and New Approaches
  • Classification
  • Clinical

Please do not include graphics or references as part of your submission. They will be deleted from the abstract booklet.​

Abstracts can be emailed to NTD 2013 <ntd2013@austin.utexas.edu>

​

Save the Date

Mark your calendars for October 7th–10th, 2013!

These dates are confirmed for the 8th International Conference on Neural Tube Defects to be held in Austin<http://www.austintexas.org/> in the heart of the beautiful Texas Hill Country.

The conference will begin with a welcome reception on the evening of Monday, October 7th, 2013, followed by three full days (October 8th–10th) of valuable presentations, information, and opportunities for collaboration. The conference will include oral as well as poster presentations, so start planning your abstracts now.

A block of rooms will soon be available at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center <http://www.meetattexas.com/> at a rate of $174.00/night.

Additional rooms will also be available at the Hampton Inn and Suites <http://www.hamptoninnaustintx.com/>, which was just completed in 2012 and is located only 2 blocks from the Conference Center.

We look forward to seeing you all in October.