SAVE THE DATE: AUGUST 11-14, 2024

DO YOU KNOW WHERE THIS IS????

Get your passports out and get ready to head north…..the 13th International Neural Tube Defect Conference is leaving Austin, Texas for ……..Vancouver, British Columbia, CANADA! That’s right, we will be hosting next year’s meeting in beautiful British Columbia on the campus of my alma mater, the University of British Columbia. The campus is located at the western tip of the Point Grey Peninsula in Vancouver. We will be providing more details to follow shortly, but we hope everyone can start thinking about making plans to attend. The setting is spectacular. Covering nearly 1000 acres in size, the stunning campus is surrounded by forest on three sides and ocean on the fourth, and is just a 30 minute bus ride to Vancouver's downtown core. The campus has been located on this site for most of its 100-year history; a location that is the traditional territory of the Musqueam people. We will have a free afternoon to tour the remarkable Anthropology Museum, the Japanese Gardens, the infamouse Wreck Beach and so much more. You can take a virtual tour.

2022 Conference Photos are up!

Want to relive all the exciting moments from the 2022 conference?

We were so thrilled to host the 12th International Conference on Neural Tube Defects in Austin, TX again. It was a year of FIRSTS!…First costume-themed poster session (but not the last?) and first time ever doing hybrid in-person and Zoom sessions. Lessons were learned to ensure the next conference will be even better. We hope you can join us for the next one. Until then, you can browse through the collection of conference photos, to remind you of the amazing science we shared and the fun we had. You can find the gallery by going to the NTD 2022 tab at the top of the page and selecting 2022 Conference Photos or click HERE.

Conference AGENDA is now live!

We’ve been busy working on the best conference schedule we could come up with. There were so many great abstracts, thank you for all your excellent submissions. Come ready to hear from all your colleagues. You can access the agenda here.

VIRTUAL PARTICIPANTS: We need your help! Please look for an email from Xue on your participation next-steps.  We will send you a link to access all the live conference sessions soon.

We cannot wait to welcome you to Austin in just a few weeks. The weather is cooling down.  Have you picked out your costume yet?

Abstract Submission Deadline EXTENDED!!

Beautiful beach days have a mysterious effect on me…….I simply cannot explain how or why, but the sound of waves on a clean, white sand beach makes me do crazy things…like extending the abstract deadline.  Yes, you read me right…..the new deadline is AUGUST 1st.

Please refer to the abstract guidelines section for more details about how to submit your abstract NO LATER THAN AUGUST 1, 2022.  It is possible to submit multiple abstracts if you designate which one you definitely plan to have as a poster.  You can reserve your hotel room now and start thinking about your Halloween costume for the poster session on Monday night.  The registration form is now available online and you can pay your registration fees directly. 

Any questions or concerns or ideas, please send them to Xue Gu (xue.gu@bcm.edu) or to me (finnell@bcm.edu).

Rick

REGISTRATION and PAYMENT LINK now LIVE!!!

Don’t delay, register and pay TODAY!! Click here to go to the registration page. Thank you for your patience as we worked out the technical difficulties.

UPDATED: NTD 2022 Submission Guidelines

Submission Guidelines

Link to Abstract Template

Submissions are limited to a single page, Word document, with 0.75-inch margins and 12-point font, and must include:

• Title

• Author(s) – presenting author in bold

• Affiliation(s)

• Summary of work to be presented

• Contact information for the corresponding author, including email address

• Research Category: although any topics related to neural tube defects are of interest and welcome, we are encouraging attendees to submit abstracts that might fall into the following categories:
  1) Advances in Genomics of NTDs
  2) Genetic and Epigenetic Models of NTDs
  3) Epidemiology and Intervention Strategies for Mitigating Comorbidities Associated with NTDs
  4) Emerging Technologies (e.g. genomics, metabolomics, imaging)
  5) Other

• Presentation Category: anyone can submit an abstract for the conference. As in the past, there will be sessions dedicated to our trainees. So please indicate on your abstract if you are a Pre-doctoral or Post-doctoral Trainee.

• Preferred presentation format: platform, poster

Abstracts may not include images, graphics or references.
Abstracts must be emailed as a WORD document to Xue Gu by Friday, July 1, 2022.

UPDATED LINK: Book your hotel room now!

The 2022 NTD Conference room block is now live!!! We’ll be back at the AT&T Hotel and Conference Center. Please click here to make your hotel reservations. For more information, go to the Accommodations section.

SAVE THE DATE...International Neural Tube Defects Conference 2022 is happening in Austin, TX October 30-November 2, 2022!

If it seems like a long time since we last got together………that’s because it has been.  We all miss seeing one another and learning about the great things that have been going on in everyone’s laboratories/clinics/operating theaters/sourdough bread kitchens and so on throughout the pandemic.  So, I am happy to announce that we have re-scheduled the next International Neural Tube Defect Conference to be held on Monday October 31-Wednesday November 2, 2022, at the AT&T Conference Center in Austin, Texas.  We plan to have the welcome reception at Casa Finnell on Sunday afternoon October 30th.  So come to Austin early, maybe spend the weekend enjoying beautiful Fall weather-we have rooms blocked at the conference center for early arrivals.

We will extend the conference to the end of day on November 2nd as I am sure that we have too many fascinating discoveries to share in just 2.5 days.  We also want to acknowledge at this meeting the passing of our dear friend and longtime conference attendee Dr. Tim George in his most recent hometown.  We will also have a special session chaired by Dr. Benny Iskandar to highlight the contributions the neurosurgeons bring to our meeting.  So, mark the date and make your plans to attend! Our local organizers will try to organize an appropriate Halloween event, so travel with your best Halloween costume gear.  Keep up with news here on the website and share this save the date with appropriate colleagues.

See you in Austin!
Rick, Betsy, Philip, Maitreyi, and Irene

Now accepting 2022 ABSTRACTS!!!

Submit your abstracts for the 2022 International Conference on Neural Tube Defects today!!! Submissions are limited to a single page, Word document, with 0.75-inch margins and 12-point font, and must include:

• Title

• Author(s) – presenting author in bold

• Affiliation(s)

• Summary of work to be presented

• Contact information for the corresponding author, including email address

• Research Category: Advances in Genomics of NTDs, Genetic and Epigenetic Models of NTDs, Epidemiology and Intervention Strategies for Mitigating Comorbidities Associated with NTDs, Emerging Technologies (e.g., genomics, metabolomics, imaging), or SURPRISE US! Any and everything.

• Presentation Category: Pre-doctoral Trainee Presentation; Post-doctoral Trainee Presentation

• Preferred presentation format: platform, poster

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

Abstracts must be emailed as a WORD document to Xue Gu by Friday, July 1, 2022.

WARNING:  This time we mean it! It’s a deadline.  We think that there will be an abundance of great science being submitted given that we have not met for a while and have reached out to broaden our attendance.

Please be on time with your abstracts.

Click HERE for abstract guidelines.

Book your hotel room now!

The 2022 NTD Conference room block is now live!!! We’ll be back at the AT&T Hotel and Conference Center. Please click here to make your hotel reservations. For more information, go to the Accommodations section.

SAVE THE DATE...International Neural Tube Defects Conference 2022 is happening in Austin, TX May 2-4, 2022!

If it seems like a long time since we last got together………that’s because it has been.  We all miss seeing one another and learning about the great things that have been going on in everyone’s laboratories/clinics/operating theaters/sourdough bread kitchens and so on throughout the pandemic.  So, I am happy to announce that we have scheduled the next International Neural Tube Defect Conference to be held on Monday May 2-Wednesday May 4, 2022, at the AT&T Conference Center in Austin, Texas.  We plan to have the welcome reception at Casa Finnell on Sunday afternoon May 1st.  So come to Austin early, maybe spend the weekend enjoying Spring (could be Summer) weather-we have rooms blocked at the conference center for early arrivals.

We will extend the conference to the end of day on May 4th as I am sure that we have too many fascinating discoveries to share in just 2.5 days.  We also want to acknowledge at this meeting the passing of our dear friend and longtime conference attendee Dr. Tim George in his most recent hometown.  We will also have a special session chaired by Dr. Benny Iskandar to highlight the contributions the neurosurgeons bring to our meeting.  So, mark the date and make your plans to attend! Keep up with news here on the website and share this save the date with appropriate colleagues.

See you in Austin!
Rick, Betsy, Philip, and Maitreyi

2019 International Neural Tube Defects Conference information is live!

The 2019 International Neural Tube Defects Conference web site is now LIVE!! Please click this link for more information: https://bostonchildrens.cloud-cme.com/default.aspx?P=1&EID=1223

2017 Conference Attendees!!

Thank you to everyone who attended this year's 10th anniversary International Conference on Neural Tube Defects.  It was a huge success, thanks to all of you!

And a special thanks to our conference organizers: Drs. Richard Finnell, Laura Mitchell, Philip Lupo, and John Wallingford.

The Marcy Speer Award Winners for 2017

The Marcy Speer award is given out at each meeting of the International Neural Tube Defect Conference to the pre-and post-doctoral trainees whose presentation was ranked the best by a panel of distinguished scholars.   The competition is always intense, as all of the participants bring their finest work to the meeting.  This year there was a tie for the best presentation by a pre-doctoral student.  Ms. Amanda Baumholtz from Dr. Aimee Ryan’s laboratory at McGill University in Montreal and Ms. Micah Ross of Brigham Young University Provo, Utah ran away with the award.  Amanda’s work on Claudins and neural tube defects is about complete and she will be on the postdoctoral job market soon!  Ms. Ross works on redox potentials in embryos challenged by developmental toxicants.  Amanda and Micah have both attended the conference before.  A first-time attendee who impressed the judges enough to win the Speer Award for postdoctoral trainees was Dr. Jitao Zhang of the University of Maryland.  His presentation on measuring stiffness in embryonic tissues microscopically was extremely impressive!  Force matters in closing the neural tube. Congratulations to Jitao, Amanda and Micah, and really, to all of the trainees.  The efforts they put forth give us great hope that the future looks bright for the NTD research community.

A big THANK YOU to our amazing sponsors...

Sponsors
 

We are grateful to the following for their generous sponsorship of the 10th International Conference on Neural Tube Defects.
 

• NIH Institutes (NICHD, NINDS and NIEHS)**

• The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health

• Fibich and Associates PC

• The Susan Wayne Strauss Charitable Foundation

• Michael W. Kessler, Attorney at Law

• Phillips & Paolicelli LLC, Waters & Kraus, Cooney & Conway, and the Thornton Law Firm

**Funding for this conference was made possible (in part) by NIH grant R13HD093414 (NIH Institutes: NICHD, NINDS and NIEHS). The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the NIH; nor does mention by trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

Finalized Agenda

The agenda has been finalized!!  Please click here to view it.

POSTER SIZE

If you are presenting a poster, the poster board stands are 4’ X 8’.  

HOTEL DEADLINE is September 5

Please note that our HOTEL BLOCK deadline is September 5.  Our current room rate is $189 per day.  If you book your hotel room after September 5, you will have to contact the hotel directly and pay the $209 daily rate.  So DON’T DELAY!!!  Book your hotel room ASAP at this link: http://ntdconference.com/accomodations/   

NEW THIS YEAR: NEED A ROOMMATE??  If you want to keep hotel costs down, we now have a form you can fill out to find a conference roommate.  Please see the link below.  The sooner you add yourself to this roommate list, the sooner you can find one!!  Don’t delay.

https://goo.gl/forms/r0u90FNHnupYi4d22

 ** If you registered yourself for a roommate, click this link to find a match!!  Check back often as more people register themselves for a roommate, the list will update itself.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oFAwrpkneqNKtd6Nli-QElpa64el9M9JxpKQgzuSTr4/edit?usp=sharing

We hope to see you in October!!!
Jen

NEED A ROOMMATE???

NEW THIS YEAR: NEED A ROOMMATE??  If you want to keep hotel costs down, we now have a form you can fill out to find a conference roommate.  Please see the link below.  The sooner you add yourself to this roommate list, the sooner you can find one!!  Don’t delay.

https://goo.gl/forms/r0u90FNHnupYi4d22

Now accepting ABSTRACTS!!!

We are now accepting abstracts for the 10th International Conference on Neural Tube Defects!!!  Submissions are limited to a single page, Word document, with 0.75-inch margins and 12-point font, and must include:

• Title
• Author(s) – presenting author in bold
• Affiliation(s)
• Summary of work to be presented
• Contact information for the corresponding author, including email address
• Research Category: Genomics of NTDs, Developmental Biology, Clinical Consequences of NTDs, Emerging Technology or Other
• Presentation Category: Pre-doctoral Trainee Presentation; Post-doctoral Trainee Presentation
• Preferred presentation format: platform, poster

Please do not include images, graphics, or references as part of your submission. They will be deleted from the abstract booklet.  Abstracts must be emailed as a WORD document to jgilmore@austin.utexas.edu by Saturday, August 12th.

Thanks,
Jen