# Winter Conference on Brain Research

> **NIH NIH R13** · MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA · 2020 · $15,000

## Abstract

This application is to request three years of funding for the annual Winter Conference on Brain Research
(WCBR). The 2019 meeting will take place Snowmass Village and Conference Center, Snowmass, CO
between Tuesday January 29-Saturday February 2. This conference is an ideal forum for exploring new
developments in the field of substance use disorders (SUDs). WCBR has a unique format with 90 sessions,
including 88 2-hr panels, 2 Pioneer sessions, and 2 short courses in 2018 and 499 scientist attendees. There
are daily poster sessions (Sun-Tue) including a special judged poster session that includes the top-ranking
poster submissions predominantly presented by young investigators on Fri evening. In 2015 Career
Development Workshops for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty were initiated and
maintain high attendance annually. Extended periods of time are set aside for breakout groups, networking and
scientific discussions. WCBR is an excellent opportunity for junior investigators and trainees to interact with
established investigators in a relaxed atmosphere. The evaluations of recent conferences highlight the strong
impact this meeting typically has on emerging as well as established scientists. As the travel funds allocated
for emerging scientists have not kept pace with the rising costs of attending small, specialized meetings, we
are requesting funding from other sources. We are hoping that the results of our requests enable us to support
a keynote speaker as well as a large number of junior investigators to participate in the meeting. The
conference includes one keynote speaker and one scientist who holds a Brain Talk Town Meeting open to the
entire community. For the 2019 WCBR meeting, Fred (Rusty) Gage Ph.D. Interim President of the Salk
Institute and Adler Professor in the Laboratory of Genetics and member of the National Academy of Sciences
will speak on Stem Cells and Neuropsychiatric Disease. There is an annual School Outreach Program
organized in collaboration with local middle and high school teachers in which up to 10 WCBR scientists visit
community schools. WCBR’s program is developed annually based on abstract submissions in August each
year. At WCBR 2018, twenty-two panels, one Keynote, and one Pioneer session were specifically on abused
drugs and another 19 panels and one short course were on reward-related topics. Thus, a large proportion of
the conference is highly relevant to understanding the neurobiological bases of drug addiction as well as
neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders consistent with NIDA’s mission. WCBR always provides a unique
opportunity to discuss recent advances in the understanding of the pathophysiology and treatment of those
conditions. The fact that a large proportion of the participants are junior investigators and a significant number
are graduate students and postdocs ensure that this conference has an impact on how future generations of
neuroscientists view these issues.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9846222
- **Project number:** 5R13DA047792-02
- **Recipient organization:** MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
- **Principal Investigator:** Jacqueline F. McGinty
- **Activity code:** R13 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $15,000
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-01-15 → 2021-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9846222

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9846222, Winter Conference on Brain Research (5R13DA047792-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-11 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9846222. Licensed CC0.

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