Events and Orientation

For tours and trips see our travel page.

PLENARY SESSION
Tuesday, January 4, 2:30-5:30 PM
A special afternoon Plenary Session that critically examines and updates the “Neuron Doctrine” and honors Theodore Holmes Bullock for his many contributions to neurobiology will open the 2005 San Diego meeting on Tuesday, January 4 from 2:30-5:30 pm. T. H. Bullock, who will celebrate his 90th birthday in 2005, is a past president of SICB (then called the “American Society of Zoologists”). Five distinguished neurobiologists will present talks on these important topics in neurobiology:

• Michael Bennett (Albert Einstein College of Medicine)–“Cajal’s neuron revisited: neoreticularism and dynamic polarization”
• Daniel Johnston (Baylor College of Medicine)–“Insights from The Neuron Doc-trine applied to dendrites”
• R. Douglas Fields (National Institutes of Health)–“Glia and the neuron doctrine”
• Charles Stevens (Salk Institute)–“Evolutionary scaling laws in neurobiology”
• Eve Marder (Brandeis University)–“Stability and plasticity in identified neurons”

The “Neuron Doctrine,” developed and defended over a century ago by Ramon y Cajal, is the assertion that the nervous system is composed of cells, called neurons, that originate from single neuroblasts during development and which maintain cellular individuality and integrity in the adult nervous system. In 1959 T. H. Bullock published an influential review about the neuron doctrine, emphasizing the ways in which findings from electrophysiological studies had modified or strengthened Cajal’s proposition. Speakers in the Plenary session will consider the ways in which studies over the past 45 years have further substantiated or changed the Neuron Doctrine as developed by Cajal. The Plenary session is being organized by Robert Josephson (University of California, Irvine) coordinating with Catherine Loudon (University of Kansas, SICB Program Officer).

George A. Bartholomew Award Lecture
The George A. Bartholomew Award winner this year is Dr. Nicole King, Assistant Professor of Genetics and Development and of Integrative Biology at UC Berkeley. Her award lecture, entitled “The unicellular ancestry of animals” will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2005, from 6.30 pm – 7.30 pm.

Student “First Timer” Orientation
If you are registering as a student and this is your first time at a SICB meeting, you are strongly encouraged to join the Student/ Postdoctoral Affairs Committee to learn about the benefits of the Annual Meeting, meet your fellow students, and receive tips on presentations at the meeting. Note that if you have been selected as a student worker, you are required to attend.

American Microscopical Society Luncheon
AMS members are invited to meet for a special luncheon which will follow their Past Presidential Address.

American Microscopical Society Photomicrography Contest
Do you have a favorite photomicrograph you’d like others to see? It could be the winner! See http://www.amicros.org/photocon.htm for details.

Welcome to San Diego Reception
The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology welcomes you to San Diego with a reception on Tuesday, January 4. A cash bar will be available and snacks will be provided.

Companion Orientation/Continental Breakfast
All registered guests are welcome to join an informal gathering on Wednesday, January 5, from 9:00-10:00 am. A knowledgeable local person will be on hand to let you know about some of the many fascinating facts and sightseeing opportunities that San Diego is famous for.

Student/Postdoctoral Luncheon
The SICB Student/Postdoctoral Affairs Committee offers students an excellent opportunity to meet with fellow student members in an informal setting on Wednesday, January 5.

SICB Business Meeting
The SICB Business Meeting will take place Thursday, January 6, from 5:15 – 6:15 pm.

SICB Society-Wide Evening Social in Honor of Students and Postdocs
Join your fellow SICB members for a Society-Wide Social on Friday, January 7, from 7:30-9:30 pm. Coffee, desserts and fruit will be served and a cash bar will be available.

Desiccation Workshop
This workshop will follow-up the symposium “Drying without dying: the comparative mechanisms and evolution of desiccation tolerance in animals, microbes, and plants.” The goal is to discuss, in an informal setting, how to integrate ecology, systematics, physiology, and genomics to study desiccation tolerance and other complex biological phenomena. The speakers from the symposium will be available for in-depth questions as well. Everyone is welcome, especially students and younger researchers. Sponsored by the Deep Gene Research Coordination Network (NSF grant DEB-0090227).