In recent years, many novel technologies including TALEN/CRISPR-CAS9 mediated effective genome editing, optogenetics, tissue clearing coupled with advanced 3D microscopy, connectome analysis, and single cell transcriptomics, have been developed. Applications of these novel technologies to neuroscience research have led to and will continue to generate new findings towards understanding neural development, neural circuitry assembly, function, and plasticity. Moreover, since large amount of genetic, epigenetic and imaging information is and will continue to be accumulated in a short period of time, new big-data mining methodologies and systems biology approaches are in urgent need to effectively process the information in order to extrapolate novel biological insights. We organize this Gordon Research Conference (GRC) meeting aiming at helping neurobiologists world-wide including US, Asia and Europe to realize the new opportunities brought by these new technologies and methods, and at the same time providing potential solutions and suggestions in facing the new challenges. The meeting will engage strong interactions amongst neuroscientists from different parts of the world and with different expertise, promoting interdisciplinary and international collaborations towards better understanding of development, plasticity, and function of the nervous system as well as neurological disorders. Moreover, the meeting will foster young scientists to interact closely with great leaders in the field. A significant amount of short talks will be given to junior faculty members, postdocs, and students to present their high quality and exciting studies. In depth discussions will be encouraged with strong engagement of junior people in the process. Moreover, the 2016 meeting will also offer Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) on Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology, which will be organized and attended only by students and postdocs and of course speakers invited by them. A new era of modern cellular and molecular neuroscience is approaching. This meeting will serve as a venue to prepare scientists, regardless senior and junior, to get ready to take new opportunities and embrace new challenges.
