Southern California Drosophila Conference: Irvine, CA - September 11, 2009

As has become tradition, this year's Southern California Drosophila Conference was hosted by the Developmental Biology Center (http://dbc.bio.uci.edu/) at the University of California, Irvine. On September 11, 2009, speakers from institutions in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Diego Counties presented their latest results in an informal and friendly atmosphere and had the opportunity to learn about new resources and facilities, establish collaborations, and network about job openings and training opportunities. The talks presented covered the use of flies to study a variety of topics including the mechanisms of action of human pathogens, human diseases, and aging and lifespan extension. In addition, attendees heard about aspects of Drosophila neuronal development, olfactory behavior, transcriptional regulation, and signal transduction. Some of the highlights of the meeting are summarized in this brief report.