Meetings & Conferences

Meetings and conferences at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) bring together scientists from all over the world to present and evaluate new data and ideas in rapidly moving areas of biological research. A key feature of CSHL meetings is that a majority of talks are chosen from openly submitted abstracts (with the exception of our annual Symposium). Programs and final schedules are put together by organizers on the basis of submitted abstracts, and so precise details about a given program are generally not available more than a few weeks in advance of the meeting. Both oral and poster presentations include plenty of discussion about unpublished work, which is valuable for graduate students and senior investigators alike. Researchers who attend CSHL meetings cite them as among the most informative, influential, and enjoyable scientific conferences in their field. Each year, more than 8,000 scientists from over 50 countries attend one or more CSHL meetings.

Top 5 "science" reasons to attend a CSHL meeting:
 opportunity to present a talk or poster in a small, intimate environment
exposure to strong, unpublished science
networking with scientific peers, potential trainees, and future mentors
extensive scientific discussion
captive audience at the crossroads of modern biology

Top 5 "non-science" reasons to attend a CSHL meeting:
 idyllic but accessible seaside campus
retreat-like atmosphere in highly connected campus
great social interactions
networking facilitated by meals, social events, and receptions
close to New York City



Courses & Workshops

CSHL short courses and workshops complement our conferences by providing immersive training opportunities in a diversity of topics across the spectrum of biological sciences. Supported by federal and private funds, each course offers the successful applicant an opportunity to become rapidly immersed in a new set of concepts and techniques. Participants receive an intense, hands-on educational experience in which they learn a body of knowledge that would have otherwise taken months to piece together at their home institutions. Both teaching faculty and trainees have cited CSHL courses and workshops as career-changing; many state that CSHL courses stimulated new directions in their research, equipped them with new experimental techniques, and were unparalleled professional networking experiences. Our courses have trained many thousands of scientists who have gone on to distinguished careers in research and education, including nine Nobel laureates. Each calendar year, nearly 1,500 scientists visit CSHL from all over the world to participate in a course or workshop.

Top 5 "science" reasons to apply for a CSHL course:
 committed teaching faculty and invited speakers
intensive hands-on access to the latest techniques and technology
high instructor-to-trainee ratio
networking with scientific peers and future mentors
excellent value for the money

Top 5 "non-science" reasons to apply for a CSHL course:
 idyllic but accessible seaside campus
retreat-like atmosphere in highly connected campus
  great social interactions
networking facilitated by meals, social events, and receptions
close to New York City


Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory invites participation in our meetings and courses from all eligible applicants irrespective of gender, race/ethnicity, disability status, religion, or nationality. Please see our Diversity & Inclusion Policy for details.

Program Management & Leadership

David J. Stewart, Ph.D. (University of Cambridge, 1988) 
Executive Director, Meetings and Courses / Professor, Watson School of Biological Sciences / President, Cold Spring Harbor Asia 
Email
stewart@cshl.edu, phone (516) 367-8801

Short Bio: My background is in genetics, biochemistry, organic chemistry, and biotechnology. Before joining CSHL in 1993, I developing affinity methods for purifying proteins and employed rational drug-design techniques to develop synthetic ligands that interact specifically with proteins of commercial interest. Currently, I manage around 30 scientific meetings and 30 postgraduate-level residential laboratory/lecture courses each year. Collectively, the programs attract to the Laboratory more than 9,000 international investigators who specialize in a wide range of biological and biomedical sciences. The Laboratory's program of meetings and courses represents a flexible amalgam of topics that include molecular and cell biology, neuroscience, genetics/genomics and bioinformatics. In recent years, my interest has focused on the dissemination and exchange of scientific ideas and techniques and on the increasing impact of electronic communications in these areas. I also oversee an international conference program in Asia that builds on the strengths of our existing educational program.