Venue

Following the 2003 International Congress of Genetics a Drosophila Conference will be held in Cairns on the Great Barrier Reef in north Queensland. The venue for the conference, the Cairns Colonial Resort, provides excellent conference facilities and accommodation at low cost.

Program

The conference will have two broad and inclusive themes. One will be in the area of 'cell biology' and the other 'genomics and evolution'. Many fly geneticists who do not have the opportunity to speak at the Genetics Congress will have the chance to speak in Cairns. The Program will consist of 30 minute invited talks and 15 minute talks and posters selected on the basis of submitted abstracts. Michael Akam, Seymour Benzer, Barry Dickson, Richard Gibbs, Chuck Langley, Trudi Schupbach and Eric Wieschaus have accepted invitations to speak at the conference. The Program is being convened by Rob Saint and Philip Batterham.

Click here to view the provisional program.

Schedule

The Conference will open with a Mixer on the evening of Saturday July 12 and will conclude on the evening of July 16. Tuesday July 15 has been scheduled as a day of leisure. A day trip to the Great Barrier Reef has been scheduled for this day. A conference dinner has been scheduled at the Tjapukai Aboriginal Culture Park.

Registration

The registration fees include:-

• Mixer
• Lunches (except for Tuesday July 15)
• Morning and Afternoon Tea (except for Tuesday July 15)
• Conference Dinner at Tjapukai

The Great Barrier Reef day trip or the many alternate activities that will be available are not included in the registration fee.

For delegates already registered for the Genetics Congress, the conference registration cost will be $399 (Australian).

For delegates not registered for the Genetics Congress, the cost will be $499 (Australian).

For conversion of Australian dollars to your currency please use this currency converter. Be prepared for a pleasant surprise!

Day Trip to the Great Barrier Reef

Delegates opting to take this trip will be transported from the Cairns Colonial Hotel to Port Douglas where they will board a large catamaran bound for Agincourt Reef.

At the Outer Reef delegates will step onto a large activity pontoon moored in a protected lagoon. For a period of three hours a range of swimming, snorkelling and diving activities will be available. (Scuba diving is available but will incur an extra charge). There is also an underwater observation area and semi-submersible trips commence from the pontoon. Helicopter rides over the reef are also available (at additional cost). A buffet lunch will be provided.

The return trip to Port Douglas from the Reef will take approximately 90 minutes. Delegates will then be transported back to the Cairns Colonial Hotel.

The cost of this trip is $165 (Australian) per person. A wide range of optional activities can be booked on site at the conference.

Accommodation

Conference delegates will be accommodated at the Cairns Colonial Resort. All rooms can accommodate more than one delegate. Room sharing will reduce accommodation costs. (Delegates must make their own room sharing arrangements). The available room types are:-

Standard Room with 1 Double bed and 1 Single bed - $107 (Australian)

Colonial Room with 1 Queen size bed and 1 Single bed - $127 (Australian)

Studio Room each with 1 Queen size bed and 2 Single Divan beds - $133 (Australian)

Studio Room with 2 Single bed, 1 Single Divan bed and 1 Double Foldout Sofa - $133 (Australian)

Superior Room with 2 Queen size beds - $133 (Australian)

For images and more details on the rooms see the web site for the Cairns Colonial Resort.

Travel

Cairns is serviced by Australia's two major domestic airlines - Qantas and Virgin Blue. There are daily direct flights to and from Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. Direct flights from Melbourne take approximately three hours and fifteen minutes.

No airline or airline group has offered the conference or its delegates better deals than are currently available through travel agents or on the internet. For international delegates the Cairns trip may come at low cost when packaged with a roundtrip airfare to Australia. It is wise to shop around for the best package.

Participation

Register and Book Accommodation

Abstract Submission

The organizers will give all delegates the opportunity to present their research. Given the limited amount of time, many presentations will be in the form of posters. Generous amounts of time will be set aside for the discussion of posters. A subset of delegates will be invited to present a 15 minute talk based on their submitted abstracts.

Abstracts should be sent to Brad Atkins (bradsa@unimelb.edu.au) by no later than April 11, 2003. The abstract should be emailed in a Microsoft Word document. The word limit is 200 words.

Contact Details

Program: Rob Saint (robert.saint@anu.edu.au)

Everything else: Brad Atkins (bradsa@unimelb.edu.au)