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One thing that struck me about #Pavlovian2020 was the distinct generational shift in the field to a younger group of PIs and trainees--all doing absolutely outstanding work. Exciting time for the field and this meeting has come so far since the first one I attend in 1992! /1
For some perspective, when I attended the @PavlovSociety in 1992 it was at a Holiday Inn in Westwood/LA; and there were 20 or so attendees. I was a grad student at the time in Dick Thompson's lab, but no one in his lab or any of the learning labs in LA area went. /2
I happened to attend because an eccentric mentor of mine, Denis Mitchell, was presenting a poster. We were doing a bunch of out-of-the-box experiments on nonassociative factors regulating behavior (e.g., neophobia) and he thought this would be a great meeting for this. /3
Well, the attendees and posters at the meeting were so far out of the box is bordered on creepy. There was lots of abstracts on physiological measures and lie detection--not what I expected from a Pavlovian meeting! /4
So that was it for me for the Pavlovian Society meeting. In 1998, however, Byron Campbell (Princeton), the new president, contacted me and said that they were trying to refresh the Society and re-focus it on modern questions. He invited me to speak in Germany. /5
I was excited to go to the new "refreshed" meeting as there were others near and dear to me ( @TjShors) who were also participating in the meeting. But as luck would have it, weather would lead to the cancellation of my flight and I never made it to Düsseldorf. /6
But Byron had succeeded in infusing the society with new life blood, and this led to a transformation of leadership that included new presidents @TjShors (2001), Michael Fanselow (2002), Joe Steinmetz (2003), Lou Matzel (2004), and Richard Thompson (2005). /7
And it was in 2005, at Dick's invitation, that I finally made it back to a Pavlovian meeting--13 years after the Holiday Inn fiasco! Of course, it was at Disneyland, the most magical place on earth...and Robert Rescorla was awarded the Gantt Medal. /8
I have been involved with the Society ever since, serving as president in 2013 and hosting the meeting in Austin not longer after my move to Texas. Last year I was awarded the Gantt Medal--what an amazing honor! /9
There is no doubt that over the last 28 years the @PavlovSociety has fundamentally transformed into a vibrant scientific community, boasting membership from a young, diverse group of scientists leading the field forward. Looking forward to the next 28 years! /fin
