The 2016 Gordon Research Conference on Visual Systems Development will provide a forum for scientists investigating development, evolution and diseases of the visual system, to share the latest and most exciting new results and innovative technologies. The goals of this meeting are to foster interactions across disciplines, stimulate new ideas and collaborations, provide a springboard into vision-related research for scientists from other fields, and mentor students and postdocs in a supportive scientific setting. This conference will also encourage greater understanding of the basic principles that drive the development and maintenance of the visual system, with the anticipation that these findings will contribute to better treatments for ocular and other neurological diseases. The opening keynote session will feature talks from Dr. Carla Shatz, Stanford University and Dr. Patricia D’Amore, Schepens Eye Research Institute. Throughout the meeting speakers will discuss a range of disciplines, model systems and approaches in sessions that include developmental genetics, regeneration, stem cell and organoid biology, angiogenesis, visual system circuitry, human disease mechanisms, gene regulation, and eye evolution. A number of poster abstracts will be selected for short talks, ensuring participation by junior investigators and the presentation of late-breaking stories. This meeting, along with the associated student/post-doc Gordon Research Seminar, will foster interactions among students, early-career investigators and more established scientists, supporting stimulating discussions and interactions, across diverse disciplines within the field of vision.