Calendar of events, awards and opportunities

Every week, we update this list with new meetings, awards, scholarships and events to help you get your ducks in a row. If you’d like us to feature something that you’re offering to the bioscience community, email us with the subject line “For calendar.” ASBMB members’ offerings take priority, and we do not promote products/services. Learn how to advertise in ASBMB Today.

March 8: Apply to attend health disparities event

The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities is hosing a virtual Health Disparities Research Institute in August, but the time to apply is now through March 8. This event is for early-career extramural researchers, and it's important to check out the eligibility criteria. Here's a nugget from the event website: "The program will feature lectures on minority health and health disparities research, small group discussions, mock grant review, and seminars." Learn more about the institute.

March 8–10: NASEM workshop

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will host a workshop titled “Quantum Science Concepts in Enhancing Sensing and Imaging Technologies: Applications for Biology” virtually on March 8–10. The announcement we received said the event will cover "research and development needs to advance biological applications of quantum-enabled sensing and imaging technologies." Learn more about the project. Register for the event here.

March 11: ASCB webinar on nonacademic careers

The American Society for Cell Biology is hosting a free webinar for undergraduate students, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows about preparing job applications for nonacademic careers at 1 p.m. Eastern on March 11. There will be a presentation by career coach Tracy Costello and then an interactive session. Learn how to interpret a job description, how to navigate online application systems, how to prepare cover letters and additional documentation, and more. Register.

March 12: ASPET webinar on resilience

This is for those of you who are members of our sister society the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. (You have to be a member to attend.) It's part six of ASPET's career-development webinar series for trainees and is titled "Becoming a Resilient Scientist." It's at 2 p.m. Eastern on March 12 and will last an hour. Here's how ASPET is describing it: "This session will highlight the emotional intelligence competencies needed for success in research and healthcare careers and will provide insights into approaches for developing these competencies." The guest speaker will be Sharon Milgram of the National Institutes of Health. If you're not an ASPET member or otherwise can't attend, the good news is that Milgram will also be speaking at the ASBMB annual meeting (Tuesday, April 27). That talk is similarly titled: "Painful and important lessons about resilience and wellness for scientists." Learn more about the ASPET webinar and register.

Call for virtual scientific event proposals

The ASBMB provides members with a virtual platform to share scientific research and accomplishments and to discuss emerging topics and technologies with the BMB community.

The ASBMB will manage the technical aspects, market the event to tens of thousands of contacts and present the digital event live to a remote audience. Additional tools such as polling, Q&A, breakout rooms and post event Twitter chats may be used to facilitate maximum engagement.

Seminars are typically one to two hours long. A workshop or conference might be longer and even span several days.

Prospective organizers may submit proposals at any time. Decisions are usually made within four to six weeks. 

Propose an event.

March 16: Funding opportunity for rare disease research

We learned about a call for proposals from the Clayco Foundation to support investigators conducting research of retinal vasculopathy with cerebral leukoencephalopathy, or RVCL, an ultra-rare fatal vasculopathy that leads to brain lesions (strokes, visual impairment, dementia) and multiorgan vascular damage. It is caused by autosomal dominant mutations within the C-terminal region of the TREX1 gene. Underlying pathology has been speculated to be a consequence of alterations in DNA damage repair, dysregulation of innate immune pathways, acceleration of cellular senescence, or dysregulated handling of cellular debris. See the CFP.

March 30: Regulatory mechanisms in the control of oxygen intake and blood pressure

This is a free webinar by the American Physiological Society, one of our sister societies. It'll be moderated by Ole H. Petersen of Cardiff University and have talks by Jose Lopez–Barneo of the University of Seville Medical School and David M. Pollock of the University of Alabama at Birmingham. It's at 11 a.m. Eastern on March 30. Register.

March 31: Deadline for Lasker essay contest

The Lasker Foundation's annual essay contest is now accepting submissions. It's open to all biomedical and public health students, including graduate and medical students, and postdocs and offers a $5,000 prize. This year's prompt asks: "What is the most important scientific lesson you have learned from the COVID-19 pandemic? Discuss how that lesson will influence your research work and/or career." Submit your 800-word essay by March 31. Learn more.

April 11: Industry mentoring program deadline

In October, ASBMB Today industry careers columnist Courtney Chandler interviewed Brandon Anjuwon–Foster about his career path. One of the steps toward industry that he took was participating in the program we're advertising here: the Scientist Mentoring & Diversity Program. The program has two tracks — biotech and medtech — and offers a year of mentoring for diverse undergraduate and graduate students and for early-career scientists. There's five-day training session, and the participants are paired with industry mentors. Learn more and apply by April 11.

April 12: Early registration deadline for the ASBMB annual meeting

The 2021 ASBMB Annual Meeting, held in conjunction with Experimental Biology, offers unmatched opportunities to showcase your work, learn from other scientists about their latest findings and expand your professional circle. Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with scientists from around the globe!

Scientific and education sessions: Start planning how you'll spend your time at the meeting. These events have been curated by pioneers and innovators.

Award lectures: These 12 outstanding professionals are being recognized by their peers for contributions to their fields, education and diversity.

April 12: Nominations for C&EN's Talented 12 program due

C&EN’s Talented 12 program, now in its seventh year, showcases the brightest minds who are doing the cutting-edge science to tackle a global challenge. C&EN is seeking nominations for early-career candidates who are doing impactful research. The program is sponsored by Thermo Fisher Scientific. Nominate.

April 14: How to create an engaging video abstract

The American Society for Cell Biology is hosting a webinar titled "Science Sketches: How to Create an Engaging Video Abstract" at 2 p.m. Eastern on April 14. This is especially good for those of you who are giving prerecorded poster talks at the ASBMB annual meeting and those of you who are interested in science outreach and communication. The speakers at this webinar are Lisa Dennison of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Liam Holt of New York University. They're the co-founders of Science Sketches, a website with short, accessible videos about research. Register.

May 4–5: Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the PDB

This celebration of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Protein Data Bank as the first open-access digital data resource in biology will include presentations from speakers from around the world who have made tremendous advances in structural biology and bioinformatics. Students and postdoctoral fellows are especially encouraged to attend and will be eligible for poster awards. Learn more.

May 5: Deadline for ASBMB annual award nominations

The ASBMB Annual Awards are given to outstanding professionals who have been recognized by their peers for contributions to their fields, education and diversity. The recipients will give talks about their work at the 2022 ASBMB Annual Meeting. You can nominate or self-nominate. See a list of available awards and prepare your nomination package.

May 31: Application deadline for IUBMB editorship

The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology is seeking a new editor for its journal Biotechnology and Applied Biochemistry. The editor has a three-year term. Applications are due May 31. See the job description and application instructions.

June 20–25: Teaching science with big data

This international meeting guides faculty on how to teach using web-based, free-access large data sets. How big is "big data"? Data that is so large, fast or complex that it's difficult or impossible to process using traditional methods. Join us to learn these valuable teaching skills to prepare students for the future. Sponsored by the ASBMB and the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Registration and abstract submission opening soon.

June 21: Flux-independent signaling by ionotropic receptors

Save the date for the virtual event "Flux-independent signaling by ionotropic receptors: Unforeseen roles and complexities" on June 21. The organizers say it will be of interest to neuroscientists, cell biologists, molecular biologists and biochemists, among others, involved in the study of cell physiology and function in health and disease. We'll update this item as soon as we know about the abstract and registration deadline. In the meantime, read the event description.