Calendar of events, awards and opportunities
Every week, we update this list with new meetings, awards, scholarships and events to help you advance your career. 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.
Who among you loves tweeting about lipids?
The ASBMB's Journal of Lipid Research invites graduate students, postdocs and early-career investigators to take over the JLR Twitter account (@jlipidres) for a day apiece to talk about their favorite lipids. To express interest, fill out the JLR #LipidTakeover application. Also, the ASBMB Lipid Research Division just started its own Twitter feed. Check it out at @AsbmbLrd.
July 12–13: Gender equity summit
The National Postdoctoral Association is holding the 2021 Gender Equity Summit over two days, in a virtual format, in July. The event is free, and NPA membership is not required. The goal, as stated on the event website, is to "seek paths forward on barriers in the postdoctoral community toward gender equality, recognizing that women and gender-diverse people do not start in the same position as men." Check out the agenda and register.
July 16: Oncomine Clinical Research Grant Program deadline
The Oncomine Clinical Research Grant Program supports education projects and investigator-initiated studies on molecular testing in reproductive health and oncology. The goal of the grant program is to increase high-quality molecular profiling for patients and to improve future clinical outcomes. Grant applications will be accepted through July 16. Learn more.
July 19: The Postdoc Academy on edX
Boston University is offering a free, virtual, seven-week (July 19 through Sept. 5) skills-development course for postdocs on the edX platform. They say participants will "build skills to (1) inform your approach to leadership, (2) build and supervise a team, (3) manage projects, (4) apply teaching skills beyond the classroom, (5) develop strategic communication skills and (6) prepare successful job application materials." Learn more.
July 20–21: Green Labs Digital Summit
Lab Manager is hosting a free two-day event about sustainable labs. If you're interested in greening your lab (reducing energy consumption and waste and optimizing processes), save the dates for presentations on such things as metrics for sustainability, net zero labs and long-term savings strategies. Learn more.
July 21–23: Extracellular vesicle studies: From benchtop to therapeutics
Extracellular vesicles are secreted, membrane-bound compartments containing DNA and cytoplasmic constituent molecules of all types that are thought to act as mediators of intercellular communication. They are classified by both size and location/mechanism of cellular origination. They are thought to be produced by an ever-expanding diversity of cell types and species. However, there is also considerable skepticism related to their existence and utility, as it can be difficult to isolate EVs since there is no EV-specific molecular marker to target. (Editor's note: See this ASBMB Today feature on EVs by former science writer Rajendrani Mukhopadhyay.)
A primary focus in recent years has been to describe the mechanisms of molecular sorting that would allow researchers to target proteins produced from exogenously introduced DNA to EVs for cellular secretion and uptake. The potential value of EVs to therapeutics is thought to be enormous, thanks to the role of EVs in cell–cell communication as a robust, native delivery vehicle.
This event will appeal to a broad audience, including molecular biologists, biochemists, biophysicists, secretion experts, cell–cell communication specialists, clinicians, physiologists and others. The registration deadline is July 16. Visit the event homepage.
GSA seminar series on gene function across organisms
The Genetics Society of America is hosting a free series of seminars from June through November exploring gene function across humans and model organisms. GSA's president, Hugo Bellen, explained the impetus for this series in an op-ed in May. He wrote, in part, "We believe that these seminars will be useful to investigators at all career stages and across different model organisms, as well as for human biologists. We hope this will add a new dimension to research, reveal unanticipated phenotypes, speed up discovery, allow new funding opportunities, and lead to the discovery of new fundamental aspects of biology." Below is the schedule of seminars. See the speakers and register here.
July 26 — Matching interests across research teams: GeneMatcher and ModelMatcher
Aug. 23 — MARRVEL: Mining genetic and genomic data across model organisms and human
Sept. 20 — Mining model organism data in the Alliance of Genome Resources Portal
Oct. 4 — Monarch Initiative: Cross-species phenotype comparison for disease diagnosis and discovery
Nov. 1 — Unraveling the links between hereditary and viral microcephaly
July 30: Deadline to apply for PALM fellowship
The Promoting Active Learning and Mentoring (PALM) Network is accepting applications from postdocs and faculty members who wish to learn about and get better at implementing evidence-based active learning. This program is supported by the National Science Foundation. During the COVID-19 pandemic, fellows and mentors will participate virtually. Learn more.
Aug. 1: Propose a workshop for the 2022 ASBMB Annual Meeting
The ASBMB annual meeting will be held in person in Philadelphia in April. We're accepting proposals through Aug. 1 for workshops at the meeting. This is your chance to shape the content and nature of our most important conference of the year. Please consider submitting a proposal for a 60- to 90-minute interactive event. Here's the form.
Also: The 2021 annual award lectures are now available on demand. Tune in for talks on research, education and diversity.
Aug. 1: Apply for NPA IMPACT Fellowship Program
The National Postdoctoral Association offers a six-month professional-development fellowship for marginalized early-career research trainees. It provides peer circles, mentoring, a speaker series and other activities. Participants, according to the website, "use the knowledge, tools and resources they gain from the program to implement activities or initiatives at their institutions to contribute back to their communities." Applications are due. Aug. 1. Learn more.
Aug. 31: FASEB BioArt contest entries due
Every year, the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology holds a competition featuring stellar scientific images and videos. Submissions are welcome from federally funded investigators/groups and members of constituent societies. Read the guidelines. Submissions are welcome beginning July 15. See past winning images.
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.
Oct. 4: Deadline for NAS award nominations
The National Academy of Sciences is accepting nominations for its annual awards. The nominations are due in October, winners will be announced in January, and the ceremony will be held in April. See the list of available awards. Read the nominating instructions.
Oct. 30: Deadline to apply for PALM fellowship
The Promoting Active Learning and Mentoring (PALM) Network is accepting applications from postdocs and faculty members who wish to learn about and get better at implementing evidence-based active learning. This program is supported by the National Science Foundation. During the COVID-19 pandemic, fellows and mentors will participate virtually. Learn more.
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