What’s your interest?

Interest group sessions at Discover BMB 2023 in Seattle will bring together attendees with similar scientific and pedagogical interests to share their recent findings, exchange ideas and establish connections.

The sessions will be held on the first day of the meeting, March 25, and feature speakers, discussion groups, breakouts and other types of networking activities. These connections are so important that the groups will reconvene during meetups in the exhibit hall on subsequent days of the meeting.

The 2023 interest groups are described briefly below. You can read more detailed information provided by the organizers at the Discover BMB web page.

Bile acids: Fantastic beasts or fantastic molecules?

Sayeepriyadarshini Anakk, University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign
Paul Dawson, Emory University

Get together with others who are fired up about the different types of bile acids and their functional significance. Hear talks about how to measure them, how they affect physiology, how they interact with microbiota and other aspects of bile acid receptor signaling. Share the successes and challenges of your related research during one-on-one chats with colleagues after the panel discussion.

Biochemistry and climate change

Karla Neugebauer, Yale University
Henry Jakubowski, College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University

Learn about biochemical adaptations to climate change, renewable building materials, how biochemistry educators are incorporating climate change into their courses, and what scientists can do to inform the public about and inspire climate action. Participate in group discussions and join the Biochemistry for Climate Change Action Group. Read related ASBMB Today articles about the work of Jakubowski and Neugebauer.

Building research and mentoring networks for women at predominantly undergraduate institutions

Marilee Benore, University of Michigan–Dearborn
Jennifer Roecklein–Canfield, Simmons University

Weigh in on how women at primarily undergraduate institutions can identify and interact with the right mentors for them, especially during the pursuit of tenure and promotion; how to establish a sustainable research program and forge productive collaborations; and how to select the right journals and reviewers for manuscripts. Listen to a panel of speakers and then participate in small group discussions.

Empowering trainees: A roundtable with the IUBMB Trainee Initiative

Elyse S. Fischer, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology and the IUBMB Trainee Initiative
Brianna Bibel, University of California, San Francisco, and the IUBMB Trainee Initiative

Find out what the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology’s Trainee Initiative is all about and how it can help you navigate your career. This global endeavor is run by and for trainees (from high schoolers to postdocs). It provides networking events, skills training and a community of support. Find answers to your questions and advice about life in science during a roundtable discussion.

Engineering enzymes and micro-organisms to replace petroleum products with renewable biofuels and biomaterials

Robert B. Rose, North Carolina State University
Josh Michener, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Learn about enzyme- and microbe-engineering strategies being investigated to eliminate the use of petroleum products. Hear about carbon-capture approaches, synthesizing biomaterials from waste carbon, adapting enzymes from thermophilic organisms and more. Share techniques and ideas during a forum that follows talks by invited speakers.

Molecular engineering

Juan L. Mendoza, University of Chicago
Vince Luca, Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute

Listen to talks about computational and protein-engineering approaches finding answers to structure–function questions. Speakers will discuss computational protein design, directed evolution, X-ray crystallography, cryo-electron microscopy and other techniques. During a Q&A session, find out what you want to know about research to elucidate key enzymatic processes of cells.

Posttranslational modifications

Fangliang Zhang, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Lauren Ball, Medical University of South Carolina
Jerry Workman, Stowers Institute for Medical Research

Engage in discussions about the roles that posttranslational modifications play in physiology, disease and environmental response. Speakers will discuss new techniques to detect and functionally evaluate PTMs, lysine acetylation and cysteine oxidation, and more. Join investigators with diverse expertise for a panel discussion and roundtable exchanges about PTMs as they relate to gene expression, signal transduction and stress response.

Teaching Gen Z: Challenges and opportunities

Nancy Rice, University of South Alabama
Pamela Mertz, St. Mary's College of Maryland

Join other educators in a discussion about teaching undergraduates in Generation Z. Talk about your professional goals and how things work, or don’t work, at your institution. Open up about the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic has created for you and your students and the adjustments you’ve all made. Find a community of colleagues with common concerns, and share best practices.