GSA News

January 12, 2012


GSA mourns the passing of its long-time member, James F. Crow, who died on Wednesday, January 4, 2012, just a few weeks shy of his 96th birthday.  Jim was a renowned researcher, teacher, mentor, leader and colleague to many members of the genetics community and in particular to many members of GSA.  He served as president of GSA (1960), co-editor-in-chief of GENETICS (1952-1957) and was the journal’s Perspectives editor (1987-2008). In honor of Jim and in celebration of his 95th birthday in 2011, GENETICS commissioned a series of articles on his life and work, some of which have been published in the last few months.  A memorial service will be held for Jim on Sunday, January 15 at 3 p.m. at the Capitol Lakes Great Hall, 333 W. Main St., Madison, Wisconsin.  The family has suggested contributions to his memory could be made to the Ann Crow Voice and Opera Fund or the James Crow Distinguished Professorship Fund, UW Foundation, US Bank Lockbox 78807, Milwaukee, WI 53278.


Two deadlines for GSA’s 53rd Annual Drosophila Research Conference are fast approaching! January 13, 2012 is the last date for submissions for the 2012 Drosophila Image Award.  January 20, 2012 is the deadline for late abstract submission and for early (discounted) conference registration.

 

GSA is pleased to announce the establishment of the GSA Undergraduate Travel Award, to promote excellence in undergraduate research and education.   This award will provide travel support to undergraduate members of GSA who will be presenting research findings at a GSA-sponsored conference. Applications are now being accepted for GSA Conferences  to be held June 1 – November 30, 2012Completed applications may be submitted via e-mail to Beth RuediDeadline for applications: Friday, March 30, 2012.


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Professional Development

Faculty at two- and four-year institutions are invited to transform the teaching and learning of science using the C.R.E.A.T.E. Strategy. C.R.E.A.T.E., which stands for Consider, Read, Elucidate the hypotheses, Analyze and interpret the data, and Think of the next Experiment, is offering two identical workshops in June at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, NY. Postdoctoral fellows are also welcome to apply if teaching in the academic year following the workshop.  The program models the creativity, complexity and excitement of the scientific process through directed reading of primary literature within a scientific field. All expenses, except travel, will be covered by an NSF grant. Further details and application can be found on their website. Deadline for application is January 15, 2012.  


To help expand transdisciplinary research, NIH has launched a free online genetics course for social and behavioral scientists.  The objective is to provide them with a sufficient genetics background so they can engage in interdisciplinary research with genetics researchers.  This online tool is also useful for explaining fundamental genetics to those family and friends who don’t quite understand what you do!

Policy

The National Science Board, the governing board of the National Science Foundation (NSF), has issued five major recommendations regarding digital data sharing and management and is seeking public comments.  See pages 8-10 of their report for the recommendations. Deadline for comments: Wednesday, January 18, 2012.


The National Science Board has also released a new report on NSF’s merit review criteria, concluding that Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts remain appropriate for evaluating NSF proposals. However, the Broader Impacts criterion has been made more general, leaving it up to principal investigators to determine what is appropriate for the proposed project rather than including a perceived “checklist” of specific activities. The report also charges NSF with responsibility for assessing the effectiveness of these broader impacts activities.


The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) within NIH has established two new divisions that will administer existing Institute programs along with programs transferred to NIGMS from the former NIH National Center for Research Resources (NCRR). The two divisions are: the Division of Training, Workforce Development, and Diversity and the Division of Biomedical Technology, Bioinformatics, and Computational BiologyTo learn more about these divisions and the programs that they now encompass, see the links above or read the press release.

Position Available

NIH is searching for a new director of the Center for Scientific Review (CSR). The CSR director is responsible for the review of the majority of grants considered for funding by NIH, so the portfolio reflects tremendous scientific breadth. CSR has about 450 full-time employees and an annual budget of more than $100 million. Application deadline:  February 17, 2012.

Image Competition

The art in science is the focus of the new Bio-Art: Biomedical Image Competition sponsored by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB).  This competition and exhibition will recognize 10 original, laboratory-based images representing cutting-edge 21st century biomedical research. These images must be produced by current or former National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded investigators, contractors, or trainees or members of FASEB constituent societies (including GSA).  For more information on the competition, exhibition and submission, see the link above or contact BioArt@faseb.orgDeadline for submission:  Friday, March 2, 2012.

Other Meetings

The 54th Annual Maize Genetics Conference will be held March 15-18, 2012 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Portland, Oregon. The conference will focus on current cientific and technical advances in maize genetics. Deadline for abstract submissionsJanuary 31, 2012.  For additional information, see the link above or contact John Fowler.

 

CYTO 2012, the XXVII Congress of the International Society for Advancement of Cytometry, will be held at the Congress Center Leipzig, Germany, June 23-27, 2012Deadline for abstracts: February 1, 2012.


Save these 2012 dates:

   

 

 

 


January Issue

 

GENETICS


January Issue

 

 

 

 

 


Do you have a brief announcement to submit to GSA e-News?
E-news items include news about GSA members -- new position, book publication, awards or grants received and obits; short policy items; brief research news items and grant programs; and, award nomination announcements. Deadline for next issue: January 20, 2012.  Send items to Phyllis Edelman, pedelman@genetics-gsa.org 

 

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