March 24, 2010   

• Today, March 24th, is the abstract submission deadline for the GENETICS 2010:  Model Organisms to Human Biology Meeting (www.mohb.org).  Submit your abstract now and join your colleagues in Boston, Massachusetts, June 12-15, for the meeting where discussion of basic research on model organisms and human genetics will converge.

   

• March 30th is the last day to register in advance (http://www.drosophila-conf.org/2010/pages/register.shtml) for the 51st Annual Drosophila Research Conference in Washington, DC, April 7-11, 2010.  On-site registrations will only be accepted as space allows as this conference may break previous attendance records!  Register today!

   

• There’s still residual celebration from the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, and you can take part in it by attending the Yeast Genetics and Molecular Biology Meeting (www.yeast-meet.org), July 27 – August 1, 2010 at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. The abstract submission site is now available. Please submit your abstract by the April 24th deadline.

   

• Nominations are open for the 2011 GSA Board of Directors. GSA members in good standing (those who have paid their 2010 membership dues) are encouraged to go to https://secure.genetics-gsa.org/cgi-bin/gsa10/nomi.pl?a=!*SID*! to submit nominations for the following vacancies on the GSA Board of Directors, for terms beginning January 1, 2011:

   

  • Vice President (one-year term as Vice President, to become President on Jan. 1, 2012 for a one-year term and Immediate Past President on Jan. 1, 2013 for a one-year term)

  • Three Directors (3-year term, 2011-2013)

     

   

  Deadline for nominations is 5 pm EDT on April 7, 2010.

  Nominations will be reviewed by the GSA Nominations Committee, who will determine the final ballot.

   

• Need a publication decision—fast?  The GSA journal, GENETICS  (http://www.genetics.org/ ) makes decisions faster than ever:  in 2009 papers were under review an average of 6.88 days after submission, and they received a first decision in an average 37.44 days. The editors continue to strive to reduce the time to decision.  Send your best work to GENETICS and get a fast but thoughtful decision from editors who are your peers.

Policy

NIH has $5.2B in leftover funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 to spend in 2010, according to a March 12th article in GenomeWeb Daily News (http://www.genomeweb.com/nih-expected-spend-52b-2010-stimulus-funding), Of the $8.2B received for research, $3.6B is still available, and for extramural lab construction and renovation, building and facilities expenses, and funding for the shared instrumentation program, more than $1.6B of a total $1.8B received, is still available. 

 

Award Opportunity

The National Science Foundation is accepting nominations until March 31, 2010 for the 2010 National Medal of Science. Presented annually by the President of the United States, the National Medal of Science is the highest honor that can be presented to a scientist or engineer by the United States.  In just the last decade, several GSA members have received this honor including Charles Yanofsky (2003), Evelyn Witkin (2002), Francisco Ayala  (2001) and Mario Capecchi (2001).  For more information see http://www.nsf.gov/od/nms/medal.jsp.

 

Other Meetings

Learn more about Fido or Felix at The Fifth International Conference on “Advances in Canine and Feline Genomics” (http://caninefelinegenomicsconference.org), September 22-26, 2010 in Baltimore, Maryland.  Sponsored by the American Genetic Association, the conference will bring together researchers studying the genomes of dogs and cats and those studying comparative genomics, hereditary diseases and polymorphic traits.

March 24, 2010
MOHB: Abstract Submission Deadline

March 30, 2010
Drosophila: Advance Registration Deadline

April 14, 2010
Yeast: Abstract Submission Deadline

Have You Renewed Your Membership for 2010?
If not, renew today!

GENETICS

March 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: March 31, 2010.

Send items to Phyllis Edelman, pedelman@genetics-gsa.org or society@genetics-gsa.org.