GSA’s Model Organism to Human Biology – Cancer Genetics Conference, June 17-20, 2012 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C., is accepting online registrations until June 12.  Onsite registration is available after that date.  See the full program listing and abstracts for this notable conference where investigators studying cancer in humans and model organisms will have the opportunity to share ideas and research results to advance progress toward the treatment of cancer.

Abstract submission and conference registration is now open for the Mouse Molecular Genetics Conference, October 2-6, 2012 at the Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove, CA. Abstract deadline:  July 10, 2012.  Register early — on or before June 28, 2012 — to receive the early registration discount. 

Register now for the Yeast Genetics and Molecular Biology Meeting, July 31-August 5, 2012 at Princeton University in New Jersey. Early (discounted) registration deadline is June 26, 2012. Housing registration deadline is June 24, 2012.

Attention Early Career Female Geneticists!  If you’re in your first three years as an independent faculty level researcher, there is still time to apply for the 2013 Rosalind Franklin Young Investigator Award.  Administered by GSA and the American Society of Human Genetics, and funded by The Gruber Foundation, it provides $75,000 over three years ($25,000 US per year). One award will be given to a female genetics researcher studying human or non-human mammals and one to a female genetics researcher studying model organisms.  The application is only offered every three years, so apply now.  Deadline for applications:  June 8, 2012.

News from the GSA Journals

GENETICS welcomes Gary Churchill (Jackson Lab), as Senior Editor for Methods, Technology, and Resources.

Check out the most frequently read article in the April G3:Genes|Genomes|Genetics:  John M. Hickey and Gregor Gorjanc describe a new approach for simulating data sequence, genotype, and phenotype data to study genomic selection and genome-wide association studies.  Read the article:  “Simulated Data for Genomic Selection and Genome-Wide Association Studies Using a Combination of Coalescent and Gene Drop Methods,” John M. Hickey, Gregor Gorjan. G3 Apr 01, 2012; 2: 425-427.

GSA Member News

GSA expresses its sympathy to the family, friends and colleagues of long-time member Armon Yanders (1928-2012), who passed away on May 7, 2012 in Columbia, MO.  Dr. Yanders, who served as the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences of the University of Missouri (1969-1982), wrote several papers on the “biological effects of ionizing radiation and chemical mutagens and the behavior of toxic chemicals in the environment,” according to his obituary in the Columbia (MO) Daily Tribune. 

Thanks to GSA member Nancy Denslow (shown at right) for representing GSA and FASEB in presenting a poster at the Coalition for National Science Funding’s 18th Annual Capitol Hill Exhibition. Among those visiting Dr. Denslow’s poster were Congressional staff from both Democratic and Republican members and agency officials, including NSF deputy director Cora Marrett (shown at left). GSA will continue to take advantage of opportunities to explain the value of research to federal policymakers.

GSA congratulates the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology on its 100th anniversary and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences on its 50th. Both were celebrated last week at a Capitol Hill event featuring members of Congress and leaders from the scientific community. NIGMS will continue its birthday celebration at GSA’s Model Organisms to Human Biology meeting in June with NIGMS supporting the keynote session by Angelika Amon and NIGMS Acting Director Judith Greenberg addressing the meeting.

The White House has released its 2012 National Bioeconomy Blueprint based on recommendations made by scientists and scientific organizations as a result of a request for information by the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) last fall.  The Blueprint lays out five strategic “imperatives” that the Obama administration believes will help realize the full potential of "economic activity that is fueled by research and innovation in the biological sciences" or "bioeconomy."  Feedback is being accepted on the recommendations at bioeconomy@ostp.gov.

The Partnership for Undergraduate Life Sciences Education (PULSE), a collaborative effort funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), is based on a 2011 report, Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education:  A Call to Action and has fostered an initiative designed to facilitate systemic change in how post-secondary institutions approach life sciences education. PULSE is now accepting applications from faculty members who are interested in becoming one of 40 Vision and Change Leadership Fellows who will develop the strategies for instituting systemic change in undergraduate biology education at community colleges, liberal arts colleges, and research and comprehensive universities. Deadline for fellowship application:  July 9, 2012; 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time.

The National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent) is accepting proposals for postdoctoral fellowships to support innovative approaches to outstanding problems in evolutionary science. Proposals in any area of evolutionary science are welcome, but proposals in the following areas are of particular interest: Evolutionary Medicine, Synthetic Biology and Origins of Life, Evolution and the Social Sciences, and K-12 Minority Education in Evolution.  Proposal deadline:  July 10.   Duration:  two-year fellowships. Start date:  No later than January 2013.  Location:  Durham, N.C. Award decisions expected to be made by the first week of October.