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DeLill Nasser Award for Professional Development in Genetics

Applications will open in Spring 2024.

After joining GSA, you will need to wait 20 minutes for your member record to update. You also need to refresh the application site before logging in.

Overview

In 2001, the Genetics Society of America established The DeLill Nasser Award for Professional Development in Genetics, recognizing the critical role DeLill Nasser played in the field. The award supports geneticists in their graduate or postdoctoral career stages by subsidizing participation in conferences and laboratory courses. For virtual events, the award covers the cost of registration fees, up to a maximum of $1,000. For in-person events, the award can be used to cover travel, accommodation, and/or registration fees, up to a maximum of $1,000.

DeLill Nasser was a long-time GSA member and National Science Foundation Program Director in Eukaryotic Genetics. Nasser, who died in 2000, was at the National Science Foundation for more than 22 years and has been called the “patron saint of real genetics” and a major force in the development of the field. By giving researchers time and support, Nasser enabled them to work on genetic problems, sometimes seemingly obscure, which resulted in significant progress in genetics; among many examples are her championing of Arabidopsis research and Drosophila neurogenetics. Nasser was especially supportive of young scientists, people who were beginning their careers, and those trying to open new areas of genetic inquiry.

Read more about Nasser in the tribute published in the August 2001 issue of GENETICS.

Deadline

The deadline to apply for the Spring cycle is typically in the middle of April and the deadline to apply for the Fall cycle is typically mid-September.

DeLill Nasser Awards have two rounds of applications per year; one for courses and conferences occurring between January 1 and June 30, and another for courses and conferences occurring between July 1 and December 31. Monitor the GSA e-News and this webpage for updates about application windows.

Application Process

Apply via the button at the top of this page. You will need to sign in using your GSA member account details to access the form. As well as information about yourself and the conference or course you plan to attend, you will need to provide the following:

    • Describe how the meeting/course will enhance your professional development (100-500 words)
    • Justify your requested grant amount (10-350 words)
    • ONLY POSTDOCS: Provide a description of your graduate research experience (500 words)
    • Describe your record of service to the scientific community (350 words)
    • Statement of current research interests and progress (350 words)
    • Your Curriculum Vitae in PDF form
    • Name and email address of two references who can provide letters of recommendation

Eligibility

GSA members who are graduate students or postdocs may apply for a DeLill Nasser Award. Only those with current membership in either the graduate student or postdoc category will be able to access the application form. Join or renew today to make your GSA membership active for now through the end of next year. Post-baccalaureates, lab technicians, or individuals who are searching for faculty positions but are no longer postdocs are not eligible.

Selection Criteria

In the first round, the DeLill Nasser Award Selection Committee will consider:

Significance of research:

    • Research must be in genetics and not, for example, biophysics
    • Research with higher impact on the field would be reviewed more favorably
    • Applicant-initiated science is an asset

Productivity, based on:

    • Publication record
    • Letters of recommendation

Other considerations:

    • Demonstrated service and leadership (primarily for postdoctoral applicants)
    • Seniority of student/postdoc (applicants nearing the end of their postdoctoral training or graduate degree who have been productive are generally given higher priority over those at the start of their training).

In the second round, the DeLill Nasser Award Selection Committee will consider:

    • The level of genetic content at the conference or course you would like to attend. For example, conferences or courses focusing on neuroscience or developmental biology would be given lower priority than conferences/courses with high genetic content, unless the applicant can make a compelling case.
    • Diversity:
      • Gender/race/ethnicity
      • Geographic location/type of institution

 

FAQs

I am the recipient of a DeLill Nasser Award. Can you please make the check out to my institution so that I don’t need to pay taxes on this award?

The DeLill Nasser Award for Professional Development in Genetics is awarded to individuals, not institutions; as such, we make the check out to the award winner. Each winner must fill out a Form W-9 (US citizens) or a Form W-8BEN (citizens outside of the US) for the Internal Revenue Service. Please plan for your taxes accordingly.

My reference(s) didn’t get an email asking them to upload the recommendation letter. What should I do?

    • Make sure that the email address for your reference was entered correctly.
    • Have your reference check their spam folder.
    • If neither of the above explains why the email was not received, please email Anne Marie Mahoney: mahoney@genetics-gsa.org.

The application form says I am not eligible for the award, but I am a member of GSA. What should I do?

If you recently joined, please wait 20 minutes and then refresh the page before entering the site so your membership status will be updated. If the problem persists, please email Anne Marie Mahoney: mahoney@genetics-gsa.org.

Can I use the DeLill Nasser Award to attend any conference?

Yes! A DeLill Nasser Award may be used to attend any course or conference that would enhance the recipient’s professional development in genetics.

Support the DeLill Nasser Fund

The DeLill Nasser Award for Professional Development in Genetics is made possible by generous contributions from our donors. Please consider contributing to support our community’s early career members.

Donate Now

Past Recipients

Year Name Institution
2023 Mariana Harris
University of California, Los Angeles
2023 Jennifer Alexander University of Pennsylvania
2023 Renee Geck University of Washington
2023 Landen Gozashti Harvard University
2023 Bogdan Sieriebriennikov New York University
2023 Sarah Colon Plaza University of Colorado
2023 Travis Tu’ifua University of Utah
2023 Rachel Meade Duke University
2023 Malek Elsayyid University of Delaware
2023 Julio Molina Pineda University of Arkansas
2022 Katheryn Rothenberg University of Toronto
2022 Carla Bautista Rodriguez Universite Laval
2022 Ana-Maria Raicu Michigan State University
2022 Sarah Neuman University of Wisconsin, Madison
2022 Zoe Irons University of Oregon
2022 James Held Vanderbilt University
2022 Lydia Grmai University of Pittsburgh/Duke University
2022 Malgorzata Gazda Institut Pasteur
2022 Puja Biswas University of British Columbia
2022 Mearag Amare University of Wisconsin, Madison
2022 Vladimir Lazetic University of California, San Diego
2022 Sophia Sanchez University of Texas, Austin
2022 Uzezi Okinedo University of Massachusetts, Boston
2022 Emily Hendricks Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville
2022 Maria Sterrett Emory University
2022 Shannon Hateley Carnegie Institution for Science
2022 Jennifer Chik University of California, San Diego
2022 Anna Moyer University of Alabama, Birmingham
2022 Diedre Reitz University of California, Davis
2022 Jon Hibshman University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
2021 Neftaly Cruz Mireles The Sainsbury Laboratory
2021 Melissa Drown University of Miami
2021 Hayden Hatch Albert Einstein College of Medicine
2021 Dianiris Luciano-Rosario University of Wisconsin, Madison
2021 Joaquin Nunez University of Virginia
2021 Joseph Uche Ogbede University of British Columbia
2021 Anton Suvorov University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
2021 Valeria Velasquez Zapata Iowa State University
2021 Vikas Yadav Duke University
2021 Wenyu Zhang Max-Planck Institute
2021 Uma Arora The Jackson Laboratory/Tufts University
2021 Xiaofei Bai National Institutes of Health
2021 Ankita Chavan ETH Zurich
2021 Braveen Joseph University of Wyoming
2021 Murat Can Kalem University at Buffalo, SUNY
2021 Seyma Katrinli Emory University
2021 Riley Kellermeyer University of Nevada, Reno
2021 Jason Millington University of British Columbia
2021 Jessamyn Perlmutter University of Kansas
2021 Xiaofeng (Allen) Su Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2020 Chee Kiang Ewe University of California Santa Barbara
2020 Felipe Martelli Monash University
2020 Molly Matty Salk Institute for Biological Studies
2020 Daniel Lee California Institute of Technology
2020 Madhumala Sadanandappa Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
2020 Lengxob ‘Lenny’ Yong University of Exeter
2020 Angli Xue The University of Queensland; Garvan Institute of Medical Research
2020 Rachel Waymack University of California Irvine
2020 Farida Yasmin University of North Carolina at Charlotte
2020 Katie Billmyre Stowers Institute for Medical Research
2020 Ching-Ho Chang University of Rochester
2020 Jae Young Choi New York University
2020 Andrea Cuentas-Condori Vanderbilt University
2020 Troy McDiarmid University of British Columbia
2020 Summer Morrill Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2020 Juan D. Rodriguez Emory University
2020 Sophia Tintori New York University
2020 Patricka Williams-Simon University of Missouri
2020 Celja Uebel University of Southern California
2019 Yu-Chieh Chen UC Riverside
2019 Lauren Donoghue University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
2019 Jullien Michelle Flynn Cornell University
2019 Theodora Koromila California Institute of Technology
2019 Julia M. Kreiner University of Toronto
2019 Marie Saitou University at Buffalo
2019 Monica Rose Sanchez Stanford University
2019 Chloe Snider Vanderbilt University
2019 Bryan Thornlow University of California, Santa Cruz
2019 Amy K. Webster Duke University
2019 Philipp Brand UC Davis
2019 Jessie Fernandez UT Southwestern Medical Center
2019 Talia Hatkevich University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
2019 Matthew Jones University of Montana
2019 Balint Z. Kacsoh Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
2019 Katja Kasimatis University of Oregon
2019 Edgar M Medina Duke University
2019 Wynn K Meyer University of Pittsburgh
2019 Rebecca A.S. Palu University of Utah
2019 Lesley N Weaver Johns Hopkins University
2018 Ina Anreiter University of Toronto
2018 Kathleen Gray Ferris University of California, Davis
2018 Nandita Garud Gladstone Institutes at UCSF
2018 Piya Ghose The Rockefeller University
2018 Seungsoo Kim University of Washington
2018 Danielle L Kopke Vanderbilt University
2018 David Peris Navarro IATA
2018 Chloe Robins Emory University
2018 Clare So University of Toronto
2018 Junior John West University of Toronto
2018 Maria Bravo Nunez Stowers Institute for Medical Research
2018 Mahul Chakraborty University of California, Irvine
2018 Alys Cheatle Jarvela University of Maryland
2018 Nancy Chen University of California, Davis
2018 Priscilla Erickson University of Virginia
2018 Alexandra Erwin University of Kansas
2018 Piero Lamelza University of Washington
2018 Caiti Smukowski University of Washington
2018 David Truong NYU Langone Health
2018 Dona Wisidagama University of Utah
2017 Richard Coleman University of Hawaii at Manoa
2017 Emily Davenport Cornell University
2017 Marissa Fletcher MIT
2017 Daniel Grimes Princeton University
2017 Joshua Li The University of Queensland
2017 Colin Olito Monash University
2017 Jasmine Ono University of British Columbia
2017 Daniel Schrider Rutgers University
2017 Valerie Tornini Yale University
2017 Jinglin Lucy Xie Stanford University School of Medicine
2017 Terry Felton University College London
2017 Abigail Lind Vanderbilt University
2017 Albert Mondragon Boston University
2017 Taehyun Ryu University of Southern California
2017 Michele Sammut University College London
2017 Igor Iatsenko École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
2017 Nikos Konstantinides New York University
2017 Jyoti Misra Rutgers University
2017 Luke Noble New York University
2017 Jennifer Wisecaver Vanderbilt University
2016 Emily Behrman University of Pennsylvania
2016 Grace Goh University of British Columbia
2016 Vanessa Gray University of Washington
2016 Granton Jindal Princeton University
2016 Aashiq Kachroo The University of Texas at Austin
2016 Grace Y. C. Lee Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
2016 Joy Meserve University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
2016 Adam Norris Harvard University
2016 Gaurav Varshney National Human Genome Research Institute
2016 Anna Vickrey University of Utah
2016 Richard Wang University of Wisconsin – Madison
2016 Mayu Inaba University of Michigan
2016 Havva Keskin Georgia Institute of Technology
2016 Xiaobo Li Carnegie Institution for Science
2016 Hongan Long Indiana University at Bloomington
2016 Kentaro Noma University of California, San Diego
2016 Stefan Oehlers Duke University Medical Center
2016 Konstantinos Palikaras University of Crete, Greece
2016 Sambasivam Periyannan Agriculture CSIRO, Canberra, Australia
2016 Monica Wu University of Toronto, Canada
2015 Keir Balla University of California, San Diego
2015 Cara Brand University of Rochester
2015 Sarah Deng Columbia University Medical Center
2015 Carol Myrick Anderson University of California, San Francisco
2015 Patricia Jumbo Lucioni Vanderbilt University
2015 Hannah Seidel University of Wisconsin – Madison
2015 Hagen Tilgner Stanford University
2015 Jeremy Yoder University of Minnesota
2015 Kevin Wei Cornell University
2015 Qi Zhou University of California, Berkeley
2015 Robert Blake Billmyre Duke University
2015 Justin Bosch University of California, Berkeley
2015 Yee Lian Chew University of Sydney, Australia
2015 Collin Ewald Harvard Medical School
2015 Travis Johnson Monash University, Australia
2015 Ivan Liachko University of Washington
2015 Hansong Ma University of California, San Francisco
2015 Kevin Schoenfelder Duke University
2014 Alina Chan University of British Columbia
2014 Amanda Socha Dartmouth College
2014 Emily Fawcett University of Washington
2014 Jason Rogers Princeton University
2014 Meleah Hickman University of Minnesota
2014 Michelle Leach University of Toronto
2014 Daniel Pollard University of California, San Diego
2014 Huanyu (Joe) Qiao University of California, Davis
2014 Tiffany Timbers Simon Fraser University
2014 Yang Cao University of Wisconsin – Madison
2014 Huan Chen Columbia University Medical Center
2014 Fang Yum Lim University of Wisconsin – Madison
2014 Matthew Niepielko Rutgers University
2014 Nathaniel Sharp University of Toronto
2014 Charissa de Bekker Pennsylvania State University
2014 George Eisenhoffer, Jr. Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah
2014 Eric Joyce Harvard Medical School
2014 Eric Stoffregan University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
2014 Sen (Allen) Xu Indiana University
2014 Amanda Zacharias University of Pennsylvania
2013 Daniel Bricker University of Utah
2013 Jason C Slot Vanderbilt University
2013 Alysia Mortimer Emory University
2013 Mengshu Xu University of Toronto
2013 Olga Novikova University at Albany
2013 Wen Huang North Carolina State University
2013 Russ Corbett-Detig Harvard Univeristy
2013 Kathy Ngo University of California – Las Angeles
2013 Robert Unckless Cornell University
2013 Maria Hindt Dartmouth College
2013 Brian Arnold Harvard University
2013 Sara Beese-Sims Harvard Medical School
2013 Kingsley Boateng NIDDK/NIH
2013 Kerry Geiler-Samerotte New York University
2013 Aleeza Gerstein University of Minnesota
2012 Xin Li Vanderbilt University
2012 Krista Dobi Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
2012 Kathleen Dumas University of Michigan
2012 Yun Wu Princeton University
2012 Megan Phifer-Rixey University of Arizona
2012 Zhiyong Shao Yale University
2012 Michael Eastwood University of Toronto
2012 Daniel P. Rice Harvard University
2012 Erik Lehnert Stanford University
2012 Brett Tomson University of Pittsburgh
2012 Rui Chen Stanford University
2012 Alison Pischedda University of California – Santa Barbara
2012 Guangbo Chen Stowers Institute for Medical Research
2012 Eugene A. Gladyschev Harvard University
2012 Annalise B. Paaby New York University
2012 Justine A. Melo Massachusetts General Hospital
2012 Kyle R. Pomraning Oregon State University
2012 Laura H. Okagaki University of Minnesota
2012 Andrea K. Kalis Carleton College
2012 James E. Robinson University of California San Diego
2012 Sarah A. Gilmore University of California, San Francisco
2012 Matthew E. Wolak University of California Riverside
2012 Richard P. Meisel Cornell University
2012 Erin S. Keebaugh Emory University
2012 Clarissa J. Nobile University of California – San Francisco
2012 Michael E. Talkowski Massachusetts General Hospital
2011 Nicolas Buchon EPFL
2011 Xu Chen University of Wisconsin-Madison
2011 Heather Flores Cornell University
2011 Daniel P. Kane Tufts University
2011 Yunsik Kang University of Wisconsin-Madison
2011 Mia T. Levine Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
2011 Teresa R. O’Meara Duke University Medical Center
2011 Alexandra A. Soukup University of Wisconsin-Madison
2011 Chaolong Wang University of Michigan
2011 Cornelia E. Zorca Yale University
2011 Yizhi Cai Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
2011 Matthew L. Bochman Princeton University
2011 Thomas J. Pohl University Washington
2011 Sankalpi N. Warnasooriya Michigan State University
2011 Clement Y. Chow Cornell University
2011 Julie M. Granka Stanford University
2011 Maja Tarailo-Graovac Simon Fraser University
2011 Takamune T. Saito Harvard Medical School
2011 Li Yang University Pennsylvania
2011 Naomi Ziv New York University
2011 Wenjen Li Duke University
2011 Katrina Mitchel Duke University
2011 Caroline V. Sartain Cornell University
2011 Karl F. Erhard University California, Berkeley
2011 Beatriz Vicoso University California, Berkeley
2011 Kwame Twumasi-Boateng University California, Berkeley
2010 Erkan Buzbas University of Michigan
2010 Bryce Daines Baylor College of Medicine
2010 Marc Erhardt Univ de Fribourg
2010 Diane Genereux University of Washington
2010 Te-Wen Lo University of California – Berkeley
2010 Rebecca Shapiro University of Toronto
2009 Arantza Barrios Rutgers University
2009 Eleni Mimitou Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
2009 Timothy B. Sackton Harvard University
2009 Wei Shen University of Wisconsin-Madison
2009 Michelle M. Tangredi Tufts University School of Medicine
2009 Maria Margarita Womack Princeton University
2008 Gilles R. Hickson University of Montreal
2008 Yen-Ping Hsueh Duke University
2008 Roshan A. Jain Princeton University
2008 Chanhee Kang Harvard Medical School & Brigham & Women’s Hospital
2008 Amanda A. Larracuente Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research
2008 Kate M. O’Connor-Giles University of Wisconsin-Madison
2008 Mara Schvarzstein Stanford University
2008 Sarit Smolikov University of Iowa
2007 Kristin R. DeSouza Nationwide Childrens Hospital Research
2007 Ya-Chieh Hsu Rockefeller University
2007 William W. Ja California Institute of Technology
2007 Chad G. Pearson University of Colorado-Denver
2006 Anjon Audhya University of Wisconsin-Madison Medical School
2006 Gil B. Carvalho California Institute of Technology
2006 Atina G. Cote Terrence Donnolly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research
2006 Elissa P. Lei NIDDK/NIH
2006 Kirki Tsigari Shire HGT Medical Dept
2005 Joshua C. Mell University of British Columbia
2005 Elena A. Repnikova Nationwide Children’s Hospital
2004 Sue L.  Jaspersen Stowers Institute for Medical Research
2003 Sandra M. Leal University Southern Mississippi
2002 Joshua Chern University of Wisconsin-Madison
2002 Tim  Christensen East Carolina University
2002 Kristin L. Latham Western Oregon University
2002 Amy Rice Doetsch College of Southern Idaho

Without the DeLill Nasser award, I would not have been able to attend 60th Annual Drosophila Research Conference, where I presented the culmination of my graduate work and received valuable feedback. We even have a collaboration that is going to begin as a result of the conference. I also attended the Peer Review Workshop, the Publishing Q&A, and helped moderate the New Faculty Forum sessions. I learned an invaluable amount that will influence my scientific career for many years to come.

Balint Z. Kacsoh, DeLill Nasser Award recipient

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