KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Harmit Malik

HHMI/Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

PRELIMINARY DATES

Conference dates: Late March 2021
Abstract submission deadline: Mid November 2020
Larry Sandler Award nomination deadline: Late November 2020

 

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Dear colleagues,

Due to the ongoing safety and logistical uncertainties associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the 62nd Annual Drosophila Research Conference will be held in a virtual format in 2021.
Although we are all disappointed to miss each other in person next year, we are planning new approaches to enhance interactivity, enrich the conference experience, and make this a fly meeting to remember!
We apologize for any inconvenience in the change in format, but we are excited to see what the fly community spirit can achieve in 2021!

Sincerely,

Mariana Wolfner
President, Drosophila Board

Nasser Rusan, Co-Chair
Amy Kiger, Co-Chair
Michelle Arbeitman
Karen G. Hales
Nadia Singh
Guy Tanentzapf
62nd Annual Drosophila Research Conference Organizing Committee

Denise Montell, President
President, Genetics Society of America
Tracey DePellegrin, Executive Director
Executive Director, Genetics Society of America

The Annual Drosophila Research Conference is the premier meeting for Drosophila researchers. As many as 1,000 presentations cover the full diversity of Drosophila investigations, from genetics to molecular biology, cell biology, development, immunology, physiology, neuroscience, evolution, and more.

Past Conferences

2020: The Allied Genetics Conference (TAGC) | Watch Highlight Videos | Abstract Book
2019: Dallas, TX
2018: Philadelphia, PA
2017: San Diego, CA
2016: Orlando, FL
2015: Chicago, IL
2014: San Diego, CA
2013: Washington, DC
2012: Chicago, IL
2011: San Diego, CA
2010: Washington, DC
2009: Chicago, IL
2008: San Diego, CA
2007: Philadelphia, PA
2006: Houston, TX
2005: San Diego, CA
2004: Washington, DC
2003: Chicago, IL
2002: San Diego, CA
2001: Washington, DC
2000: Pittsburgh, PA

Awards

Larry Sandler Award

The Larry Sandler Memorial Lecture is presented by an outstanding recent PhD graduate on the opening night of the Conference. We invite you to nominate candidates for the lecture, which was established in 1988 by the colleagues, friends, and students of Dr. Larry Sandler after his untimely death in 1987. The award serves to honor Dr. Sandler for his many contributions to Drosophila genetics and his exceptional dedication to the training of Drosophila biologists. The winner receives complimentary registration for the 62nd Annual Drosophila Research Conference as well as a lifetime membership in GSA.

Eligibility

Any student completing a PhD in an area of Drosophila research between July 2019 and December 2020 is eligible and must be nominated by his/her thesis advisor.

Nomination

All nominations must be submitted by the student’s thesis advisor and should include the following:

• Nominee’s Curriculum Vitae
• Nominee’s thesis abstract of 1-2 pages
• A nomination letter directly answering the following questions:
  • What are the main discoveries in the nominee’s thesis?
  • What are the intellectual and experimental contributions of the nominee to the project?
  • How does the thesis work advance what was previously known in the field and to previous work from your lab?

Nominations should be sent as .doc or .pdf files by December 21, 2020, to Guy Tanentzapf.

Deadline

Nominations must be received by December 21, 2020.

Past Recipients

Bruce Edgar, 1988

Kate Harding, 1989

Michael Dickinson, 1990

Maurice Kernan, 1991

Doug Kellogg, 1992

David Schneider, 1993

Kendal Broadie, 1994

David Begun, 1995

Chaoyong Ma, 1996

Abby Dernburg, 1997

Nir Hacohen, 1998

Terence Murphy, 1999

Bin Chen, 2000

James Wilhelm, 2001

Matthew C. Gibson, 2002

Sinisa Urban, 2003

Sean McGuire, 2004

Elissa Hallem, 2005

Daniel Ortiz-Barrientos, 2006

Yu-Chiun Wang, 2007

Adam A. L. Friedman, 2008

Timothy T. Weil, 2009

Leonardo Koerich, 2010

Daniel Babcock, 2011

Stephanie Turner Chen, 2012

Weizhe Hong, 2013

Ruei-Jiun Hung, 2014

Zhao Zhang, 2015

Alejandra Figueroa-Clarevega, 2016

Danny E. Miller, 2017

Lucy Liu, 2018

Laura Fairbanks Seeholzer, 2019

Balint Kacsoh, 2020

Victoria Finnerty Undergraduate Travel Awards

Overview

Named to honor the memory of Victoria Finnerty, this award helps support travel costs for undergraduates presenting their Drosophila research at the Annual Drosophila Research Conference.

Finnerty was a long-time member of the Genetics Society of America and served the Drosophila community and the genetics community at large in many capacities. Her ground-breaking work as a graduate student used high-resolution recombination analysis to dissect gene structure. This set the stage for a 35-year career in which she excelled as a gifted teacher as well as a research scientist.

Finnerty was known for her creativity and dedication to training undergraduates in Drosophila genetics; her passion for the field of genetics was contagious. Vickie was a wise, compassionate mentor and teacher for whom interactions with her students was a constant joy. She constantly sought new ways to engage undergraduates in their genetics courses and in research; the Victoria Finnerty Undergraduate Award continues her stellar example.

Application Process

When the application period is open, there will be a link to the application form on this page. In their applications, applicants must include a letter of recommendation. The letter must be from the principal investigator of the laboratory in which they are conducting research or another professor or supervisor familiar with the applicant’s research.

Eligibility

Applicants must be GSA members who are undergraduate students. Recipients may only use the award to fund their travel to present Drosophila research at the Annual Drosophila Research Conference or The Allied Genetics Conference.

Important Dates

The application cycle for applicants who wish to present their Drosophila research at TAGC 2020 will open on October 30. The deadline for applications is November 27, 2019. UPDATE: The deadline for applications is January 15, 2019.

Support Undergraduate Drosophila Research

The Victoria Finnerty Undergraduate Travel Awards are 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
2019	Katherine Fisher	Indiana University Bloomington
2019	Esther Kwon	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
2019	Kathy Le	Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
2019	Carolyn McGrail	Baruch College (CUNY)
2019	Caroline Miller	Davidson College
2019	Taylar Mouton	University of Rochester
2019	Amanda Petersen	University of St. Thomas
2019	Caroline Phan	Davidson College
2019	Nicco Ruggiero	State University of New York at Buffalo
2019	Francesco Satriale	Bucknell University
2019	Helen Stone	University of Virginia
2019	Rebecca Tarnopol	University of Michigan
2019	Brandon Turner	University of North Carolina – Charlotte
2019	Isaac Wong	University of Rochester
2017	James Cevallos	UCLA
2017	Liesl Strand	Univ of Washington
2017	Madison Hupp	Kennsaw State
2017	Courtney Willet	Kennsaw State
2017	Ryan Salemme	John Carroll Univ
2017	Jenna Harris	Georgia State
2017	Matthew Riccetti	Univ of Dayton
2016	Andrew Blake	Delaware State University
2016	Taylor Hinnant	East Carolina University
2016	Diana Luong	Loyola University Chicago
2016	Katherine Nichols	Muhlenberg College
2016	Abigail O’Conner	University of Arizona
2016	Nilang Shah	Emory University
2016	Jarrod Shilts	Vanderbilt University
2016	Samantha St. Clair	Indiana University
2015	Jonathan Cohen	Swarthmore College
2015	Alexander Kneubehl	Ohio Northern University
2015	Kiu Ming April Kong	York University
2015	Meera Namireddy	Rice University
2015	Irina Pushel	Michigan State University
2015	Anna Zeidman	Brown University
2014	Daniel A. Friedman	University of California, Davis
2014	Nancy J. Levansailor	SUNY Fredonia
2014	Katharine Majeski	Kennesaw State University
2014	Aidan L. McParland	University of New England
2014	Marvin Nayan	University of Washington
2014	Trung T. Phan	University of Washington
2014	AnnJosette Ramirez	Arcadia University
2014	Zachary L. Sebo	University of Missouri, Kansas City
2014	Letitia Thompson	The College of New Jersey
2014	Daniel M. Wong	University of California, Los Angeles
2014	Chenling Xu	University of California, Davis
2013	Susanna E. Brantley	Emory University
2013	Gina D. Castelvecchi	University of Wisconsin, Madison
2013	Robert W. Fernandez	York College, City University of New York
2013	Michelle A. Frazer	University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
2013	Samuel Hutton Friedman	Vanderbilt University
2013	Robert A. Gingras	Hofstra University
2013	Gary Iacobucci	State University of New York at Buffalo
2013	Jihyun Irizarry	California State University, Los Angeles
2013	Sierra Mosticone-Wangansteen	Randolph-Macon College
2012	Selma Avdagic	Saint Louis University School of Medicine
2012	Samantha Galindo	University of Wisconsin, Madison
2012	Kenneth B. Hoehn	Duke University
2012	Emily Hsieh	University of Washington/Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
2012	Megan Phifer-Rixey	University of Arizona
2012	Jacqueline McDermott	Hofstra University
2012	Mohammad Siddiq	Indiana University

Drosophila Image Award

The Drosophila Image Award recognizes compelling images that communicate important findings in Drosophila research. Any image from a paper that has been accepted for publication in the calendar year preceding the Annual Drosophila Research Conference is eligible and can be submitted by the researcher who generated it. The award is given to the most striking image and video that clearly convey an important biological result. Learn more about the Image Awards ≫

Poster Awards

Awards will be given for the best poster presentations by GSA undergraduate and graduate student members. Judges take both scientific merit and clarity of presentation into account. You must be the first AND presenting author on the abstract to be eligible for an award. You must also be a GSA student member at the time you submit your abstract and must check the option during abstract submission to enter your poster in the competition.

The following prizes will be awarded: 

• 1st place – $300
• 2nd place – $200 
• 3rd place – $100 

Winners will be announced during the conference. All candidates must participate in the live Q&A for their poster to be eligible for an award. PIs and postdocs who are GSA members can indicate during registration if they would like to help with judging. See past Poster Award recipients ≫

Registration Fee Waiver for Scientists from Low-Income Economies

Registration fees for full-time residents of any country listed on the World Bank Low-income Economies or United Nations Least Developed Country list will have their registration fee waived. Please contact sbrown@genetics-gsa.org by January 10 for registration instructions.