Annual Drosophila Research Conference
Annual Drosophila Research Conference
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
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.
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.
All nominations must be submitted by the student’s thesis advisor and should include the following:
Nominations should be sent as .doc or .pdf files by December 21, 2020, to Guy Tanentzapf.
Nominations must be received by December 21, 2020.
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
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.
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.
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.
The application cycle for applicants who wish to present their research at the 62nd Annual Drosophila Research Conference will open October 26, 2020.
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.
| 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 |
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 ≫
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:
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 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.
