Genetics Society of America
Join a Committee
Interested in making a difference? Let us know if you are willing to serve on a committee or volunteer in another capacity with GSA. Note that all committee members must be GSA members during their service. Send an email to society@genetics-gsa.org letting us know which committees or opportunities you are most interested in and why you would be effective in the role. GSA periodically announces committee vacancies via our email newsletter.
See list of current committees
If you are graduate student or postdoc: consider applying for GSA’s Early Career Leadership and Professional Development Program. Participants serve in our highly active Early Career Scientist committees to propose, develop, and implement initiatives that address unmet needs for the early career scientist community. Participants complete the program with new skills, a network of peers and mentors, and concrete deliverables that demonstrate their abilities.
Serving this subcommittee has helped me expand my personal and professional network and further develop my leadership and organizational skills.
Learn about the Communication and Outreach Subcommittee
Audit Committee
The Audit Committee oversees the annual audit of GSA's financial records and makes recommendations to the GSA Board based on their findings.
Current Members
Martha Soto, Chair, Rutgers University
Judith Kassis, SGE/NICHD/NIH
John Schimenti, Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Biomedical Science
Mary Adams, Staff Liaison
Awards Committee
The Awards Committee reviews nominations for seven Society Awards: Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal, GSA Medal, GSA Early Career Medal, GSA Mentorship Award, George W. Beadle Award, Edward Novitski Prize and Elizabeth W. Jones Award for Excellence in Education.
Current Members
Swathi Arur, Chair, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
David Lowry, Michigan State University
Orna Cohen-Fix, NIH/NIDDK
Florence Marlow, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Pamela Geyer, University of Iowa
Michael Buszczak, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Diana Chu, San Francisco State University
Anne Marie Mahoney, Staff Liaison
Awards Promotion Committee
The Awards Nominating Committee promotes the GSA Awards in an effort to encourage a diverse group of nominees and to increase the number of nominations.
Current Members
Martha Soto, Chair, Rutgers University
Gavin Rice, University of Pittsburgh
Julio Molina Pineda, University of Arkansas
Marnie Gelbart, Harvard Medical School
Mary Lou Guerinot, Dartmouth College
Mi Hye Song, Oakland University
Oindrila De, The French Institute in India
Peter M’Angale, UMass Chan Medical School
Jessica Vélez, Staff Liasion
Conferences Committee
The Conferences Committee advises the GSA Board, staff, and conference organizers on meeting offerings and new initiatives for GSA to provide a platform for researchers to share their latest findings, facilitate interdisciplinary discussions, increase community engagement, and advance the fields of genetics and genomics. The Committee may also be asked to identify innovative and emerging topics of potential interest, provide recommendations regarding the Conferences Code of Conduct, and may also help to spearhead conference fundraising efforts.
Current Members
Michelle Arbeitman, Chair, Florida State University
Maureen Barr, Rutgers University
Theresa Gunn, McLaughlin Research Institute
David Lowry, Michigan State University
Matt Rockman, New York University
Arun Sethuraman, San Diego State University
Jason Stajich, University of California, Riverside
Jacob Steenwyck, University of California, Berkeley
Suzy Brown, Staff Liaison
Anne Marie Mahoney, Staff Liaison
DeLill Nasser Selection Committee
The DeLill Nasser Selection Committee selects recipients of GSA's DeLill Nasser Award for Professional Development in Genetics. They ensure that the award recipients reflect the diversity of the genetics community by considering applicants' demographics, geographic locations, institution types, and model organism/subject matters.
Current Members
Sylvia Vertrone, Chair Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine
Brian Ackley, The University of Kansas
Emily Davenport, Penn State
Jose Vargas-Muniz, Southern Illinois University
Javier Tabima, Clark University
Debbi Thurtle-Schimdt, Davidson College
Amber Stratman, Washington University St. Louis
Jeffrey Thomas
Zeba Wunderlich, Boston University
Anne-Marie Mahoney, Staff Liaison
Early Career Scientist (ECS) Steering Committee
The Steering Committee is composed of the co-chairs of each subcommittee. They meet monthly to discuss the direction of the Early Career Leadership Program, as well as share resources and establish collaborative projects between the subcommittees. The Steering Committee provides guidance to the Leadership Program subcommittees and facilitates projects, events, and proposals.
Current Members
Jennifer Gerton, Advisor, Stowers Institute for Medical Research
Thomas Merritt, Advisor, Laurentian University
Peiwei Chen, Cornell University
Taylar Mouton, Johns Hopkins University
Allie Hutchings, Laurentian University
Anvita Kulshrestha, Duke University
Cameron Bennett, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Maddelyn Harden, University of Southern California (USC)
Madhulika Rai, Indiana University
Pablo Augusto de Souza Fonseca, Universidad de Leon
Rithika Sankar, University of Pittsburg
Sanjana Sundararajan, National Institutes of Health
Shaun (Sayan) Biswas, Brandeis University
Stella Babatope, University of Georgia
Sumitra Tatapudy, University of Washington
Early Career Scientist Accessibility Subcommittee
The Accessibility and Disability Advocacy Subcommittee aims to make the ECLP’s leadership and training opportunities more inclusive of early career scientists with disabilities. It consists of liaisons from each ECLP subcommittee and other members, who help raise awareness within ECLP about the challenges and needs of scientists with disabilities and ideate ways to adopt a combination of universal design approaches to improve the accessibility of ECLP’s projects and resources.
Current Members
Jenny Tenlen, advisor, Seattle Pacific University
Nicolas Corradi, advisor, University of Ottawa
Sanjana Sundararajan, co-chair, National Institutes of Health
Shaun (Sayan) Biswas, co-chair, Brandeis University
Blessing Erinwusi, member, Centre for Genomic Research in Biomedicine (CeGRIB)
Brian Kirz, member, University of Rochester
Johanna Rhodes, member, Radboudumc
José Humberto da Cunha, member, University of São Paulo
Konan Blaise Koko, Laurentian University
Samuel Isife, member, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Titir De, New York University
Yu-Ying Phoebe Hsieh, member, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Early Career Scientist Career Development Subcommittee
The ECS Career Development Subcommittee supports early career scientists as they navigate their career paths, learn about career options, and curate resume-enhancing skills and experiences. Members work together to develop resources that highlight the myriad career trajectories that are possible with a genetics education and research training.
Current Members
Alexa Burger, advisor, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Ben Vincent, advisor, California State University Los Angeles
Madhulika Rai, co-chair, Indiana University
Pablo Augusto de Souza Fonseca, co-chair, Universidad de Leon
Anindya Ganguly, member, University of California, Santa Barbara
Blessing Olabosoye, member, Iowa State University
Caroline West, member, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Fiona Nelima Mumoki, member, University of Pretoria
Ling Sheng Loh, member, California Institute of Technology
Olufemi Osonowo, member, Dalhousie University
Sara McPherson, member, Queen’s University
Seyedehleila Abtahi, member, University of British Columbia
Early Career Scientist Communication and Outreach Subcommittee
The ECS Communication and Outreach Subcommittee aims to bridge the communication gap between scientific disciplines, as well as between scientists and the public. Members work together to craft informative articles and projects, helping to make new discoveries more accessible among researchers and fostering society’s understanding and appreciation of science.
Current Members
Douglas Dluzen, advisor, National Institute on General Medical Sciences
Nafisa Jadavji, advisor, Midwestern University
Rithika Sankar, co-chair, University of Pittsburgh
Sumitra Tatapudy, co-chair, University of Washington
Camille Bédard, member, Université Laval, Institut de biologie intégrative et des systèmes (IBIS), The Quebec Network for Research on Protein Function, Engineering, and Applications (PROTEO) and Université Laval Big Data Research Center (BDRC_UL))
Daniela Soto, member, University of California – Davis
Deepika Gunasekaran, member, University of California Merced
Jessie MacAlpine, member, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Lauren Dineen, member, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Mohab Helmy, member, University of Cambridge
Taylar Mouton, member, Johns Hopkins University
Zoé Gillespie, member, University of Toronto
Early Career Scientist Community and Membership Engagement Subcommittee
Members of the ECS Community and Membership Engagement Committee work to address the challenges and concerns of their fellow early career scientists. The Community and Membership Engagement Committee, in cooperation with the ECS Subcommittees, provides helpful resources, gathers important feedback, and creates communications that unite and inform the scientific community.
Current Members
Joyce Fernandes, advisor, Miami University
Julia Lee-Soety, advisor, Saint Joseph’s University
Anvita Kulshrestha, co-chair, Duke University
Stella Babatope, co-chair, University of Georgia
Edward Pietryk, member, Baylor College of Medicine
Haoran Cai, member, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Ikele Chinyere Mary-Cynthia, member, Osaka University
Lishu He, member, Medical College of Wisconsin
Mahmoud Izadi, member, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation
Rebecca Arnold, member, Institute of Science and Technology, Austria (ISTA)
Rehan Khan, member, Kansas State University
Shannon Pfeiffer, member, University of Delaware
Early Career Scientist Multimedia Subcommittee
The Multimedia Subcommittee aims to communicate genetics research to a broad audience in an easily accessible format. Members work together to develop their scientific communication and outreach skills by curating multimedia content such as podcasts and infographics.
Current Members
Jiae Lee, advisor, California State University, Long Beach
Seth Rudman, advisor, Washington State University
Allie Hutchings, co-chair, Laurentian University
Sarah Renee Phillips, co-chair, Yale University
Debraj Manna, member, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru
Faye Romero, member, University of Rochester
Jevithen Nehru, member, University of Toronto
Kazeem Adekunle Alayande, member, North-West University, South Africa
Laetitia Chauve, member, Trinity College Dublin
Sara Shahba, member, University of British Columbia
Early Career Scientist Policy and Advocacy Subcommittee
The ECS Policy Subcommittee develops useful resources related to career training policy and works to connect members of the scientific community with elected officials and government agencies.
Current Members
Elyse Hope, advisor
Cameron Bennett, co-chair, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Maddelyn Harden, co-chair, University of Southern California
Bahaar Chawla, member, University of Michigan
Md Riajul Hossain, member, University of Arkansas at Fayetteville
Montana Kay Lara, member, University of California San Diego
Rostv Brichko, member, University of California – Irvine
Snigdha Gupta, member, National Heart Lung Blood Institute (NHLBI)/NIH
Ujani Hazra, member, Georgia Institute of Technology
Education Committee
The Education Committee supports members of the GSA community interested in pedagogy research, active learning, and inclusive teaching. The committee develops workshops on education topics and professional development and assists GSA conference organizers by reviewing education-related abstracts and developing conference-specific workshops. These activities will provide opportunities for professional development, networking, and resource-sharing among the GSA community.
Major committee activities will be supported by four subcommittees. All members of the Education Committee are expected to serve on at least one subcommittee. Subcommittee leads will be responsible for organizing meetings as needed and will report on activities at Committee-wide meetings. The full committee will meet at least twice a year. The anticipated time commitment for each member is one to three hours per month, depending on the time of year and projects in progress.
Current Members
Amanda Larracuente, University of Rochester
Andrea Kalis, St. Catherine University
Grace Hamilton, High Point University
Laura Rusche, University at Buffalo
Rhea Datta, Hamilton College
Tamar Resnick, University of Minnesota
Nicole Crown, Case Western Reserve University
Deborah Thurtle-Schmidt, Davidson College
Jennifer Cooper, Kennesaw State University
Jenny Tenlen, Seattle Pacific University
Marie Mooney, University of North Florida
Michael Law, Stockton University
Skye Comstra, Emory University
Sumitra Tatapudy, University of Washington Seattle
Tatiana C Tatum, Saint Xavier University
Jessica Velez, Staff Liaison
Engagement and Professional Development Committee
The Engagement and Professional Development Committee provides guidance regarding professional development programming to ensure GSA is offering timely and relevant career resources to the genetics community.
Current Members
JoAnne Engebrecht, Chair
Peiwei Chen, Cornell University
Doug Dluzen, National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
Joyce Fernandes, Miami University
Teresa Lee, University of Massachusetts Lowell
Abhinava Mishra, UC Santa Barbara
Taylar Mouton, Johns Hopkins University
Mriga Rao, University of Maryland
Didem Sarikaya, 10X Genomics
Mariana Wolfner, Cornell University
Equity and Inclusion Committee
To help GSA address the needs of its diverse communities, the Equity and Inclusion Committee recommends priorities, policies, and practices that foster a welcoming, global, and inclusive culture.
Current Members
Javier Huayta, Senior Co-chair, Duke University
Mardelle Atkins, Sam Houston State University
Hannah Grunwald, Harvard Medical School
Karen Hales, Davidson College
Joseph Hanly, Duke University/Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute/George Washington University
Laurel Hiatt, University of Utah
Katherine Leehy, Gustavus Adolphus College
Julianne Pelaez, Brandeis University
Pei-Chen Peng, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Cathie Pfleger, Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Tânia Reis, University of Colorado School of Medicine
Estefania Sanchez Vasquez, California University of Technology
Priscilla Van Wynsberghe, Colgate University
Sylvia Vetrone, Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine
Ramin Yadegari, University of Arizona
Rochelle Yap, University of Georgia Athens
Kaitlyn Sudol, Staff Liaison
Ethics Committee
The Ethics Committee is charged with developing, maintaining, and monitoring policies to address the ethical conduct of GSA members and participants in GSA programs.
Current Members
E. Jane Hubbard, Chair, President (2022), New York University School of Medicine Skirball Institute
Denise Montell (GSA Past President), University of California, Santa Barbara
C. Brandon Ogbunu, Yale University
Executive Committee
The Executive Committee acts on behalf of the Board of Directors between Board meetings and reports its actions to the Board, either directly or through the Executive Director.
Current Members
Brenda Andrews, President (2025), University of Toronto
Mariana Wolfner, Immediate Past-President (2025), Cornell University
Cassandra Extavour, Vice President (2025), Harvard University
Maureen Barr, Secretary (2027), Rutgers University
Tin Tin Su, Treasurer (2025), University of Colorado
Tracey DePellegrin, Staff Liaison
Finance Committee
The Finance Committee advises the GSA Board on the annual budget, the management of Society bank accounts, and other financial matters.
Current Members
Tin Tin Su, Chair, University of Colorado, Boulder
Brenda Andrews, President (ex officio), University of Toronto
Mariana Wolfner, Cornell University
Mary Adams, Staff Liaison
Microgrant Review Committee
The Microgrant Review Committee is responsible for reviewing applications for small grants that fund and sustain projects by scientists who run programs that benefit the GSA membership.
Current Members
Irene Miguel-Aliaga, Chair, Imperial College London
Patricia Wittkopp, University of Michigan
Julio Molina Pineda, University of Arkansas
Ximena Gutierrez-Ramos, University of Maryland
Ujani Hazra, Georgia Institute of Technology
Nominating Committee
The Nominating Committee is primarily responsible for the nominating candidates for GSA Board Officers and Directors.
Current Members
Mariana Wolfner, Chair (ex officio), Cornell University
Maureen Barr, Secretary (ex officio), Rutgers University
Tracey DePellegrin, Staff Liaison
Kaitlyn Sudol, Staff Liaison
Public Communication and Engagement Committee
The Committee’s primary task is supporting the production of content relating to GSA's long-term public communication and engagement goals. The content is intended to serve as a resource to support members in their own public communication and engagement activities.
Current Members
E. Jane Hubbard, Chair, New York University School of Medicine Skirball Institute
Elisabeth Marnik, Husson University
Stephanie Mohr, Harvard Medical School
C. Brandon Ogbunu, Yale University
Tracey DePellegrin, Staff Liaison
Publications Committee
The Publications Committee sets and oversees the high-level strategic priorities for publishing activities of GSA, GENETICS and G3: Genes|Genomes|Genetics. The Committee sets annual performance goals for GENETICS and G3 and/or the portfolio; twice per year, meets with Editors in Chief to discuss and review their efforts and journal performance in relation to goals; may assist in fiscal discussions along with staff, GSA Board of Directors; approves proposed journal scope changes, or in the case of a new journal, sets scope; forms the search committee for new Editors in Chief. The Committee also oversees the mid-term/end of term EIC performance review. The Committee works closely with the Editors in Chief as well as GSA staff and reports to the GSA Board.
Current Members
Michael Buszczak, Chair, UT Southwestern Medical Center
Jay Dunlap, Dartmouth School of Medicine
Erica Matunis, Johns Hopkins
Ruth Isaacson, Staff Liaison, GSA
Megan McCarty, Staff Liaison, GSA
Tracey Depellegrin, Executive Director, (ex officio) GSA