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 the five Society Awards: Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal, GSA Medal, 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
Diana Chu, San Francisco State University
Orna Cohen-Fix, NIH/NIDDK
Pamela Geyer, University of Iowa
Matt Hahn, Indiana University
DJ Pan, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, HHMI Investigator
Detlef Weigel, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology
Shinya Yamamoto, Baylor College of Medicine
Anne Marie Mahoney, Staff Liaison
Conferences Committee
The Conferences Committee considers new conference offerings and advises GSA on conference guidelines. They work to identify innovative or emerging topics, increase speaker diversity, and create a Code of Conduct.
Current Members
Steve Munger, Chair, The Jackson Laboratory
Maitreya Dunham, University of Washington
Lex Flagel
Emily Josephs, Michigan State University
Mustafa Khokha, Yale University
Molly Matty, Salk Institute for Biological Studies
C. Brandon Ogbunu, Yale University
Gavin Rice, University of Pittsburgh
Cathy Savage-Dunn, Queens College and the Graduate Center, CUNY
Arun Sethuraman, California State University San Marcos
Kailene Simon, Atalanta Therapeutics
Martha Soto, Rutgers University
Mariana Wolfner, Cornell University
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
Buck Samuel, Chair, Baylor College of Medicine
Nick Buchler, North Carolina State University
Clement Chow, University of Utah
Emily Davenport, Penn State
Kathy Gould, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Teresa Lee, University of Massachusetts Lowell
Javier Tabima, Clark University
Jeffrey Thomas, ex officio, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
Paul Trainor, Stowers Institute for Medical Research
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
Aakanksha Singhvi, advisor, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Jordan Ward, advisor, University of California at Santa Cruz
Jacob Ortega, ECS Representative to the GSA Board, MD Anderson Cancer Center
Caroline Aragón, University of Minnesota
David Peede, Brown University
Hassan Bukhari, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Jadson C. Santos, University of São Paulo
Jessie MacAlpine, University of Toronto
Jillian Freese, J. Craig Venter Institute
Julio Molina Pineda, University of Arkansas
Pravrutha Raman, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
Shreyasi Mukherjee, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School
Uyen Linh Ho, University of Lausanne
Walid Mawass, University of Arizona
Will Barr, Whitehead Institute & MIT
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
Ahna Skop, advisor, University of Wisconsin
Stephen Klusza, advisor, Clayton State University
Pravrutha Raman, co-chair, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
Jillian Freese, co-chair, J. Craig Venter Institute
Alyssa Paparella, member, Baylor College of Medicine
Anna Moyer, member, University of Alabama at Birmingham
José Humberto da Cunha, member, University of São Paulo
Leire Abalde-Atristain, member, Oregon Health & Science University
Meareg Gebreegziabher Amare, member, University of Wisconsin – Madison
Peiwei Chen, member, California Institute of Technology
Riya Mahapatra, member, Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology
Selcan Aydin, member, The Jackson Laboratory
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
CJ Neely, advisor, Johns Hopkins Medical Institute
Xyanthine Orethia Gilmore Parillon, advisor, University of Houston-Downtown
Jadson C. Santos, co-chair, University of São Paulo
Will Barr, co-chair, Whitehead Institute & MIT
Abhinava Mishra, member, University of California Santa Barbara
Anindya Ganguly, member, University of California, Santa Barbara
David Daesung Lowe, member, Harvard Medical School
Divya Mishra, member, University of Wisconsin – Madison
Junnan Fang, member, Emory
Rupinder Kaur, member, Pennsylvania State University
Thomas Atenya, member, Institute of Primate Research
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
Elisabeth Marnik, advisor, Husson University
Stephanie Mohr, advisor, Harvard Medical School
Caroline Aragón, co-chair, University of Minnesota
Jessie MacAlpine, co-chair, University of Toronto
Angela Jones, member, Duke University
Caroline Muirhead, member, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Daniela Soto, member, University of California – Davis
Faith Onditi, member, Institute of Primate Research
John Rojas Pino, member
Kristen Navarro, member, The Ohio State University
Mubaraq Opoola, member, University of Louisville
Rachel Meade, member, Duke University
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
Edward Waddell, advisor, Holy Family University
Joyce Fernandes, advisor, Miami University
Uyen Linh Ho, co-chair, University of Lausanne
Walid Mawass, co-chair, University of Arizona
Aishwarya Kothari, member, Montana State University
Inês Baião Santos, member, University of Algarve
Irina Yushenova, member, Marine Biological Laboratory
Joseph Uche Ogbede, member, University of British Columbia
Kaushal Bhati, member, BASF Innovation Centre
Kat Yamamoto, member, The City University of New York
Lishu He, member, Medical College of Wisconsin
Mai Rahmoon, member, Zewail City for Science and Technology
Michael Busche, member, University of Wisconsin
Mireia Coll-Tané, member, Radboud University Medical Center
Semiu Folaniyi Bello, member, South China Agricultural University
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
Nele Haelterman, advisor, Baylor College of Medicine
David Peede, co-chair, Brown University
Hassan Bukhari, co-chair, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Ashitha S.N.M., member, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS)
Catherine Maria Choueiri, member, University of Ottawa
Daniel Baker, member, University of Pennsylvania
Eshna Jash, member, University of Michigan
Holly Kleinschmidt, member, Penn State University
James George, member, University of Michigan
Joanna Wardwell-Ozgo, member, Emory University School of Medicine
Sarah Gilmour, member, Stowers Institute for Medical Research
Sarah Petrosky, member, University of Pittsburgh
Sarah Renee Phillips, member, Yale University
Tammy Lee, member, University of Toronto
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
Jamie Lahvic, advisor, National Institute on Aging – NIH
Lynn Marquis, advisor, Coalition for the Life Sciences
Julio Molina Pineda, co-chair, University of Arkansas
Shreyasi Mukherjee, co-chair, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
Chandrika Konwar, member, University of Delhi
Daniel Gironda, member, Wake Forest School of Medicine
Elizabeth DiLoreto, member, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Inam Jameel, member, University of Georgia
Jennifer Dumouchel, member, Brown University
Md Riajul Hossain, member, University of Arkansas at Fayetteville
Sharif K Tusuubira, member, University of Kansas
Education Committee
The Education Committee supports and promotes those in the GSA community interested in teaching, pedagogy research, active learning, and inclusive teaching.
Current Members
Teresa Lee, Chair, University of Massachusetts Lowell
Noveera Ahmed, St. John Fisher College
Daron Barnard, Worcester State University
Nicole Crown, Case Western Reserve University
Rhea Datta, Hamilton College
Maitreya Dunham, University of Washington
Grace Hamilton, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Andrea Kalis, St. Catherine University
Amanda Larracuente, University of Rochester
Mary Miller, Rhodes College
Tamar Resnick, University of Minnesota
Laura Rusche, State University of New York at Buffalo
Joel Sharbrough, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
Jessica Velez, Staff Liaison
Equity and Inclusion Committee
To help GSA address the needs of its diverse communities, the Equity and Inclusion Committee sets priorities and recommends policies that foster a welcoming, global, and inclusive culture.
Current Members
Stephen Klusza, Clayton State University, Senior Co-chair
Aimee Jaramillo-Lambert, University of Delaware, Junior Co-chair
C. Eduardo Guerra Amorim, California State University Northridge
Ellie Armstrong, Washington State University
Mardelle Atkins, Sam Houston State University
Oindrila De, Case Western Reserve University
Ci Fu, University of Toronto
Matthew Hahn, Indiana University
Olumuyiwa Igbalajobi, University of British Columbia
Robert Luallen, San Diego State University
Lesley MacNeil, McMaster University
Brianah McCoy, Arizona State University
Richard Meisel, University of Houston
Estefania Sanchez Vasquez, Caltech
Sarah Bay, Staff Liaison
Tracey DePellegrin, 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
Tracy Johnson, President (2023), University of California, Los Angeles, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Mariana Wolfner, Vice President (2024), Cornell University
E. Jane Hubbard, Past President (2023), New York University School of Medicine Skirball Institute
Swathi Arur, Secretary (2024), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Tin Tin Su, Treasurer (2025), University of Colorado
Maitreya Dunham, Member at Large (2023), University of Washington
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
Tracy Johnson, President (ex officio), University of California, Los Angeles
Lynn Cooley, Yale University
E. Jane Hubbard, New York University School of Medicine Skirball Institute
DJ Pan, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, HHMI Investigator
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
Jadson Carlos dos Santos, Universidade de São Paulo
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
E. Jane Hubbard, Chair (ex officio), New York University School of Medicine Skirball Institute
Swathi Arur, Secretary (ex officio), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Tracey DePellegrin, Staff Liaison
Sophie Roth, 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 advises the GSA staff and the Editors in Chief of the GSA journals, GENETICS and G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics. The Committee Chair also forms the search committee for new Editors in Chief.
Current Members
DJ de Koning, Chair Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Shawn Burgess, National Human Genome Research Institute/NIH
David Fay, University of Wyoming
Susan L. Forsburg, University of Southern California
Sohini Ramachandran, Brown University
Tanja Slotte, Stockholm University
Tina Tootle, University of Iowa
Marquis Walker, James Madison University
Trisha Wittkopp, University of Michigan
Lauren McIntyre, Editor in Chief, G3 (ex officio) University of Florida
Howard Lipshitz, Editor in Chief, GENETICS (ex officio), University of Toronto
Ruth Isaacson, Staff Liaison, GSA
Megan McCarty, Staff Liaison, GSA
Tracey Depellegrin, Executive Director, (ex officio) GSA