Drosophila Community Information

Connect with the Drosophila research community at TAGC Online! The meeting’s unique format offers multiple opportunities for you to share your work, learn about the latest research and tools, and build community. Hear the latest at the Drosophila Community Sessions and Poster Sessions. When it comes to attending virtual talks, you won’t be forced to choose between Drosophila and your favorite topic; Community Sessions and Thematic Sessions are held at different times, so there will be no need to miss out.

Don’t miss the Annual Drosophila Research Conference!

Do you normally attend the Annual Drosophila Research Conference? TAGC incorporates this meeting for 2020, so if you miss TAGC Online you will miss your regular community meeting. 

What’s the hashtag?

The conference hashtag is #TAGC20. Use the #Dros20 community-specific hashtag alongside #TAGC20 to allow everyone to follow along!

Plenary Speakers

Ethan Bier, University of California San Diego
Michael Buszczak, University of Texas Southwestern
Alex Gould, Francis Crick Institute
Sally Horne-Badovinac, University of Chicago
Amanda Larracuente, University of Rochester
Mimi Shirasu-Hiza, Columbia University
Marta Zlatic, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology

Presentation Opportunities

Abstracts have been reviewed and scheduled in one of three types of sessions:

• Posters
• Community (oral)
• Thematic (oral)

If you submitted an abstract, see the Author Assignments page to view your assignment. 

Poster and Thematic Sessions will feature research from all communities, while Drosophila Community Sessions will be dedicated to research on fruit flies.

Community Program Committee

Lynn Cooley, Yale University
Hugo Bellen, Baylor College of Medicine
Helen McNeil, Washington University in St Louis
Brian Oliver, National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases

Community Special Events and Awards

Larry Sandler Award 
The Larry Sandler Memorial Lecture is presented by an outstanding recent PhD graduate on the opening night of the Conference. The award 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.

Eligibility
Any student completing a PhD in an area of Drosophila research between July 2018 and December 2019 is eligible and may 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?

Deadline
The deadline to apply for the Larry Sandler Award has passed.

Past recipients:

Bruce Edgar, 1988	Sean McGuire, 2004
Kate Harding, 1989	Elissa Hallem, 2005
Michael Dickinson, 1990	Daniel Ortiz-Barrientos, 2006
Maurice Kernan, 1991	Yu-Chiun Wang, 2007
Doug Kellogg, 1992	Adam A. L. Friedman, 2008
David Schneider, 1993	Timothy T. Weil, 2009
Kendal Broadie, 1994	Leonardo Koerich, 2010
David Begun, 1995	Daniel Babcock, 2011
Chaoyong Ma, 1996	Stephanie Turner Chen, 2012
Abby Dernburg, 1997	Weizhe Hong, 2013
Nir Hacohen, 1998	Ruei-Jiun Hung, 2014
Terence Murphy, 1999	Zhao Zhang, 2015
Bin Chen, 2000	Alejandra Figueroa-Clarevega, 2016
James Wilhelm, 2001	Danny E. Miller, 2017
Matthew C. Gibson, 2002	Lucy Liu, 2018
Sinisa Urban, 2003	Laura Fairbanks Seeholzer, 2019

 

Victoria Finnerty Undergraduate Travel Award
The Victoria Finnerty Undergraduate Travel Award supports travel costs for undergraduate GSA members who are engaged in research to attend the Annual Drosophila Research Conference. Due to TAGC moving to a virtual format, 2020 awardees will instead present their work virtually at TAGC Online. The application deadline has passed. Visit Finnerty Award Page »

Drosophila Image Award
The Drosophila Image Award was established in 2004 to recognize 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 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.

Details of the competition and Award Committee members can be found at www.drosophila-images.org.

Conference History

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