Academia events at TAGC 2024

Peer into Publishing Q&A
Saturday, March 9 at 12:30 p.m. EST
The GSA Journals are hosting a question and answer session with top editors at GENETICS and G3. Join us at the session to learn more about submitting to the journals, the peer review process, and publishing with Society journals. Come prepared with questions!

3D Printing in the Lab
Wednesday, March 6 at 1:00 p.m. EST
This is unique workshop will introduce educators, researchers, and science communicators to the wonders of 3D printing. During this workshop, participants will learn how to use 3D printer software and free 3D model resources. Workshop facilitators will showcase printable educational tools, such as anatomical models of organisms and molecules. Researchers will discover types of laboratory equipment which can be printed for a fraction of the standard cost.

Academic Writing Workshop: Tackling the Abstract and Beyond
Wednesday, March 6 at 3:00 p.m. EST
Are you putting off starting that manuscript? Looking to tighten your writing skills? Science writer Carolyn Beans will lead a workshop on how to kick-start the manuscript writing process by tackling your abstract. After covering abstract structure and style, Carolyn will give participants the opportunity to write their own abstracts with step-by-step instructions. Participants will also learn how to edit their work for clarity, brevity, and voice, and produce clear and engaging academic writing for abstracts and beyond. Those who already have a rough abstract are encouraged to bring it along to receive peer feedback.

Careers in Academia Panel
Thursday, February 29 at 3:30 p.m. EST
This discussion panel features academic department heads and faculty who will discuss the academic job application process, hiring in academia from both sides of the application, and provide insights into the daily life of a faculty member.

CUREs with BREWMOR
Friday, March 1 at 12:30 p.m. EST
Since 2020, BREW has transitioned to BREWMOR and now incorporates CUREs which use multiple types of organisms: “The mission of BREWMOR is to build a network of teaching and research faculty dedicated to increasing experiential learning for biology students, primarily at the undergraduate level. BREWMOR will disseminate and propagate best practices for engaging students in rigorous model organism-based research in order to support excellence in research and to build a strong, diverse and inclusive community.”

Charting a Vision and Making Changes in the Undergraduate Biology Classroom: Evidence-Based Teaching from Vision and Change
Friday, March 8 at 12:45 p.m. EST
Development as an educator often includes incorporation of active learning in classrooms and familiarity with evidence-based teaching practices. Calls to actions such as Vision & Change, a report transforming undergraduate biology education sponsored by NSF, HHMI, NIH, and AAAS, inspire educators to challenge students and design engaging learning experiences that better prepare students for exciting careers. In this workshop, you will reflect on your past or future teaching and explore how it aligns with the recommendations and principles of Vision & Change. You will learn about Vision & Change through examples and discussions that will foster new connections that will help in the design of active learning lessons. This one-hour session will include presentations, individual activities and group discussions that will help you develop new insights into your own teaching as well as the future of biology education.

Reproducibility for Everyone
Friday, March 1 at 10:00 a.m. EST
Rigor and reproducibility are at the core of modern science and set apart scientific inquiry from pseudoscience. Several new initiatives and tools have been established to address barriers to reproducibility. While very welcome, these projects have led to a proliferation of online tools and resources which can be hard to sift through. This workshop introduces participants to reproducible workflows and a range of tools along the themes of organization, documentation, analysis, and dissemination. After a brief introduction to the topic of reproducibility, the workshop provides specific tips and tools useful in improving your daily research workflows, including the 101 of all data handling, wet lab protocol sharing platforms, documentation of code using notebooks, workflow systems, and version control, best practices for plotting of small data sets and reagent sharing platforms.

It Takes Two Networking
Thursday, March 7 at 12:45 p.m. EST
This exciting networking event will allow scientists of all career stages to think about how to utilize multiple genetic model systems to answer fundamental biology questions. Participants from any model organism community will be encouraged to consider how their research might combine with research from another organism or field with the intention of inspiring new research questions, directions, and collaborations.

Networking Hot Spots
Thursday, March 7 at 6:30 p.m. EST or Saturday, March 9 at 6:30 p.m. EST
GSA will host moderated discussion sessions on scientific, professional development, and community topics. All conference registrants and career stages are welcome to join the discussion during lunch or dinner breaks. Tables and chairs will be provided.

Grants and Funding
Friday, March 8 at 12:45 p.m. EST
This workshop provides attendees with important and useful information related to applying for research funding in the United States and internationally. Attendees will hear from funding agency representatives and have a chance to ask questions in a friendly, low-stress environment.

Informational Interviews Room
This room will be made available to all conference attendees as part of Engagement’s career tracks. This space will allow attendees to practice and perform informational interviews, a key skill highlighted as part of the Individual Development Plan workshop. Engagement staff will be available for scheduled times each day to answer any questions and help with practicing or setting up an informational interview with another conference attendee.

StoryCorps
GSA will develop a strong list of questions to provide conference attendees and the public who join us about genetics in their lives. Questions will include discussing the impact of GSA on their lives, both professionally and personally, as well as genetics as a whole. Conference attendees will be encouraged to speak with up to 3 participants at once to share stories about their collaborative experiments, surprising experimental results, their connection(s) with GSA and the genetics community over time, and more. This event encourages cross-community interactions and incentivizes conference attendees to reach out to multiple people during the conference. As part of Engagement programming, we would encourage all of our programming participants to record at least 1 interview with a new colleague, their mentor, or a speaker to build their network and connect with other conference goers.

Peer Review Workshop
Wednesday, March 6 at 1:00 p.m. EST
The session will begin with a presentation describing the principles and purposes of peer review, peer review models, and the roles of editors and reviewers. This will be followed by a discussion of manuscript evaluation, covering topics like: evaluating scientific rigor, methodological appropriateness, clarity of presentation, strength of the conclusions, and impact on the field. Attendees will learn how to write a good review, covering important aspects of review structure, level of detail, fit for journal scope, and appropriate language and tone. Participants will be joined by a group of editors for a panel discussion and Q&A.