Mid-career events at TAGC

Community, Connections, and Mentorship Lunch
Thursday, March 7 at 12:45 p.m. EST
Early-career and mid-career researchers are welcome to join this event to ask scientific career questions and connect with fellow researchers in a moderated discussion with established genetics community members. Lunch will be provided to all participants. Early career researchers include graduate students at all levels, postdocs and postdoc equivalents who have not received an independent research award, and Assistant Professors or equivalents. For this event, mid-career researchers are considered Principal Investigator Researchers and/or Associate Professors who are ready to reorient their career path and enrich their careers.

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!

Photographer Headshots
Friday, March 8 at 8:30 p.m. EST and Saturday, March 9 at 8:00 p.m. EST
Pre-registration is closed. You may visit booth 423 during poster session hours to inquire is a spot is open.
TAGC24 conference attendees will have the opportunity to have professional headshots taken during poster and exhibit sessions.

Individual Development Plan Workshop
Thursday, February 29 at 12:30 p.m. EST
This event will walk early and mid- career scientists through completing an Individual Development Plan using two free virtual tools. The workshop will encourage participants to break out of the linear career path though process, practice informational interviews, and provide a roadmap for participants to join additional events highlighting the rich variety of academic and non-academic careers throughout TAGC24.

Charting a Vision and Making Changes in the Undergraduate Biology Classroom: Evidence-Based Teaching from Vision & 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 11:00 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.

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. Worksop 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.

Creative corner
GSA will provide a space and craft supplies to encourage our conference attendees to create works of art! Various art supplies will be made available to any participant to use at any time.

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.