Drosophila Community Information

Connect with the Drosophila research community at TAGC 2024! 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.

Don’t miss the Annual Drosophila Research Conference!

Do you normally attend the Annual Drosophila Research Conference? TAGC incorporates this meeting for 2024, so you don’t want to miss out! 

Connect With Us On Social Media

The conference hashtag is #TAGC24. Use the #Dros24 community-specific hashtag alongside #TAGC24 to allow everyone to follow along!

 

Stay tuned for more information about the Community Program Committee, Plenary Speakers, and Presentation Opportunities. 

Community Program Committee

Chair, Melissa Harrison, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health

Amanda Larracuente, University of Rochester

Dan McKay, UNC School of Medicine

Blake Riggs, San Francisco State University

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 2022 and December 2023 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 (1,000 words maximum):

• 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 nominate for the Larry Sandler Award is November 10, 2023.

Past recipients:

Bruce Edgar, 1988	Sean McGuire, 2004	Balint Kacsoh, 2020
Kate Harding, 1989	Elissa Hallem, 2005	Ching-Ho Chang, 2021
Michael Dickinson, 1990	Daniel Ortiz-Barrientos, 2006	Lianna Wat, 2022
Maurice Kernan, 1991	Yu-Chiun Wang, 2007	James O’Connor, 2023
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. Application open and close dates will be announced soon. 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

2023: Chicago, IL and Online
2022: San Diego, CA and Online
2021: #Dros21 Online
2020: The Allied Genetics Conference (TAGC)
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