TEST - ECS Weekly: Resources for parent scientists, #Dros22 abstract submission open now

Resources
This week’s resources section was written by Shan Meltzer, a member of the Equity and Inclusion Committee.

Parent Scientists during the Pandemic

Parents, especially mothers with young children, are facing extreme challenges as a result of the pandemic. Due to a greatly increased childcare burden, many scientist-parents are struggling to find the time to fulfill their professional responsibilities, such as doing benchwork, attending conferences, giving talks, and mentoring students in the lab. A study performed before the pandemic found that about 43% of mothers in full-time STEM careers leave after their first child in the United States. The percentage may even be higher during the pandemic when labs are taking shifts to work and getting reliable childcare has become even more challenging. As a result, we urge funding agencies to make family-friendly policies and grant supplements for graduate students, postdocs, and principal investigators with young children.

If you are an early career scientist with young children, here are a few tips that may help you through this challenging time.

Reach out to your advisor, department chair, and your funding agencies to seek support for your childcare needs and bench time.

If you are interviewing for a new job, make sure you specifically ask about support for parents and choose a work environment that supports parent scientists.

Reach out to other parent scientists in your department or institution and form a peer-mentoring group to support each other and share experiences and advice on navigating a career in science as parents.

For some additional information on this subject, here are some recommended readings:

Cech, E. A. and Blair-Loy, M. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 116, 4182–4187 (2019): “The changing career trajectories of new parents in STEM”

An article in Nature: “The parenting penalties faced by scientist mothers”

An article in Science: “The pandemic is hitting scientist parents hard, and some solutions may backfire”

GSA Early Career Leadership Program Resources

Applications are now open for the GSA Early Career Leadership Program! Participate in teams to propose, develop, and implement initiatives that address unmet needs for the early career scientist community. Apply now.

Featured in the latest Decoding Life article, Dr. Stephen Klusza, Assistant Professor of Biology at Clayton State University, is building an inclusive and accessible work environment. Dr. Klusza leads the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee at the Genomics Education Partnership, which aims to provide bioinformatics research experiences to undergraduate students.

The GSA Board of Directors is pleased to welcome two new Early Career Representatives, Jacob Ortega and ECLP member Nicole Torosin. Congratulations to the new appointees, who will serve two-year terms working to support the needs of all GSA members.

NEW! Get to meet the members of the Early Career Leadership Program with their individual spotlights! The latest spotlight in the series is Karishma Gangwani from the Communication and Outreach Subcommittee.

Use the GSA Policy Fellowship Database curated by the Policy and Advocacy Subcommittee to filter by required education, location, compensation, application deadline, and other features, making it easier to find opportunities that fit your unique needs.

The Communication and Outreach Subcommittee created a list of helpful resources for those interested in joining and/or participating in workshops, conferences and training, international outreach, outreach for K-12 and adults, social media, podcasting, and more.

Postdoctoral Research Position | W.M. Keck Science Department | Claremont, CA, United States

Staff Scientist | National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences | Predictive Toxicology Branch | Research Triangle Park, NC, United States

Graduate Student in Evolutionary Functional Genomics at UC Irvine | School of Biological Sciences, University of California, Irvine | Irvine, CA, United States

Staff Scientist | National Institute on Aging, Center for Alzheimer's and Related Dementias | Bethesda, MD, United States

Staff Scientist | National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Chronic Disease Epidemiology Group, Epidemiology Branch | Research Triangle Park, NC, United States

Two Faculty Positions in Genomics | University of Kansas | Lawrence, KS, United States

Staff Scientist | National Cancer Institute, Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch | Bethesda, MD, United States

Is your lab hiring? GSA members qualify for a discounted rate to post job openings and can post student and postdoc positions at no cost on the GSA Job Board!

Apply to the Committee for Postdocs and Students (COMPASS) to focus on career development, outreach, and science communication. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

Interested in advancing your postdoc experience with the National Institutes of Health? If so, apply to the Postbaccalaureate Intramural Research Training Award (Postbac IRTA). Applications are considered on a rolling basis.

NEW! Abstract submission is now open for the 63rd Annual Drosophila Research Conference, which will be held in San Diego, CA and online from April 6–10, 2021. Abstract submission and registration will open for #Dros22 on October 13, 2021. The deadline to submit your abstract is November 18, 2021 at 8:00 p.m. EST.

NEW! Are you interested in sharpening your speaking skills to communicate science? If so, submit an application to attend the Science Talk '22 presentation, panel, and workshop that will take place from March 23–25, 2022. Proposals are due today, October 8, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

The 2021 Science Writers meeting hosted by the National Association of Science Writers is happening virtually from now through October 11, 2021. Register now!

The National Institutes of Health has issued an RFI on user experience with scientific data sources and tools. Please take a moment to share how important model organism databases (MODs) are to your work. A significant response from our community could help FlyBase and other MODs, which remain underfunded now and will likely continue to be underfunded in the future. Responses are requested by October 15, 2021.

NEW! The Keystone Symposia is now accepting applications for the 2022 Fellows Program! Submit an application to participate in this one-year leadership and career development training program for early career scientists. The program targets individuals from under-represented and disadvantaged backgrounds to promote their successful career advancement. Applications are due October 15, 2021.

The 2021 Inclusive SciComm Symposium invites practitioners, scholars, and educators working across many disciplines, sectors, methods, and settings to attend its virtual symposium from October 14–16, 2021 to learn about practical approaches for advancing inclusive approaches to SciComm and public engagement. Student registration is free. Others interested in joining who cannot afford the registration fee may enter “promo code” FREE when prompted in the registration process.

The Genetics Society of America’s DeLill Nasser Award for Professional Development in Genetics is now accepting applications through October 18, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. EDT. This program is open to 2022 GSA members who are graduate students or postdocs. Apply now.

NEW! The GSA Awards are now accepting nominations for 2022 recipients! Help GSA recognize outstanding members of the genetics community by nominating yourself or colleagues by October 18, 2021. Submit your nomination here.

Join the Johns Hopkins Diversity Postdoctoral Alliance Committee at its 5th Annual Excellence in Diversity Symposium (EiD) on October 20, 2021. This event will focus on showcasing the excellence and tremendous contributions of underrepresented minority scholars to the forefront of science at Johns Hopkins. Register on the EiD website.

NEW! Join the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) during its 2021 Diversity Mentoring and Career Development Technical Assistance Workshop Fellowship Award Program. This program creates opportunities for talented early career investigators from underrepresented backgrounds to have a prominent role in the GSA space. Applications are due October 12, 2021.

NEW! The 31st Fungal Genetics Conference website is live! From March 15–20, 2022, the conference will feature cutting-edge research that cuts across wide-ranging topics, from gene regulation to evolutionary genetics. Registration will open on October 20, 2021, and abstract submission will open October 27, 2021. The abstract submission deadline will be December 9, 2021.

Nominations are needed for the 2022 Office of Disease Prevention (ODP) Early-Stage Investigator Lecture. The ODP award is made annually to early career scientists who have made significant research contributions in disease prevention but who have not yet successfully competed for an R01 or R01-equivalent National Institutes of Health research grant. Applications are due October 29, 2021.

Interested in sharpening your STEM skills? Join the National Convention and STEM Career Fair from October 29–30, 2021 and November 3–6, 2021. Register for these exciting events here.

The Promoting Active Learning and Mentoring (PALM) Network offers fellowships to promote active learning and mentoring. Applications for 2021 are due on October 30, 2021. More details here.

Members of association partners of the World Federation of Science Journalists are eligible to apply for the new Spark Grant Initiative! Applications are due by October 30, 2021.

NEW! Join the Fall 2021 New Faculty Workshop if you’re interested in acquiring useful techniques and skills to apply in the classroom, research lab, and for balancing work/life learned over the last 18 months of the COVID pandemic. Moderated breakout rooms will give participants a chance to share their experiences and hear from others. Register before November 4, 2021.

The 2022 GEM Fellowship Application is open! GEM Fellows are provided practical engineering summer work experiences through an employer sponsor and a portable academic year fellowship of tuition, fees, and a stipend that may be used at any participating GEM Member University where the GEM Fellow is admitted. Applications are due November 15, 2021.

Interested in launching a successful and meaningful career in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics? If so, apply for the upcoming STEM Success Summit taking place November 17–20, 2021. This year’s featured keynote speaker is Kizzmekia Corbett, PhD, who helped develop the mRNA-based vaccine for COVID-19 in early 2020.

Intramural NIAID Research Opportunities (INRO) sponsors postbaccalaureate research scientists from US populations underrepresented in the biomedical sciences and those dedicated to promoting diversity and inclusion and promotes biomedical research training in allergic, immunologic, or infectious diseases. Applications are due by November 22, 2021.

The 9th Pan Arab Human Genetics Conference will take place virtually on December 8–9, 2021. Topics of interest will include big data genomics, insights into rare diseases, and more.

The Science Ambassador Scholarship is seeking women in science, technology, engineering, and math to apply for a full-tuition scholarship funded by Cards Against Humanity. Applications close December 13, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. CST. Apply here.

The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is recruiting individuals to participate in the Second Cohort Translational Science Interagency Fellowship. Applications are due December 15, 2021. Apply here.

Current professional development and training opportunities

ReVision editor Emma Spikol offers guidance for applicants to the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF) in her article Eight Steps to a Strong NSF GRF Application.

The Women in STEM Leadership program offers an immersive, transformative experience that will boost your STEM career to new heights by helping you identify and hone the leadership skills to become an influencer and mentor in your workplace and beyond. Apply now for the Spring 2022 cohort.

The National Institutes of Health’s Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) launched the “Pearls of Wisdom” video series, in which prominent, diverse women in science and medicine share words of wisdom about advancing in careers within the biomedical field. They discuss their experiences and cover many topics, ranging from leadership to navigating complex workplaces.

Society for the Advancement of Biology Science Research (SABER) is sponsoring a series of events beginning Fall 2021 through Spring 2022, which will be focused on promoting awareness, understanding, and commitment to change academic biology environments to be more inclusive. This series will be co-sponsored by Arizona State University’s HHMI Inclusive Excellence Project, the SEISMIC Collaboration, and the ASU RISE Center.

Interested in connecting with a network of over 4,000 Native students and professionals who will support your journey into the fields of STEM? Become a member of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES).

Emily Roberts of Personal Finance for PhDs compiled a recommended set of tax resources for graduate students and postdocs in the US.

The Uproot Project is a newly launched network for journalists of color who cover environmental issues. Apply to become a member.

Johns Hopkins University compiles this continuously updated repository of funding opportunities for postdocs.

Interested in pursuing a science writing career? The beginner’s guide to a career in science writing and an International Student’s Guide to Freelancing in the US have you covered.

Learn how to choose an appropriate research mentor by the National Institutes of Health. The three major factors to consider when selecting a research mentor are the research program; the personality and mentoring style of the Principal Investigator (known as a PI); and the research environment. Click the following link to learn more!

Learn about the Short-term Mentored Research Career Enhancement Award to Promote Diversity at the National Institutes of Health. The award provides support for scientists from diverse backgrounds, including underrepresented groups, who wish either to expand their genomic competencies or to change their research careers by acquiring new genomics research knowledge or skills.

The National Institute of Health’s Early Career Reviewer Program aims to help early career scientists become more competitive grant applicants through first-hand experience with peer review and to enrich and diversify the Center for Scientific Review’s pool of trained reviewers. Sign up today!