ECS Weekly: Intersectionality in STEM, API Women’s Leadership Conference, seeking members for GSA’s Education Committee

Diversity on Several Axes: Intersectionality in STEM*
Happy LGBTQ+ Pride Month! While this is a moment to reflect and celebrate, inevitably there are those who question the importance of coming out, as well as the necessity of devoting an entire month to celebrating the community. In the past, these voices have been from those outside of the LGBTQ+ community, but more recently there is an increase of people within the community who question the importance of this month. In some ways this can be viewed in a positive light. There are LGBTQ+ people who do not feel as though their rights are under attack, who don’t face blatant discrimination at their workplace, and who feel free to carry about their lives. The act of coming out, once radical and subversive, is quite pedestrian in some parts of the country.

While we have made gains in equality, such as in 2015, when the US Supreme Court decision Obergefell vs. Hodges paved the way for same-sex couples to marry in the entire country, as well as the 2020 rainbow election wave, when a number of LGBTQ+ people were elected to public office. This culminated with the Biden administration tapping Pete Buttigieg to serve as Secretary of Transportion, making him the first openly gay person serve in a President’s Cabinet. This progress means that is understandable if some in the community feel that there is not much left to fight for.

What is important to reflect upon is that the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement was started by Marsha P. Johnston and other Transwomen of color. However, even today Transwomen of color are still highly marginalized, both within our community, as well as society at large. This year has already seen some 23 or so state bills aimed at denying rights to Transindividuals. The LGBTQ+ community is a large umbrella for a reason. There is strength in numbers, and if all of us are not free then none of us are free.

Within our own STEM community there is still much to fight for. The National Science Foundation maintains one of the most comprehensive databases of the US STEM workforce but they do not collect data on LQBTQ+ individuals. How can we make policies and work towards equity and inclusion if we don’t know how many are working in STEM? LGBTQ+ undergraduate students are equally as interested in STEM fields as their counterparts but are 14% less likely to remain. One likely contributing factor is that, for many, the workplace, which includes research laboratories and field sites, remains a hostile environment. Transgender and non-gender conforming individuals experience the highest rates of sexual assault on college campuses. In a 2016 climate survey conducted by American Physics Society, 40% of LGBTQ+ individuals surveyed responded that they were not out at work and 44% responded that they felt excluded, intimidated, or harassed at work.

One can argue that this data is limited and out of date, but what can’t be argued is that LGBTQ+ individuals still cannot be their full, authentic selves. Science, despite its facts and figures, is a human endeavour, and hiding who you are limits your capacity to think, create, and be productive. We all suffer as a result. So please take the time this Pride Month to reflect and celebrate and continue to work and fight, because if we are not all free, then none of us are free.

*Statistics are from LGBT Climate in Physics: Building and Inclusive Community,
published by the American Physical Society, One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740.

GSA Early Career Leadership Program Resources

NEW! The GSA is excited to announce the creation of the Genetics Society of America Multilingual Networking Slack Workspace! The intention of this workspace is to allow our GSA members to connect with fellow scientists in languages other than English. Join today!

NEW! Katherine Maniates from the Policy and Advocacy Subcommittee published the results of her research on sperm fate in C. elegans in GENETICS.

All 2021 GSA members are invited to submit nominations or self-nominations for vacancies on the GSA Board of Directors, for terms beginning January 1, 2022. The deadline to submit nominations has been extended to June 17, 2021.

Ruth A. Isaacson, Sarah N. Bay, and Megan N. McCarty published Supporting the Next Generation of Researchers: GENETICS Peer Review Training Program, detailing the outcomes and successes of the GENETICS Peer Review Program! This program will begin accepting applications again in Summer 2021.

Get to meet the members of the Early Career Leadership Program with their individual spotlights! The latest spotlight in the series is Frederick Boehm from the Community and Member Engagement 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 Workshop organizers created a list of helpful resources for those interested in scicomm.

NEW! While many see the path to academic research as straight and formulaic, Lisa Ziegler Allen challenges this belief by sharing her winding career journey and how her hard work and passion for science led her to a job doing exactly what she loves every day. Her career journey is featured in the latest entry from the Decoding Life series from the Career Development Subcommittee.

The Early Career Leadership Program’s Multimedia, Community & Membership Engagement, and Policy & Advocacy Subcommittees are seeking advisors to join the team this year! If you know an established scientist who would be interested in advising one of these subcommittees, please provide them with this survey.

The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities has an opening for a postdoc position in race-related stressors and health disparities. Positions are open immediately and applications will be accepted and screened on a rolling basis until positions are filled. Email your CV to Allana T. Forde, PhD, MPH at allana.forde@nih.gov with the subject line: Last name, First name, Postdoc application.

The University of Maryland’s Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics has an open postdoctoral position at the Briken Lab. The position is available immediately. Email your CV (which should include three references and your current advisor) to vbriken@umd.edu.

Staff Clinician | National Institute of Diabetes and Kidney Diseases | Montgomery County, MD, United States

Postdoc, Gene-environment interactions associated with Alzheimer's Disease | National Institute on Aging | Baltimore, MD, United States

Program Scientist | Schmidt Futures | New York, NY, United States

Lecturer in Discipline | Columbia University | New York, NY, United States

Academic Professional Track (Non-Tenure): Lecturer | Texas A&M University | College Station, TX, United States

Postdoc, Craniofacial genetics of Caribbean pupfish | University of California, Berkeley | Berkeley, CA, United States

Postdoc Researcher, DNA damage response | University of North Carolina at Charlotte | Charlotte, NC, United States

Postdoctoral Fellow studying wound healing in the heart, skin, and other organs | UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine | Los Angeles, CA, United States

Postdoctoral Fellow, Zhang Lab | Western Michigan University | Kalamazoo, MI, United States

Postdoctoral Fellow, How membrane proteins help cells maintain homeostasis | Howard Hughes Medical Institute | Los Angeles, CA, United States

Postdoc, Influence of diet and exercise on the sperm epigenome | University of Texas at San Antonio | San Antonio, TX, United States

Postdoc, Genetics of psychiatric illness | Yale University | West Haven, CT, United States

Research Assistant, Genetics | Dartmouth College | Hanover, NH, United States

Research Associate, Drosophila oogenesis | Indiana University | Bloomington, IN, United States

Postdoctoral Fellow, Drosophila stem cell regulation | Indiana University | Bloomington, IN, United States

Postdoctoral Associate, Epigenetics of aging and cancer | Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute | La Jolla, CA, United States

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.

The National Institutes of Health are accepting applications for a Postdoc Fellow in genomic science and health equity. This program will prepare fellows to use genetic, genomic, and pharmacogenomic approaches to advance minority health and health equity. Applications will be screened on a rolling basis until the position is filled in the Summer or Fall of 2021.

NEW! The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Office of Minority Health (CMS OMH), through the Minority Research Grant Program (MRGP), is proud to release a notice of funding opportunity for researchers at minority-serving institutions (MSIs). The funding opportunity allows researchers at MSIs to build their portfolios while funding studies pertinent to the health care needs of racial and ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, sexual and gender minorities, and rural populations. Two awards up to $250,000 will be made to one or more eligible institutions to further health equity research and help CMS better meet the needs of minority populations. Review the notice of funding opportunity CMS-1W1-21-002. The deadline to submit applications is 3:00 p.m. EDT on June 11, 2021.

NEW! The Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers is organizing a conference on leadership for Asian and Pacific Islander (API) women on June 11, 2021. More details here.

Apply to the Human Genetics Scholars Initiative to help advance diversity and inclusion in the field. The program will a) identify, mentor, and help prepare a select group of high-potential, diverse early career individuals for professional success and b) develop and sustain a community of researchers across generations committed to diversity and inclusion, who are willing to foster sustained attention to these issues in their research institutions and training programs. Applications are due by June 18, 2021.

The Center for Disease Control is offering postdoc fellowships for research in global HIV and tuberculosis research. Applications are due on June 30, 2021. More details here.

Interested in science communication? Sign up for Communicating the Future: Engaging the Public in Basic Science. The event will be held online from July 26–28, 2021. More details here.

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

NEW! The 2021 Science Writers meeting will be held on October 8–11 in Boulder, Colorado as a hybrid virtual and in-person event. More details here.

Current professional development and training opportunities

NEW! Nominate Native American-owned businesses in STEM for the Fall 2021 issue of the Winds of Change magazine published by the American Indian Science and Engineering Society.

Open Grants is a resource to learn about funded and rejected grant applications.
Genes to Genomes guest author Emma Hinkle discusses how genetics can become a more equitable field.

NEW! The GSA Education Committee is seeking members from communities outside of Drosophila, C. elegans, and Yeast. This committee supports genetics education and education research, in part by reviewing education-related workshop applications and abstracts for GSA conferences. If you’re interested in joining, contact engagement@genetics-gsa.org.

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.

Interested in pursuing a science writing career? The beginner’s guide to a career in science writing has you covered.

Interested in the most recent research in genome engineering? Sign up for Harvard Medical School’s online seminar series.

A group of neurogenetics postdocs are writing an article about early career scientists’ perspectives on the future of neurogenetics research. Respond to their questionnaire to have your perspective included in the upcoming special Neurogenetics Series in GENETICS.

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 CSR’s pool of trained reviewers. Sign up today!

Ohio research universities have a wealth of academic, laboratory, and other resources available to businesses across Ohio and the globe. Ohio Innovation Exchange connects industry to those resources, fostering collaboration and economic development.

You may experience pushback when opening conversations about anti-racism actions in your organization, academic institution, or company. Check out these Responses to 10 Common Criticisms of Anti-Racism Action in STEM.

The mission of the National Science Policy Network is to catalyze the engagement of early career scientists and engineers in policy making by training the next generation of leaders, fostering community, and advocating for the role of science in policy. Consider becoming a member.

Student Engagement Strategies for Virtual Classrooms, a series of three courses, aims to help educators transition from brick-and-mortar instruction to virtual classrooms.

Are you teaching genetics and looking for some new ideas? Check out CourseSource, a peer-reviewed, open-access journal that publishes field-tested articles describing undergraduate biology activities.

The Letters to a Pre-Scientist pen pal program, or LPS, pairs fifth to tenth grade student “pre-scientists” in low-income communities in the US with STEM professional volunteers during science class. Sign up to be a penpal today!

Interested in a career outside of academia? Check out the Interactive Simulation Exercises for Career Transitions for example tasks from a variety of career options.

Take advantage of this time indoors; use it to maintain your forward trajectory by engaging in a mentoring connection. MyMentor is MyNRMN's one-on-one guided virtual mentoring feature, which provides an evidence-based curriculum to help you feel comfortable in a virtual capacity. It also promotes independence, self-efficacy, and confidence in your education and/or career path.

Find a detailed list of funding schemes and travel funding opportunities for postdocs using the Early Career Scientists Central Database.