• Jonathan Cohen (Swarthmore College)
• Alexander Kneubehl (Ohio Northern University)
• Kiu Ming April Kong (York University)
• Meera Namireddy (Rice University)
• Irina Pushel (Michigan State University)
• Anna Zeidman (Brown University)

Mike Snyder Source: Stanford CAP profile

Included in this Issue:

• Society News

• The GSA Journals

• Members in the News

• Education and Professional Development

• Funding, Fellowships, and Awards

• Policy

• And finally...

November Issue November Issue

NEW POSTINGS IN GeneticsCareers.org Visiting Assistant Professor, Stetson University Biology Department, DeLand, FL Asst. or Assoc. Professor, Plant Quantitative Genetics, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA Assistant Professor - Tenure Track, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT POSTDOC at Oregon State Univ: testing candidate genes for disease resistance in snails, Oregon State University, corvallis, OR Director, Research Ops, Phoenix Children's Hospital, Phoenix, AZ Clinical Geneticist, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC Faculty in Human Genomics, UC Davis Genome Center, Davis, CA Faculty in Human Genomics and Bioinformatics, UC Davis Genome Center, Davis, CA Pediatric Geneticist, Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital, Hollywood, FL Interdisciplinary: Research Leader Supervisory Research Plant Physiologist or Research Plant Pathologist or Research Geneticist (Plants), USDA ARS FSCRU, Corvallis, OR Assistant Professor in Molecular Developmental Biology, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA Genetic Counselor, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA

Education and Professional Development

It's nearly the start of 2015—have you thought about your next steps? You can start by making an individual development plan to help assess your strengths and weaknesses and match your professional development activities with your career goals. Two online tools can help: myIDP and FASEB's Annual Review Tool. If you aren't sure what you'd like to do next, check out GSA's career resources for undergrads, grads, and postdocs; explore your options with the American Society of Human Genetics careers flowchart; and check out GeneticsCareers.org.

While preparing for your next steps, consider the NIH Office of Intramural Training and Education's recently updated "Guide to Resumes and Curricula Vitae." If you are considering a career in industry and aren't sure about a postdoc, keep an eye out for an "academic-style postdoc in a pharmaceutical setting," which may give you the best of both industry and academia. You can also assess industry employers with the results of the Science Careers 2014 Top Employer survey.

"You have 10 seconds. Make me care about your research." A blog post by 'the entomologist formerly known as Bug Girl' describes five important ways you can improve your scientific writing geared towards the general public.

Funding, Fellowships, and Awards

The Gruber Genetics Prize is seeking nominations of individuals "who have made original discoveries in the fields of genetic function, regulation, transmission, or variation or in genomic organization" to be considered for its 2015 award. The $500,000 award is given annually to 1–3 scientists in recognition of groundbreaking contributions to any realm of genetics research. Nominations, which must be submitted by December 15, are evaluated by a Gruber Foundation committee made up of individuals nominated by GSA and ASHG. Several GSA members have been honored with the Gruber Genetics Prize in recent years.

Are you already an NSF Graduate Research Fellow? If so, consider applying for the new Graduate Research Internship Program (GRIP), which enables research collaborations with partnering federal agencies. In its first year, GRIP partners include the Office of Naval Research, the Smithsonian Institution, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The first target application deadline is December 5, 2014.

Policy

In the wake of the Republicans taking control of the U.S. Senate, Democratic strategist Paul Begala suggests that President Obama and the Republicans can find common ground in supporting biomedical research and NIH funding.

Speaking of midterm election results, FASEB (Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology) has profiled some of the newly elected Members of Congress who have a connection to science and the likely leaders of key Congressional committees.

Congressman Rush D. Holt, Ph.D., who will retire from the U.S. House of Representatives at the end of his eighth term, will join the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), as chief executive officer and executive publisher of the Science family of journals. Holt, a research physicist and former teacher, will begin at AAAS after his legislative term ends, during the association's Annual Meeting, February 12-16, 2015.

The European Commission has decided to abolish the post of Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) to its President. The CSA is currently the top scientific role in the Commission, and was established in 2012. Prior to the decision, several organizations had expressed concern that the post "concentrated too much influence in one person"; following the decision, many scientific leaders, including Sir Paul Nurse (quoted in The New Yorker), expressed concern about its potential detriment to the future of evidence-based policymaking in Europe.

And finally...

Thanks for helping us reach 3,300 likes on Facebook and 4,100 followers on Twitter! Keep up with recent highlights like these by joining us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+:

This short video explains how defects in the NGLY1 gene lead to disease, and is also useful for explaining the role of genetics in health. It was produced by a foundation started by parents of children afflicted by NGLY1 deficiency.

• James Watson is the first living Nobel laureate to auction his medal, which is expected to sell for up to $3.5 million today in New York. Watson says he hopes the auction will give him the chance to "re-enter public life."
• Looking for coffee to get your day going? A new study suggests that your genetics may play a big role in just how much you need.
• Parkinson's researchers have discovered a new strategy that may help to treat the disease: blocking mitochondrial division. This strategy, which may also be useful for other neurological diseases, was discovered using mouse models.
• A new direction for synthetic biology: turning DNA into readable, writable memory inside living cells. This includes a program that rewrites DNA when the cell senses a signal based on a genetic system found naturally in bacteria.
• DNA sequencing has helped to characterize a rare parasite living in a man's brain for over four years. The study shows that parasites can be identified and treatments designed "even with only tiny amounts of DNA from clinical samples."

Deadline for next issue: December 11, 2014. Send items (and feedback) to GSA's Communications and Engagement Manager, Raeka Aiyar, raiyar@genetics-gsa.org.

UNSUBSCRIBE