Have you ever experienced an event that changes the course of your life, or in this case, your career? Małgorzata (Gosia) Gazda is Assistant Professor at the University of Montreal and in 2022, she received the DeLill Nasser Award for Professional Development in Genetics, which she used to attend and present at the 2022 Population, Evolutionary, and Quantitative Genetics (PEQG) Conference. Then, she started applying for jobs and recently attended The Allied Genetics Conference 2024. 

Receiving the DeLill Nasser Award inspired Gosia to apply for faculty positions and ultimately secure her dream job. “[DeLill Nasser Award] was a turning point in my career,” she shares, as it encouraged her to “take the future of my career in my hands.” As a James F. Crow Early Career Researcher Award finalist, she presented a lecture at PEQG 2022, which along with networking, led her to immediately start her job application process upon return from the conference. Additionally, she considers the DeLill Nasser Award an important recognition of both her science and service to the community, particularly her research studying how biology is coded in the genome and how gene expression modulates phenotypical traits. 

It wasn’t smooth sailing though–it took Gosia several tries to receive this award, but the perseverance was well worth it! “I would like to encourage everyone to apply and apply consistently across years, it took me a couple of years and numerous applications, to finally make it happen,” she says. 

At TAGC 2024 this past March, Gosia expanded her network and paved the way to grow her involvement with GSA. Thanks to TAGC’s unique format, she found this large-scale conference with small-meeting interactions ideal. “I was particularly impressed by TAGC 2024 being a large meeting with a feeling of a small meeting,” she explains. “Also, the numerous opportunities to attend as a mentee as well as to serve as a mentor and network with the GSA Board were cherries on my years of involvement with GSA,” she adds. 

Gosia has participated in all of the opportunities GSA offers early career scientists, starting with the GSA Journals Peer Review Training Program, followed by the Early Career Leadership Program both as a subcommittee member and then as a co-chair and steering committee member. GSA has been one of her main scientific societies since she started her PhD and Gosia shares plans to continue paying it forward, supporting the next generation of scientists through her leadership and involvement with GSA. “It was particularly rewarding this TAGC to serve as a mentor and poster judge–to support young scientists, the bright future of science,” she shares.

If you’re a graduate student or postdoc interested in applying for the DeLill Nasser Award for Professional Development in Genetics for $1,000 to support your attendance at a conference or laboratory courses, learn more online and apply by May 9, 2024.

If you’re interested in exploring all the benefits of a GSA membership or to join, find additional details on our website.

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