Community Voices

We’re taking time to get to know the members of the GSA’s Early Career Scientist Committees. Join us to learn more about our early career scientist advocates. Holly Kleinschmidt Multimedia Subcommittee Penn State University Research interest Gene expression is the process by which the genetic information encoded in DNA is translated into the arsenal of proteins…

I am a former women’s NCAA swimmer, and I support Lia Thomas. Guest post by Sam Sharpe PhD. interACT: Advocates for Intersex Youth is the oldest and largest nonprofit dedicated to advancing the legal and human rights of people born with intersex traits. Founded in 2006, interACT oversees the largest youth-led intersex advocacy group in…

We’re taking time to get to know the members of the GSA’s Early Career Scientist Committees. Join us to learn more about our early career scientist advocates. Sharifu Kiragga Tusuubira Policy and Advocacy Subcommittee University of Kansas Research interest :  I am a third-year PhD candidate in the Ecology and Evolutionary biology program in the Kelly Lab.…

Guest post by Madhumala K. Sadanandappa, PhD and Kaushal Kumar Bhati, PhD Beyond the more traditional aspects of benchwork, publishing, and acquiring funding, running a successful lab involves developing various skills that are often less discussed in academia. This includes managing lab personnel, budgeting, building an inclusive and collaborative environment, and resolving conflicts—all of which…

Guest post by C Brandon Ogbunu. 2022 marks the return of the Population, Evolutionary, and Quantitative Genetics (PEQG) Conference, organized by the Genetics Society of America. Part of the meeting’s popularity stems from being one of the few conferences that brings together leading thinkers in subfields of genetics that don’t typically overlap, across a range of…

We’re taking time to get to know the members of the GSA’s Early Career Scientist Committees. Join us to learn more about our 2021 early career scientist advocates. Lucero Rogel-HernandezPolicy and Advocacy SubcommitteeStanford University Research Interest Medicinal plants have been and continue to be valuable sources for drug discovery. For centuries, humans have relied on Valeriana officinalis (commonly known…

For me, these last few years have driven home how crucial—and yet how challenging—it is for scientists to communicate how we know what we know and why we do what we do.   When it comes to explaining our own work, it can be especially tricky to convey the value of basic research to listeners who…

We’re taking time to get to know the members of the GSA’s Early Career Scientist Committees. Join us to learn more about our 2021 early career scientist advocates. Leire Abalde-Atristain Accessibility Subcommittee Vollum Institute at the Oregon Health & Science University Postdoctoral Research Fellow Research Interest The nervous system is not static, but rather it undergoes constant…

Guest post by Charles H. Langley. Dic, hospes, doctis caelebs animalculum obisse hicque iacere physis legibus conveniens. (Stranger, tell the learned that the celibate little animal has passed away, and lies here, conforming to the laws of nature.) —John Rundin, with apologies to Simonides and Cicero Thirty-five years ago, in a celebrated News & Views…

Guest post by Gavin Rice and Jessica M. Vélez  Over the past year and a half, the lack of in-person conferences and reduced number of external seminar speakers have damaged the connection that early career scientists feel toward their scientific community. “Networking” is often cited as one of the most important tools for success in…

Guest post by Mehrnaz Afkani and Parinaz Khalilzadeh. In July 2021, as part of the Genetics Society of America’s Multilingual Seminar Series, scientists fluent in Farsi came together with a goal of connecting with each other and providing a platform for speaking about science in Farsi. This included discussing some of the issues and barriers…