In 2020, the Fly Board voted to use part of its reserve fund to support efforts to increase trainee participation as well as equity and diversity in the Drosophila community. An awards committee decides how the money will be spent each year, and from 2020–2022, the committee posted a very broad call for applications from non-profit programs that introduce middle school, high school, or college students to Drosophila research. Five or six such applications were funded in each of the three years, and the programs have recruited a diverse set of students worldwide to learn about working with flies. This year’s awarded programs and individuals are:
eCLOSE provides training in genetics research to participants from age 10 through retirement. The Fly Board award supported eight undergraduates in their most advanced program, the Undergraduate Bridge to Research. Over the course of 10 weeks during the summer, participants identified a major health challenge facing a community that was meaningful to them on a personal level. They conducted a chemical genetic screen to identify nutrients that might alter phenotypes in fly models of the disease of interest. Leveraging those results, the students designed independent research projects ranging from biochemical analysis of signaling pathways to developmental biology of ovaries, brains, intestines, and social behavior changes among treated and/or mutant flies. Two students have already attained research positions in fly labs, with plans to use their work for honors thesis and capstone projects as they complete their undergraduate degrees. The Fly Board award provided the reagents and materials needed for students to conduct their independent work, expanding the experimental options available and increasing the depth of the research.
The Drosophila Stock Center at the University of Mysore, Karnataka, India is currently maintaining a collection of 50 Drosophila species and over 2,000 stocks that are provided to researchers and teaching faculty at colleges and universities in India for use in teaching and learning genetics. The Stock Center also trains teachers and individual researchers through hands-on training workshops and short-term collaborations. The Fly Board funding was used to support a hands-on training program in December 2023 to introduce teachers of undergraduate students in India to lab techniques that they can then use in their classes. The workshop covered morphology, genetic mutants, polytene chromosome inversions, use of Drosophila for understanding biological inheritance, behavioral exercises, collection and categorization of wild type Drosophila, study of polygenic traits, and study of gene expression using reporter constructs.
Games of Flies and Genes is the new, ambitious project of Engage Nepal with Science that will be supported by Fly Board funding. It aims to encourage science educators in Nepal to work collaboratively with fly researchers to make their genetics lessons more interactive and dynamic and facilitate the learning of this important part of the biology curriculum. The project involves four fly researchers from the US and Nepal, who will work directly with educators and students from five schools in Nepal to explore Drosophila genetics and gain hands-on experience with fly research by visiting the Research Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology. Participants will learn about Drosophila through various engaging methods, look at flies under the microscope, play a game based on genes and laws of heredity, and will also make their own fly models with modeling clay. These workshops have the potential to revolutionize the field of genetics education in Nepal, offering students an experience that will not only deepen their understanding of genetics but also inspire the next generation of scientists.
Osamu Shimmi is using Fly Board funding for an outreach initiative to improve Drosophila research and education in Estonia. His outreach efforts aim to develop easy-to-use study materials on Drosophila for middle and high school students in the Estonian language. He also writes articles for a popular science magazine to introduce Drosophila as a learning model for biology teachers in middle and high school. On September 29, 2023 he hosted school children in the lab as part of the activities for Science Day at the University of Tartu, Estonia, to promote Drosophila research through outreach.
Small But Mighty: Drosophila as a Powerful Tool for Biomedical Research is aimed at educating secondary school students in Akure, Nigeria, about the possibilities of Drosophila research, and providing them with educational materials to take back to their schools. The Fly Board-funded workshop was hosted at the Federal University of Technology Akure in November 2023 and featured lectures on basic Drosophila husbandry and genetics, practical hands-on activities, career talks, and more. Nilda Barbosa, a professor from the Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Brazil, gave a virtual lecture, while Ganiyu Oboh and Adedayo Ademiluyi from the Federal University of Technology Akure, Nigeria spoke in person. This event had a large impact on awareness of Drosophila research in Nigeria and has the potential to be self-sustaining.
Enhancing Biology Education held a three-day workshop in November 2023, funded by the Fly Board, to train teachers-in-training (B.Sc(ed.)/B.Ed students) in Nigeria on the utilization of Drosophila as a cost-effective teaching tool in high school biology. Of the 20 in-person participants, 60% were females from underrepresented regions in Nigeria. Additional applicants were able to join virtually. The workshop ran from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day and the curriculum included talks, practical sessions, and micro-teaching.
Read more in
-
Hongyu Zhao joins GENETICS as new Senior Editor
A new senior editor is joining GENETICS in the Statistical Genetics and Genomics section. We’re excited to welcome Hongyu Zhao to the editorial team. Hongyu ZhaoSenior Editor Hongyu Zhao is the Ira V. Hiscock Professor of Biostatistics, Professor of Genetics, and Professor of Statistics and Data Science at Yale University. He received his BS in…
-
GSA Member Julio Molina Pineda Receives DeLill Nasser Award, Shines at TAGC 2024
“At any career stage, the GSA membership is an amazing investment for any genetics professional!” Julio Molina Pineda is a PhD Candidate in Cell and Molecular Biology and a Research Assistant at the University of Arkansas, and a Doctoral Academy Fellow at the Lewis Lab. In 2023, Julio was awarded the DeLill Nasser Award for…
-
In Memoriam: Ellsworth Herman Grell (1932–2023), a pioneer of Drosophila genome engineering and annotation
Ellsworth (Ed) Grell blessed the Drosophila community through three enduring legacies: as a pioneer of chromosome mechanics, as a primary organizer and synthesizer of genetic knowledge in Drosophila, and as a graceful mentor to those fortunate to have known him personally. Ed grew up in rural Nebraska, completed his undergraduate studies at Iowa State, and…
-
Congratulations to the #Fungal24 Poster Award winners!
We are pleased to announce the recipients of the GSA Poster Awards for posters presented at the 32nd Fungal Genetics Conference! Undergraduate and graduate student members of GSA were eligible for the awards, and a hard-working team of judges made the determinations. Congratulations to all! Felicia Ebot Ojong, The University of Georgia My research is focused…
-
Poster presentation tips for TAGC 2024
You’ve been selected to present a poster at The Allied Genetics Conference 2024 in March—you’ve celebrated, made plans to attend, now what? This is an exciting opportunity to showcase your research and engage with fellow members of the genetics community, so you want to make sure you’re prepared. We wanted to offer you some tips…
-
Maximize your TAGC 2024 experience
A guide to all that National Harbor & DC have to offer Are you joining us for The Allied Genetics Conference 2024 in March? Make the most of your #TAGC24 experience in National Harbor! We know the science will keep you busy, but you deserve to unwind and have some fun, so we’ve curated a…
-
Early Career Leadership Spotlight: Sarah Petrosky
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. Sarah PetroskyMultimedia SubcommitteeUniversity of Pittsburgh Research Interest I am interested in understanding adaptation that has been happening recently in populations by dissecting the ways that genes underlying an adaptation…
-
TAGC 2024 Early Career Award Winners
GSA is pleased to announce the winners of the early career awards presented at The Allied Genetics Conference 2024. These awards are specific to particular TAGC communities and recognize early career scientists’ outstanding work on their respective research organisms. The awardees will present their talks in keynote sessions at TAGC 2024. Don’t miss the opportunity…
-
Preeminent geneticists recognized with revamped GSA Awards
In 2022, GSA’s Board of Directors launched an audit to review the five major awards conferred by the Society. Today, we are thrilled to announce the recipients of the reimagined GSA Awards, including the new Genetics Society of America Early Career Medal. The scientists honored this year are recognized by their peers for their outstanding…
-
New members of the GSA Board of Directors: 2024–2026
We are pleased to announce the election of four new leaders to the GSA Board of Directors: 2024 Vice President/2025 President Brenda Andrews Professor, University of Toronto It’s an honor to continue my association with the Society by serving as Vice President of the Board of Directors. I have broad knowledge of the ongoing activities…
-
Early Career Leadership Spotlight: Kat Yamamoto
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. Kat YamamotoCommunity and Membership Engagement SubcommitteeQueens College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York Research Interest Organisms face many microbes in their environment, and the…
-
New associate editor, Beatriz Vicoso, joins GENETICS
A new associate editor is joining GENETICS in the Empirical Population and Evolutionary Genetics section. We’re excited to welcome Beatriz Vicoso to the editorial team. Beatriz VicosoAssociate Editor Beatriz Vicoso is an evolutionary biologist with a broad interest in how and why genomes change over time. Her research has focused on the evolution of sex…
-
Early Career Leadership Spotlight: Caroline Muirhead
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. Caroline MuirheadCommunication and Outreach SubcommitteeWorcester Polytechnic Institute Research Interest I didn’t always know I wanted to make science my career. In fact, I started college as an engineering major.…