Conference: Annual Meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) to be held December 2003 in San Francisco, CA

American Society For Cell Biology, Rockville MD

Investigators

Abstract

This award provides partial support for the Annual meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) meeting December 13 - 18, 2003 in San Francisco. Activities and events sponsored by the National Science foundation include: A] The opening Keynote Symposium entitled, "A Vision for the Future of Science". B] A Science Education Session for K- 12 Educators C] Travel awards for student attendance at the ASCB annual meeting. Biological research is undergoing a revolution in terms of the amount of information that has become available due to the sequencing of the genomes of many species. The National Science Foundation has been a major player in these efforts, sponsoring, for example, the Arabidopsis, rice and maize genome mapping and sequencing efforts. By comparing the genomes of related species, biologists are more readily able to identify genes and their regulatory elements, as well as define genes that contribute to disease resistance and/or susceptibility. In order for these vast data sets to be useful, biologists must team with information technologists to find ways to tap into the data and cull out useful information. Information technology experts need to understand how the data might best be analyzed and what the biologists might be looking for. A challenge for the future is to train students to think about how to analyze data sets in ways that may reveal entirely unexpected findings. Biologists need to learn more about (1) what questions they should be asking in this post-genome era and (2) what tools are available or could be created, from areas outside biology: specifically, information technology, to help them address their questions of interest. These issues will be the focus of the 2003 ASCB Keynote Symposium. The American Society for Cell Biology's K-12 Education Symposium provides Annual Meeting attendees an opportunity to find out more about the efforts of colleagues and friends to bridge the gap between K-12 science education and cell biology research throughout the nation, and how they might go about becoming involved. The K-12 program will be on "Teaching with Controversy." This will be a complement to the Saturday Education Committee Workshop on the same topic. Scientific controversies are an excellent tool for motivating students of all ages to learn about scientific issues and to practice their skills in evidence-based decision making. Eugenie Scott, 1999 ASCB Bruce Alberts Awardee and Executive Director of the National Center for Science Education, will share her expertise on the challenges of teaching evolution. Following her remarks, a hands-on workshop activity will model evolution instruction, and educators interested in K-12 education will have the opportunity to discuss effective ways to establish partnerships between scientists and K-12 teachers and students. The third area enables graduate students to attend the ASCB Annual Meeting. For young researchers in training, the ASCB Annual Meeting provides them with what is often their first opportunity to present their findings to a national scientific audience. Such experiences are an important component in the training of predoctoral research scientists.