Conference: 20th Annual Southeastern Regional Yeast Meeting to be held March 8-10, 2013 at the University of Alabama at Birmingham

University Of Alabama At Birmingham, Birmingham AL

Investigators

Abstract

Intellectual Merit: The 20th Annual Southeastern Regional Yeast Meeting (SERYM) will be held on the campus of University of Alabama at Birmingham from March 8-10, 2013. This annual meeting provides a unique opportunity for yeast researchers from states in the Southeastern region of the U.S. to come together to share their preliminary research findings and discuss new research tools and emerging technologies. As model organisms, yeasts are ideal for the study of complex molecular, cellular, and biochemical processes. Researchers studying these simple eukaryotes have made significant contributions in areas as diverse as DNA damage/repair, RNA processing, cell cycle progression, chromosome segregation and organelle biogenesis/ maintenance. The meeting has been organized to encourage student participation in both platform and poster presentations, provide student participants with timely evaluations of their performance, and provide students with opportunities for one-on-one scientific interactions with senior scientists in attendance. The 2013 meeting will feature a full schedule of poster and oral presentation by predominantly student and post-doctoral trainees and a keynote lecture by a leader in the field, Randy Schekman (University of California-Berkeley). Broader Impacts: The SERYM 2013 conference brings together scientists studying basic biological processes in fungi and thus provides a collaborative forum for the exchange of research results, ideas and technical expertise. A key strength of this meeting is the opportunity for both undergraduate and graduate students to present their research in platform and/or poster formats. More than half of the participants are students or postdoctoral trainees; these groups generally present 60% of the platform talks and 88% of the poster presentations. These presentations will be evaluated by assigned judges, awards will be presented to the top two oral and poster presentation and all trainees will receive their judging sheets to provide valuable feedback. To increase participation of undergraduate and graduate students from groups that are underrepresented in the sciences, who have never attended this meeting and who have financial need, 16 travel awards will be made to help defray meeting costs. The regional nature of this meeting provides opportunities for students to discuss their research work with leading scientists (often for the first time), laying the foundation for future scientific development and collaborations. The SERYM meeting exposes students to recent advances in the fields of molecular and cell biology from studies using yeast and thus provides a stimulating and rewarding educational experience.