Conference: Rustbelt RNA Meeting 2023-2025

Michigan State University, East Lansing MI

Investigators

Abstract

The Rustbelt RNA Meeting (RRM) is an annual conference that brings together scientists from the industrial Midwest and surrounding regions to present and discuss new developments in RNA-related research. This grant will support the 2023 (25th annual meeting), 2024, and 2025 meetings. A unique feature of the RRM is its emphasis on fostering the professional development of young scientists through both formal and informal mechanisms. The meeting provides ample opportunities for multiple platform and poster sessions as well as social interactions, yet is short enough (roughly 1:00 p.m. Friday to 2:00 p.m. Saturday) to be convenient. Students and postdoctoral scholars typically comprise over 70% of attendees and deliver over 90% of the talks as well as the majority of the posters. To broaden participation and further encourage attendance by undergraduates and trainees from groups historically underrepresented in STEM, scholarships will be awarded to cover their registration fees. The RRM serves to expose trainees (often for the first time) to an exciting meeting where the breadth and quality of the research presented rivals that at national meetings, yet the atmosphere is welcoming and supportive. NSF funding will be used predominantly for participant support at the RRM, focused on trainees, and will allow their accommodations to be provided free of charge. The 2023 RRM will be held in East Lansing, Michigan, October 27-28, 2023. This represents the first year the conference will be held in Michigan, one of the major home states of Rustbelt attendees, and provides opportunities for outreach to numerous smaller public and liberal-arts schools in the state. The 2023 meeting will assemble researchers with diverse backgrounds and interests in RNA science and facilitate new learning experiences in emerging technology and career planning via optional workshops. The 2023 RRM program will include approximately 150 poster and 21 oral presentations by student and post-doctoral trainees, providing a high-caliber interdisciplinary experience for participants. The 2023 meeting will also feature a keynote lecture by Dr. Jeffrey Kieft (Director, New York Structural Biology Center), an accomplished and highly respected leader in the field, who has made numerous important contributions to our understanding of the structure and folding of RNAs, particularly viral RNAs. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.