Calendar of events, awards and opportunities

Every week, we update this list with new meetings, awards, scholarships and events to help you advance your career. If you’d like us to feature something that you’re offering to the bioscience community, email us with the subject line “For calendar.” ASBMB members’ offerings take priority, and we do not promote products/services. Learn how to advertise in ASBMB Today.

Feb. 16 & 23: Black history in the making — a two-part series

The ASBMB Maximizing Access Committee strives to increase the presence, visibility, access and support of historically excluded and marginalized groups. In recognition of Black History Month and the significant role Black scientists have in advancing biomedical research, the MAC is partnering with the National Black Postdoctoral Association to highlight the research of Black postdocs in a virtual research talk series that will cover a range of BMB topics. Each of the two events will feature three speakers. Register for the Feb. 16 event. Register for the Feb. 23 event.

Feb. 17: Deadline to register for ASBMB certification exam

All students who are enrolled in an ASBMB-accredited program are invited to take the certification exam in their junior or senior year. Students can attempt the exam only once during their undergraduate career regardless of outcome. The certification exam has been designed to test students’ knowledge and understanding of the core competencies in biochemistry and molecular biology developed by the ASBMB and its members. Questions have been structured to assess these concept areas at different levels of cognitive skills and abilities. Learn more.

Feb 17: Women in science and engineering needed for survey

We heard from April Valdez, a Ph.D. student at Grand Canyon University, who is conducting a study "to compare women’s research self-efficacy and intention to stay or leave their careers based on their career stage." She invites women between 18 and 65 years old who meet certain other criteria to participate by Feb. 17. Learn more.

Feb. 24: PROLAB applications due

The Promoting Research Opportunities for Latin American Biochemists program allows graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to spend up to six months in U.S. or Canadian laboratories. Participants get access to technologies and expertise that may not be readily available in their home countries, allowing them to grow their skills and contribute to building capacity in the life sciences at home. PROLAB is a joint venture between the Pan-American Association for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. See eligibility and apply.

Feb 28: AWIS award application deadline

The American Association for Women in Science has several award categories relevant to people in biochemistry and molecular biology, and the deadline for applications is Feb. 28. The AWIS Distinguished Doctoral Research Award, which recognizes important dissertations, is $10,000. Three winners will be selected. The AWIS Opportunity Scholarships for Career Re-entry are for people who've been out of the workforce for more than two years. Eight winners will get $2,500 apiece. The Schechtman scholarship is $2,000 for undergraduate women. Learn more.

ASAP: Secure your hotel room for #DiscoverBMB

If you are going to #DiscoverBMB, the annual meeting of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. it is time to book your lodging. There's a block of discounted rooms available, but they're likely to fill up before everyone has booked. The Sheraton Grand Seattle is the official headquarters hotel, and The Paramount Hotel and the Hotel Theodore will be available for additional housing. All three hotels are within walking distance of the Seattle Convention Center and offer attendees exceptional room rates when booked through the official housing service. Secure your room. 

March 1: ASBMB Student Chapter Outreach Grant application deadline

The ASBMB Student Chapter Outreach Grant helps Student Chapters increase their involvement in science outreach activities. Funding is available for individual chapters to apply for up to $500 in support of outreach activities in their local communities. Successful applicants also will receive exclusive access to outreach expertise and resources from the Science Outreach and Communication Committee and be featured in ASBMB publications and on the ASBMB website. Learn more.

March 1: ASBMB Undergraduate Research Award deadline

This $1,000 award supports undergraduate student chapter members’ summer research projects in the lab of an ASBMB member. Award money may be used for reagents and supplies for the project. Learn more.

March 9 & April 20: Workshops about DOE grad student research program

The Department of Energy's Office of Science is accepting applications through May 3 for its Graduate Student Research Awards program, which is designed to advance students' research by providing them access to host laboratories and expertise. The DOE will hold two workshop for prospective applicants. The first in March will give a general overview of the program. The second in April will go over the application process. You have to register for each. Learn more.

March 21: HHMI investigator applications due

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute is accepting applications for its investigator program through March 21. Each investigator receives about $8 million over seven years, and the award is renewable. Applicants must hold a Ph.D. or M.D., have a tenure-track or tenured position, have no more than 15 years of experience and be "the principal investigator on one or more active, national peer-reviewed research grants with an initial duration of at least three years as of April 1, 2023." Learn more.

March 31: Lasker essay contest deadline

The Lasker Foundation is accepting submissions for its annual essay contest through March 31. The prompt this year is this: "Ethical issues are not always easy to identify. Describe an unanticipated ethical issue you have encountered, or you have seen colleagues encounter, during your training and the strategies used to address it." Winners get up to $5,000. Learn more.

April 7: Deadline to apply for biotech/medtech mentoring program

The International Center for Professional Development is accepting applications through April 7 for its one-year Scientist Mentoring & Diversity Program, which pairs ethnically diverse and underrepresented trainees and scientists with mentors who work in medical technology, biotechnology and consumer healthcare. The scholars and mentors attend a five-day training conference (biotech in Boston in June and medtech in Anaheim, California, in October) and a major industry conference. The program is open to undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. Learn more.

April 21 & 22 or May 11 & 12: National Postdoc Association annual conference

The National Postdoc Association will meet in person this year in April in Philadelphia and hold a virtual conference in May. If you register for the in-person conference and also want to attend later virtually, you will register just once for the Philly event. The virtual conference will have recorded keynote speeches and online sessions and networking. Learn more.

May 10: Abstracts due for our motifs, modules and networks conference

Mark your calendar for an ASBMB conference on the assembly and organization of regulatory signaling systems to be held July 11–14 in Potomac, Md. The organizers are Wolfgang Peti of the University of Connecticut Health Center, Benjamin Turk of the Yale School of Medicine and Arminja Kettenbach of Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine. The four-day program and speaker list is available. Abstracts are due May 10. Learn more.

June 20: Abstracts due for our CoA and CoA-derivatives conference

Mark your calendar for an ASBMB conference on CoA and CoA-derivatives to be held Aug. 16–18 at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The organizers are Luigi Puglielli at UW–Madison, Suzanne Jackowski at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and James Ntambi at UW–Madison. The speaker list is available. Abstracts are due June 20. Learn more.

IUBMB MilliporeSigma fellowship

The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology welcomes applications year-round for its MilliporeSigma Virtual Meetings and Courses Fellowships. Graduate students and postdoctoral fellows from countries that are associate or full members of the IUBMB may apply for funding to present their work at virtual events in the IUBMB region. Learn how to apply.

FASEB family care awards

The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology has launched the Career Advancement and Research Excellence Support (CARES) Program, which provides financial support for caregiving, enabling FASEB society members to continue their scientific training, professional development and career progression. Read the eligibility criteria and apply.

IUBMB relocation support for displaced trainees

The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology is offering $2,000 to graduate students and postdocs displaced from their labs as a result of natural disaster, war or "other events beyond their control that interrupt their training." The money is for travel and settling in. Learn more and spread the word to those who could use assistance.

On-demand webinar on getting, gaining influence

The American Association for Anatomy has a free on-demand webinar titled "The power of suggestion: How to get and gain influence." It features Adele Cehrs, CEO of the When and How Agency, who explains "when the power of suggestion is most likely to work for individuals and how to use it to your advantage through traditional media and social media channels." As we understand it, AAA membership is not required (but you will have to create an account) to view the webinar. Here's a list of all of AAA's open-access webinars.

Call for virtual scientific event proposals

The ASBMB provides members with a virtual platform to share scientific research and accomplishments and to discuss emerging topics and technologies with the BMB community.

The ASBMB will manage the technical aspects, market the event to tens of thousands of contacts and present the digital event live to a remote audience. Additional tools such as polling, Q&A, breakout rooms and post event Twitter chats may be used to facilitate maximum engagement.

Seminars are typically one to two hours long. A workshop or conference might be longer and even span several days.

Prospective organizers may submit proposals at any time. Decisions are usually made within four to six weeks.

Propose an event.