Calendar of events, awards
and opportunities

Every week, we’ll update this list with new meetings, awards, scholarships and events. If you’d like us to feature something 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.

Use this weekly list to get your ducks in a row.

Free sequencing panel for coronavirus researchers

Arbor Biosciences is offering the research community a free myBaits Expert hybridization-based panel for the 2019 coronavirus. A company press release said: "The myBaits Expert 2019-nCoV panel is based on all full and partial genome sequences available in the NCBI database." See the full release and contact info.

March 31: Entries due for Lasker student essay contest

Medical students, biomedical and public health students, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows are invited to submit 800-word essays about the scientists who inspire them for the Lasker Foundation's annual essay contest. The winner gets a prize of $10,000 and a trip to New York to attend the 2020 Lasker Awards in September. See this year's essay theme and submit.

April 7–8: National Academies workshop on aging and environmental research

The National Academies will be hosting a free two-day workshop titled Integrating the Science of Aging and Environmental Health Research in April in Washington, D.C. In an email announcement, the Academies said speakers will discuss findings about "How environmental exposures influence or mediate aging" and "How aging influences environmentally mediated health outcomes." Learn more.

April 10: Participate in study of science outreach

ASBMB Members Jeanne Garbarino from The Rockefeller University and Niki Woitowich from Northwestern University are teaming up to conduct a large-scale survey study which explores the “science” behind science outreach. This National Science Foundation-sponsored research aims to learn more about how science outreach is valued among scientific researchers, what motivates scientists to participate in science outreach, and will examine how gender and race influence participation. All STEM-based graduate students, postdocs, faculty and staff at two- or four-year colleges or universities are invited to participate. No experience or prior knowledge of science outreach is required to complete the survey. Complete the survey.

April 15: Startup grants from Schering, Thyssen foundations

Schering Stiftung and the Fritz Thyssen Foundation are offering startup grants for new researchers working on "projects in the fields of biochemical, neuroscience or immunological basic research with biomedical implications." Each project grantis worth up to EUR 60,000. Learn more.

April 30: Applications due for NIH DATA Scholar Program

The National Institutes of Health has a new opportunity called the Data and Technology Advancement (DATA) National Service Scholar Program. It's for experienced data and computer scientsits/engineers who want to "tackle biomedical data challenges with the potential for substantial public health impact." Participants will work at the NIH offices in Maryland or North Carolina. Learn more.

May 6: DOE graduate student program deadline

The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science Graduate Student Research program is accepting applications from those who wish to do thesis work at participating national labs/facilities. Learn more.

June 1: Nominations due for Heinrich Wieland Prize

Researchers who have published outstanding work on “biologically active molecules and systems in the areas of chemistry, biochemistry and physiology” are eligible for the 100,000 euro 2020 Heinrich Wieland Prize. Learn more.

June 1: Enter undergrad design challenge

Two institutes at the National Institutes of Health are teaming up with VentureWell to present the 2020 DEBUT Challenge. (DEBUT is short for "Design by Biomedical Undergraduate Teams.") This contest has lost of prize possibilities, with the biggest at $20,000. See the DEBUT website for details.

June 8: Hopkins to host science writers at press club

The Johns Hopkins Institute for Basic Biomedical Sciences is offering a free, daylong program for science writers of all kinds on June 8 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The theme is precision medicine. We can attest that we've found some of our best stories and sources at this annual event. More info.

July 16–17: Free "train-the-trainers" program

The National Institutes of Health and the Association of American Medical Colleges are presenting their second "Train-the-Trainers" event for advisers, staff members and faculty members who provide guidance to and career-related programming for grad students and postdocs in the life sciences. Advance registration is required, but the program is free. See the agenda.

July 20–29: Free glycobiology training in Brazil

The Institute of Biomedical Sciences at the University of São Paulo will host the São Paulo School of Advanced Science on Glycobiology (SPSAS-GLYC) this summer. The program includes theoretical and practical courses and opportunities for student presentations. The organizers tell us that, of the 72 attendees, 36 will be chosen from applications from Brazil, and the other 36 will be chosen from applications from other countries. All 72 attendees will attend for free, with the SPSAS-GLYC covering their travel and accommodations. Learn more.

Aug. 11: Deadline to apply to HHMI's new program for medically trained scientists

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute will be accepting up to 10 biomedical scientists for its new $120 million research program. According to the announcement we received, the Medically Trained Scientists Program "will offer as many as eight years of support for up to 10 early career scientists who are committed to conducting basic research." See HHMI's site for more details.