The Rising Stars in Cell Biology Symposium

This award provides support for a one-day meeting “The Rising Stars in Cell Biology Symposium” to be held on April 29, 2022 at Johns Hopkins University. The purpose of the meeting is to provide an opportunity to early career scientists (undergraduate, post baccalaureate, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows) from diverse backgrounds within the greater Baltimore area to present their research and network with their peers.

The format of the meeting will comprise of one keynote talk, selected oral presentations, poster sessions, and career development platforms. In the short-term, this meeting will provide an opportunity to trainees to highlight their exceptional research, boost their confidence, expose them to a wide array of leading-edge research within cell biology, which may lead to increased recruitment of under-represented minority (URM) students into graduate programs or postdoctoral positions across the participating institutions.

In the long-term, this meeting will attract URM scholars to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), specifically to life sciences and to generate a vibrant and supportive environment that encourages retention of URM scientists in academia.

This meeting is motivated by the recognition of socio-economic disparity and the need for opportunities truly available to URM scholars. The award will defray the basic organizing expenses to reach a wide group of trainees as well as institutions that predominantly serve URM scholars in the greater Baltimore area. In particular, the award will provide support for the meeting participants in the form of travel vouchers, working meals, poster printing, and childcare assistance.

Availability of opportunities provided by the meeting will showcase the trainees’ work and form a peer network, which will encourage URM scholars to continue their academic pursuit and help increase diversity at higher ranks within academia. Additionally, with the participants from diverse backgrounds but sharing the common interest in cell biology, this meeting is expected to foster scientific collaborations at the forefront topics and advance research forward.

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.