Saturday, November 12th, 2011
7:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Registration Open
7:30 a.m. – 8:15 a.m.
Networking Breakfast/Open Forum for Feedback
8:30 a.m. – 9:15 a.m.
Exhibitor Feedback Session
8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
ORAL PRESENTATION SESSIONS
(All 12 disciplines)
9:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Exhibits Open
9:45 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
POSTER SESSION 6
11:15 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
POSTER SESSION 7
12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Networking Lunch
1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
CLOSING KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Skin in the Game: Biomedical Research, Health
Disparities, and the Role of Researchers of Color
Science researchers of color stand on the foundation
built by George Washington Carver, Benjamin
Carson, Regina Beverly, and so many others. This talk
discusses the role that biomedical, behavioral sciences
and STEM research can play in improving the quality
of life for minorities, the crushing issue of health
disparities, and the many reasons why there must be
diversity among those conducting research.
Speaker
Julianne Malveaux, Ph.D., Bennett College,
Greensboro, NC
2:45 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.
CONCURRENT PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT SESSIONS
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT SESSION
Session 1
Graduate School Experience: My Personal Story
(Recommended for undergraduate, postbaccalaureate,
and master’s-level students)
Graduate students share their graduate school
experiences. Discussions include goal setting, selecting
a mentor, time management, and balancing academics
and social life.
Moderator
Beronda Montgomery, Ph.D., Michigan State
University, East Lansing, MI
Speakers
To Be Determined
GRADUATE STUDENT AND POSTDOCTORAL
SCIENTIST SESSION
Session 2
Career Decisions: How to Find a Science Career
that Fits YOU
Do you want to find a career path that you’ll enjoy
and find rewarding? Of course! But how do you
find such a path, especially since there are so many
different directions scientists can go with their careers?
There are more than FIFTY career options available
to biomedical sciences PhD’s. If you’d like to see a
list of these career options, while learning about how
to select the best option for you, then don’t miss this
thought-provoking and interactive workshop! Here
you will learn about a logical, step-by-step process for
exploring your career options and deciding which will
provide the best fit for your own set of skills, values
and interests. Attendees to this Saturday workshop
are strongly encouraged to also attend Friday’s
Individual Development Plan Workshop.
Speaker
Bill Lindstaedt, MS
University of California at San Francisco
San Francisco, CA
FACULTY SESSION
Session 3
Improving Student Learning in Undergraduate
Sciences via Assessment
(Recommended for faculty, program directors, and
administrators)
Both traditional and new undergraduate science
teaching methods and resources have advocates, but
is there evidence to document their effectiveness
in improving student learning? It is important to
determine if these tools, particularly digital resources,
are advancing student learning. The report Vision
and Change in Undergraduate Biology Educationrecommends that biologists and other scientists
use a scientific approach to course assessment. This
workshop focuses on both quantitative and qualitative
assessment techniques (e.g., objective questions,
surveys, extended responses, problems, models,
projects, and lab investigations) that can be used to
measure student learning, attitudes, and behaviors.
The data obtained can then be used to guide decisions
about a course, including what students understand,
what is difficult for them to learn, what motivates
them, and how instruction should be modified to
better facilitate their learning.
Speakers
To Be Determined
4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
CONCURRENT PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT SESSIONS
Session 1
Writing a Successful Personal Statement to Get into
Highly Competitive Graduate Schools and Summer
Programs
(Recommended for undergraduate, postbaccalaureate,
and master’s students)
What are graduate programs in the sciences looking
for in applicants? Find out in this session that
focuses on finding programs, using ranking systems
smartly, getting better recommendations, selecting
work samples, making that critical connection with
potential mentors, writing awesome statements of
purpose, and learning how to get full funding and go
to school for free. The session offers tips on writing
powerful, effective statements for applications to
graduate schools and/or summer programs. Get
help from presenters who, during their careers, have
written many personal statements, read thousands of
submitted statements, and helped many early-career
students write great statements. Bring a copy of a
personal statement that you are working on.
Speaker
Joel Oppenheim, Ph.D., New York University
Victoria H. Freedman, Ph.D., Albert Einstein
University, New York, NY
Session 2
How to Get Great Letters of Recommendation
(Recommended for undergraduate, postbaccalaureate,
and master’s students)
Anxious about asking your faculty instructor for a
recommendation letter? This workshop will provide
undergraduates with strategies to ensure that asking
for a recommendation letter is easy and effective! Find
out what faculty members expect and want to know
before they agree to write a recommendation letter for
you.
Speaker
Linda Blockus, Ph.D., University of Missouri,
Columbia, MO
Session 3
Tips on Applying to a Postbaccalaureate Program at
the National Institutes of Health
(Recommended for students considering postbaccalaureate
training)
Many students consider postbaccalaureate training prior
to applying to graduate school. The National Institutes
of Health has the largest postbaccalaureate training
program in the country. The session will focus on
program details and requirements including the nuts and
bolts for submitting a successful application. Speaker
will also present information and resources on other
postbaccalaureate training programs across the U.S.
Speaker
Sharon L. Milgram, Ph.D., National Institutes of
Health Office of Intramural Training & Education;
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; and National
Human Genome Research Institute, Bethesda, MD
Session 4
Navigating Your Way into a Postdoctoral Position
and Opportunities for a Successful Postdoctoral
Experience
(Recommended for doctoral-level graduate students and
postdoctoral scientists)
This session will focus on the many critical issues that
graduate students and postdoctoral scientists face
when selecting first and second postdoctoral positions
including securing funding, expected duration, racial
and ethnic composition of the postdoctoral pool,
health care and other benefits, job responsibilities
and career development activities. The forum
will encourage candid conversations focusing on
“everything that graduate students and postdoctoral
scientist wanted to know but were afraid to ask”.
Speakers,
To Be Determined
5:15 p.m. - 6:15 p.m.
Speed Apps – Grad Application Networking
(Recommended for undergraduate, community college,
and postbaccalaureate students)
In this hands-on session about the graduate school
application process, participants network with faculty
in small groups to explore components of their
graduate school applications and learn more about
building a competitive application package. Topics
include (i) writing an insightful personal statement, (ii)
informing referees about future plans, (iii) prepping for
interviews, and (iv) reflecting on interview experiences.
Session Moderators
Alexandra “Sacha” Patera, Ph.D., Northwestern
University Evanston, IL
Minnetta V. Gardinier, Ph.D., University of Iowa,
Iowa City, IA
Additional Faculty Facilitators to Be Determined
6:15 p. m. – 7:30 p.m.
FREE TIME! FREE TIME! FREE TIME!
7:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
BANQUET, CONFERENCE WRAP-UP, AWARDS
CEREMONY
Conference Wrap-up
John Fitzgerald Gates, Ph.D., Criticality Management
Consulting , New York, NY
Student Presentation Awards Ceremony
Concluding Remarks
Speaker
Clifford W.Houston,Ph.D, University of Texas
Medical Center at Galveston, Galveston, TX
9:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Photo Session for ABRCMS Presentation Award
Winners
10:00 p.m. – 1:00 a.m.
Dance and Social (All Are Invited) |
2011 Program
Highlights