M-EID Events and Announcements

MEID Holiday Jamboree

Food and Beverages Provided, Alcohol with be BYOB

What have you done for MEID lately?

According to our website MEID Participants have done nothing of note since the program began.

Since we all know that this simply cannot be because our program is filled with very talented people doing very noteworthy things, it must mean that we have not talked with you enough to see what you have been up to. Please e-mail me as soon as you can to give me an update of your amazing accomplishments. After all, having your accomplishments bragged about on our website not only keeps you looking good but makes us look like we got the Program everyone wants to be in.

Examples of bragging rights include:

• Workshops -(Like that hosted by Michael Ceballos)
• Attendance to any and all relevant Conferences and Symposiums
• Specifically any posters or presentations you may have made - (Like Tammi’s presentation at WDA)
• Any nominations or awards
• Publications - (Like Robin Silverstein’s editorial to Science)

Please include all relevant details and any PDF’s or electronic copies of your work so we can post some specifics about your greatness.

« E-mail M-EID »

M-EID Activity Assessment

OREOS Assessment Database is currently available for all MEID participants to log in and begin data entry on their accomplishments. This database is a simple way to track your work and accomplishments over the year and is formatted to follow the NSF IGERT end of year assessment. It is a nice warehouse for everyone to periodically update their work over the year to help with data collection at the end of the year.

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M-EID NEW Small Grants Program

Guidelines for M-EID's new Small Grants Program are now available at M-EID Web Site. Trainees may apply for grants of up to $2,500, and proposals may be submitted at any time. A sample scoresheet for proposals will be available at the same address next week.

GSA Spring Semester Travel Awards

Spring 2008 travel award applications are due by Friday, February 8, 2008 at 5:00 p.m. The graduate student must make a presentation at a conference between January 1, 2008 and May 31, 2008. Travel awards will be $200 each and will be selected from the pool of qualified applicants. All graduate students are eligible to receive one award per academic year. Conference presentations that can be proposed for reimbursement may also include art exhibits, poetry/writing readings, workshop presentations, etc.-- anything that enhances the professionality of the graduate student's respective department and degree. The application form is attached, but it also may be downloaded from the GSA website "Travel Awards" page and is available at the GSA cubicle: 201 J in the UC second floor student organizational suite.

Most questions can be answered via the "Criteria for Submissions" attachment and at the GSA website "Travel Awards" page. Or you may contact Steven Hurin, GSA President, via email at umgsa@umontana.edu .

Upcoming Conferences -

Climate, Environment, and Infectious Diseases

The 2008 annual meeting of the American Institute of Biological Sciences will be held 12 and 13 May on the theme of "Climate, Environment, and Infectious Diseases," at the Westin Hotel in Arlington, Virginia. The program chair is 2008 AIBS President Rita Colwell, University of Maryland, College Park.

Interrelationships of climate, environment, and human health are manifested in infectious disease patterns, notably seasonality. Vector borne diseases, such as malaria, dengue, Avian influenza, SARS, and related diseases are known to be closely linked to the environment and, more recently, to climate. Interactions between climate, climate change, and the environment have been studied extensively by investigators in the United States and abroad. The AIBS annual meeting will address these issues.

The interplay of science and science policy in cross-cutting themes involving science, public policy, and education will also be addressed in a special session with plenary speakers featuring science communicators, namely authors of popular books addressing various aspects of infectious disease, human health, climate, and the environment. Participants will have the opportunity to explore the issues of climate change as these issues intersect with human health.

The rest of the meeting's program will be rounded out by events including a contributed poster session, a diversity lunch, AIBS awards, and a teachers workshop organized by the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) and National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT). The AIBS annual meeting this year is a joint meeting with BSCS, which began as a part of AIBS and is now celebrating 50 years of independent operations. Registration for the AIBS meeting includes entrance to all BSCS / NABT events.

NOTE: The 2008 meeting of the AIBS Council of member societies and organizations will be held immediately following the AIBS annual meeting, in the same hotel, 14 May, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm.

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Summer Courses

Biology of Parasitism: Modern Approaches

A unique course for advanced graduate students, postdocs, and independent investigators, who are seeking thorough training in modern approaches to the study of protozoan and helminthic parasites. Limited to 16 students.

The focus of this course is on the molecular basis of parasite function and the host/parasite interaction with special emphasis on the most recent and exciting developments in these areas. The course consists of daily lectures juxtaposed with intensive experimental work. About 40 invited speakers will give a lecture in their area of expertise and meet informally with students. These lectures will cover virtually all of the systems and areas of active research in modern parasitology. The laboratory portion of the course strikes a balance between ensuring that students acquire the technical expertise necessary to pursue these areas of research in their own careers while maintaining the element of the search for the unknown. Furthermore, the students will have the opportunity to work side-by-side at the benchtop with faculty recognized as leaders in their respective fields. The following areas are among those to be covered in the experimental portion of the course: (1) antigenic variation and cytoadherence in malaria; (2) drug design and development for treatment of trypanosomiasis and malaria; (3) immunology and pathogenesis of protozoan and filarial infections and (4) host:parasite interactions using Leishmania, Toxoplasma, and Trichomonas as model systems.

This course is supported by grants from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, and Merck.

Joanne Russo, Bridgewater State College

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Microbial Diversity

An intensive six-and-a-half-week course for graduate or postdoctoral students, as well as established investigators, who want to become competent in microbiological techniques for working with a broad range of microbes, and in approaches for recognizing the metabolic, phylogenetic, and genomic diversity of cultivated and as yet uncultivated bacteria. Limited to 20 students.

The course is designed primarily for scientists with a substantial background in microbiology who want to isolate, cultivate, and initiate research programs with a diverse range of microbes. It emphasizes that the great strength of microbiology lies in the diversity of microbial types that can be exploited for basic research. The course will emphasize nature as the source of microorganisms for research; thus, beginning and advanced students have equal chances to make discoveries. The course is open to all scientists who have a strong interest in microbes and their activities (previous students have included biochemists, ecologists, environmental engineers, oceanographers, geneticists, geologists, and limnologists).

Students will isolate, cultivate, and experiment with characteristic microbial types from various marine, freshwater and terrestrial habitats, including those microbes living symbiotically with animals and plants. Emphasis will be on the isolation and cultivation of organisms that are distinguished by their phylogenetic, physiological, and morphological properties. Techniques for cultivation of strict anaerobes and phototrophs will be emphasized. Examples of microbial types that will be isolated are methanogens, acetogens, sulfate-reducing anaerobes, fermentative anaerobes and both oxygenic and anoxygenic phototrophs, as well as bacteria involved in the geochemical cycling of various metals. Magnetic bacteria, sulfur-oxidizing bacteria, spirochetes, and luminescent bacteria will also be studied. A laboratory component on molecular approaches to microbial diversity will instruct students to use approaches of molecular phylogeny and comparative genomics. This will involve isolation and amplification of 16S rRNA genes as phylogenetic markers and the use of computer software programs to analyze nucleic acid sequences and to construct phylogenetic trees. As the capstone activity of the course, participants will conduct an individual research project of their own design.

This course is supported in part by grants from the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

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