The GSA Excellence in Research Journalism Award

DeLill Nasser Award for Professional Development in Genetics

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Now accepting applications for conferences or courses taking place between July 1, 2013 and December 31, 2013.  Application deadline is April 5, 2013.

In recognition of the critical role DeLill Nasser played for the discipline and for her love of genetics, in 2001, The Genetics Society of America established The DeLill Nasser Award for Professional Development in Genetics, an award for graduate students and postdoctoral trainees, to support travel costs for young geneticists to attend national and international meetings and enroll in laboratory courses. The Award is named for long-time GSA member and National Science Foundation Program Director in Eukaryotic Genetics, DeLill Nasser.

Nasser, who died in 2000, was at NSF for more than 22 years and was considered the “patron saint” of genetics and friend of many geneticists. She was primarily interested “in the science” and because of this interest championed the funding of the genomic sequencing of Arabidopsis and research in Drosophila. Giving them time and support, Nasser enabled researchers to work on genetic problems, sometimes seemingly obscure, which resulted in significant progress in genetics research.

Nasser was especially supportive of young scientists, people who were beginning their careers and those trying to open new areas of genetic inquiry.

Review criteria for the award:

In the first round, applications are judged on:
 

1. Productivity, based on:

• First authorships

• Number of publications

• Letters of recommendation

2. Significance of the finding:

• Research MUST be in genetics, and not, for example, biophysics

• Someone with a first author paper judged to have an important finding would produce a higher ranking than someone with multiple papers that aren’t very unique in their field

3. Diversity (note: this only comes into play after productivity):

• Demographics

• Geographic location/ type of institution

• Participation in scientific service

• This often comes to light in the letters of recommendation

4. Other considerations:

• Seniority of student/postdoc – applicants nearing the end of their postdoctoral training or graduate degree who have been productive are generally given higher priority over those at the start of their training.

In the second round, applications are judged also on:
 

1. The fit between the student/postdoc and their choice of conference, workshop

2. The budget 

Previous DeLill Nasser Award Winners

DeLill Nasser Awards have two rounds of applications per year; one for courses and conferences occurring between January 1 and June 30, and another for courses and conferences occurring between July 1 and December 31. Monitor the GSA e-News and this webpage for updates about application windows.

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