Summer Highlights, New Faces, and Upcoming Events
August Newsletter
Greetings from the Biology Graduate Student and Postdoc Association (GSPA) council! If you have not heard about us before, we are an elected body of current grad students and postdocs who represent the interests of the graduate student and postdoc community. All graduate students and postdocs are part of the GSPA. Our mission is to foster a welcoming, equitable, collaborative, and active community of biology department colleagues across career stages and sub-disciplines!
We will be using this monthly newsletter to announce upcoming events and highlight accomplishments within the Biology Department. Please scroll down to meet your 2022-2023 GSPA Council members, and visit our website to view our updated mission statement and find out how you can get involved.
Meet the new first years!
This year, UVA Biology has twelve new first-years in all corners of the department. We've asked them to tell us a little about themselves so that we can all get to know the new faces in our labs and classes. Read more!
August Events:
Fall 2022 Biology Seminar Series: Friday, August 26th at 12:00 pm EDT in 390 Gilmer and via Zoom Meeting ID: 962 8770 6380; Passcode: biology
Speaker: Dr. Brian Donovan, Senior Research Scientist at BSCS Science Learning
Title: Genetics Education Needs to Move Beyond Mendel to Combat White Supremacy
Host: Dr. Alan Bergland
Social Gatherings:
* Graduate BBQ: The GSAS Student Council and University Programs Council (UPC) are hosting a Graduate BBQ for all graduate students! It will be held at The Park (located in North Grounds) on Friday, August 26th from 4 pm - 7 pm. There will be free mission BBQ and games!
* GBS BioRender Workshop: GBS and BioRender will be hosting a tutorial in the more advanced use of the illustration and poster building service on Wednesday, August 31st at 11am. We're talking more than just color palettes, guidelines for alignment, and text fonts/sizes, so get excited! Zoom link! If you'd like help with specific figures you've started on BioRender, use the share button to share them with our expert, Mitch and enter "[email protected]" so he can give you feedback. Also keep an eye out once the event is closer, and we'll be able to provide a free upgrade to their Premium service so you can putter around to your heart's content before the workshop.
* Coffee Hour: Wednesday, 2:30 pm - 3:30pm, beginning August 31st, PLSB 4th Floor Balcony
Take a break from your desk for coffee and afternoon snacks with your fellow biologists. All are welcome, just bring your own mug!
EXPAND Open House 2022
EXPAND: has several course offerings this academic year. Please see courses for descriptions, course numbers, and class times. You do not need to be an EXPAND-funded fellow to take these courses. (Please note that the year preceding each course is EXPAND’s recommendation for the year in the program the student is when taking the course.)
Calling all Life Sciences graduate students! Are you interested in presenting your interdisciplinary research? Want to discuss your findings with students and faculty across multiple departments?
Submit your abstract for the EXPAND Open House 2022 on Tuesday, September 13th 3:30-5pm! You do not need to be a funded EXPAND fellow to participate. Please email your abstract (250-word maximum) to [email protected] by 11:59 pm on Thursday, September 1st, 2022. You will receive additional instructions about when/where posters should be displayed in early September.
Poster competition: All abstracts will be presented as posters. There will be a $250 cash prize for the best poster! See the attached rubric for how posters will be judged*.
*Verbal communication section may be skipped altogether depending on time restrictions.
Starting in September
GSPA Monthly Meeting: Every first Thursday of the month, 1 pm - 2 pm, PLSB 403
Join us for our first monthly meeting of the semester on Thursday, September 1st, 2022! We will provide snacks. These meetings are an open forum to discuss current issues, like teaching, and GSPA-sponsored events. Make your voice heard and help us enhance department life, culture, and camaraderie!
Social Gatherings:
* Fridays After 5 Concert Night: Friday, September 2nd, 5:30 pm, Ting Pavilion, Downtown
Hit the downtown and enjoy a free concert with other bio grads and postdocs! Convene outside the Paramount Theater at 5:30 pm and walk into the concert together. Email Clara Roeder if you need a ride.
* GSPA Welcome Picnic: Wednesday, September 7, 5:00 - 7:00 pm, Pavilion X
Enjoy catering from Roots Natural Kitchen and Moe's Original Barbecue as we welcome new faces in the Biology Department and celebrate being back on Grounds for the fall! Please RSVP by Friday, September 2nd, 2022. All are welcome!
Have an event to advertise in an upcoming newsletter? Contact Roberta Onoharigho