Monday, November 10
6:30 PM - 8:30 PM (There will be food!)
Morial Convention Center
Rooms 278-279

Socialize and exchange ideas with others concerned with undergraduate research and education. Undergraduates will present posters, and FUN Travel Awards will be presented for outstanding undergraduate research. To participate in presenting undergraduate research posters, please register with Dr. Ronald Bayline by Monday, October 27. Submission instructions are listed on the funfaculty.org Announcements page.

Contact: Dr. Ronald Bayline at rjbayline@washjeff.edu

Monday, November 10 (NOT Tuesday, as previously advertised)
7:00 - 8:00 AM (Continental Breakfast)
Morial Convention Center
Room 285

An open meeting for the membership and all individuals with an interest in undergraduate neuroscience attending the SFN meeting. Old business, new business, treasurer's report and committee reports are prominent agenda items.

For further information: E. P. Wiertelak, President of Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience. E-mail: wiertelak@macalester.edu .

Saturday - Wednesday, November 8-12
Morial Convention Center
New Location in the Exhibit Area!
Booths 246-248

Help support FUN Student Travel Awards by volunteering to help out at the FUN Booth and/or purchasing FUN merchandise.

The events listed on this page are of generic interest to FUN faculty and students and many have been excerpted from the complete listing of workshops, meetings and events on the official SfN website . Please send new listings and corrections or updated information about current listings to the FUN webmaster .

Sponsored by the Society for Neuroscience, and supported by NIMH and NINDS.

Participants can tailor the day to fit their needs by selecting from a variety of sessions. Concurrent events address the needs of different levels and types of participants including undergraduates, graduate students, postdoctoral students, basic and clinical research faculty and industry scientists. Topics include career options and job hunting, starting a new job and getting promoted, managing and mentoring students and staff, balancing the multiple responsibilities faced by clinical researchers, as well as an ethics discussion over lunch. The workshop faculty includes individuals from academia, industry and funding agencies.

For a detailed workshop schedule please see www.edc.gsph.pitt.edu/survival/ . For registration please use the forms available on our Web site or call (412) 624-7098. The registration fee is $25 in advance or $40 at the door and includes all workshop materials, continental breakfast, coffee breaks and lunch. Registration is limited.

Two workshops will take place at Neuroscience 2003:

Friday, November 7, 3:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Saturday, November 8, 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Speakers: Linda Cooper, Associate Director, Centre for the Study and Teaching of Writing, McGill University; and Dr. Gary Westbrook, Editor in Chief, The Journal of Neuroscience

Registration is limited, and advance registration is required. The registration fee is $50 ($25 for students), and includes all workshop materials and a coffee break.

Registration deadline: October 7, 2003.

For further information: L. Cooper, Faculty of Education, McGill Univ., 3700 McTavish Street, Montreal, QC, H3A 1Y2. Phone: 514-398-3101. E-mail: Linda.Cooper@mcgill.ca

Sponsored by NINDS, in collaboration with other institutes of NIH, and NSF

This workshop is for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and beginning faculty at all stages of training and career development. If you want information on NIH and NSF funding opportunities and how to go about getting funded, this workshop is for you. There will be brief presentations on the various fellowships and career development awards available. Program and Review staff from NIH and NSF will also hold roundtable discussions on how to write a fellowship or a career award grant. We will discuss Do's and Don'ts of how to apply, good "grantsmanship," picking the appropriate mentor/sponsor, what to expect from review and other issues. This is a good opportunity for you to get to know NIH and NSF staff, establish contacts and get ahead.

Registration is NOT required and all are welcome.

Are you a neuroscientist who wants to learn more about how neuroscience fits into K–12 curricula? Time commitment is minimal and flexible. This workshop is designed to bring neuroscience and education together. Neuroscientists will partner with K–12 teachers to foster dialogue about neuroscience education, research and possibilities for teacher-scientist collaborations. Partners will visit neuroscience laboratories, help lead a hands-on session with human brains and attend a luncheon seminar.

CALL FOR PARTNERS! Enthusiastic neuroscientists are needed to serve as partners for teachers attending the annual meeting and this workshop. Partnering teachers and neuroscientists during the annual meeting for informal discussions has proven to be valuable for both parties; orienting teachers to what can be an overwhelming meeting and giving neuroscientists insight into K–12 education. Registration is free and will be accepted through SfN's website beginning on Monday, July 21 at noon EDT.

Contact: Jim Hutchins, PhD, email: jhutchins@anatomy.umsmed.edu or Andrea Zardetto-Smith, PhD, email: amzarsmi@creighton.edu .

Two workshops will take place at Neuroscience 2003:

Friday, November 7, 3:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Saturday, November 8, 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Speakers: Linda Cooper, Associate Director, Centre for the Study and Teaching of Writing, McGill University; and Dr. Gary Westbrook, Editor in Chief, The Journal of Neuroscience

Registration is limited, and advance registration is required. The registration fee is $50 ($25 for students), and includes all workshop materials and a coffee break.

Registration deadline: October 7, 2003.

For further information: L. Cooper, Faculty of Education, McGill Univ., 3700 McTavish Street, Montreal, QC, H3A 1Y2. Phone: 514-398-3101. E-mail: Linda.Cooper@mcgill.ca

Organized by the Minority Neuroscience Fellowship Program Coalition

The Society for Neuroscience, American Psychological Association, Meharry/Vanderbilt Alliance for Training in Neuroscience and the Texas Consortium in Behavioral Neuroscience administer training grants that support pre- and postdoctoral trainees, and provide the foundation for advancement and career development. Support for these programs is provided by NIMH, NINDS and NIDA.

The purpose of this symposium is to highlight the scientific accomplishments of these fellows and to meet them in the reception that follows. Fellows will present their posters or give brief presentations on their research. All officers, members and guests of the Society are welcome to attend. The poster session and the reception that follows are sponsored by the Minority Neuroscience Fellowship Program Coalition which is a joint effort by the SfN Minority Fellowship Programs, the APA Minority Fellowship Program, the Meharry/Vanderbilt Alliance for Training in Neuroscience and Texas Consortium in Behavioral Neuroscience.

No registration is required.

Contact: J.L. Martinez, APA Minority Fellowship Program
750 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002
Phone: (202) 336-6127, Fax: (202) 336-6012

This workshop is targeted to postdoctoral fellows, and will review the job search and interview processes and discuss negotiating strategies. Aggregate data from recently appointed Burroughs Wellcome Fund awardees who have recently accepted faculty positions will be presented. Presentations will be followed by a question-and-answer period. No registration is necessary.

Presentations will cover the following topics:

Given the national mandate of finding better ways to engage the public with science, how do neuroscientists and teachers initiate, grow and maintain mutually beneficial relationships that come to fruition in the classroom? Gather insights and ask questions of panel members that consist of successful teacher-scientist partnerships from all levels of K-12 education. Registration is free and will be accepted at www.sfn.org/workshops beginning Monday, July 21.

Judy Illes, PhD, Co-Chair, President-Elect, Women in Neuroscience
Joan King, PhD, Co-Chair, Past President, Women in Neuroscience

Co-sponsored by the Society for Neuroscience

This symposium will focus on four central questions related to mentoring: what is mentoring; what makes a good mentor; what should those being mentored expect from a mentor; and what infrastructure is needed to support good mentorship.

After a brief introduction by the co-chairs, participants will work in interactive groups with a facilitator on one of three case studies: authorship/inventorship, career planning or mitigating professional conflict. Facilitators for the interactive sessions will be recruited from the leadership of SfN. All members of SfN are welcome; faculty and postdoctoral students are especially encouraged to attend. Please see the "Women in Neuroscience" Web site for more information and to register for the event. Web site: www.womeninneuroscience.org

Organized by SfN in conjunction with the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives

Join us for a panel discussion and an audience Q&A session on such topics as securing funding, garnering volunteers and support, and establishing the Brain Awareness program as an integral public outreach mechanism for your institution. The discussion will be followed by a poster session and reception, at which organizers can display information and visuals from their 2002 BAW events, and network with friends and colleagues. RSVP required due to limited space.

Contact: Mary McComb, Society for Neuroscience
11 Dupont Circle, NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20036
Phone: (202) 462-6688, Fax: (202) 462-9740
E-mail: baw@sfn.org

Sponsored by the National Science Foundation

Information will be available on programs that support the development of course, curriculum and laboratory materials. Also available, program information on experiences for undergraduate students with diverse career aspirations, research experiences for undergraduates, programs that better prepare K-12 teachers to teach science and the Faculty Career Development (CAREER) Program. Several neuroscientists directing projects supported by NSF will be invited to describe their projects. Information about new funding opportunities with implications for learning and education will also be provided. NSF will also maintain an exhibit booth featuring relevant publications and program officers available for extended conversation.

Organized by the SfN Committee on Animals in Research

If You Are a Target: The Best Defense is a Good Offense
Moderator: D.G. Amaral, Center for Neuroscience, University of California at Davis, and Chairperson, SfN Committee on Animals in Research.

What would you do if activists wrote the dean of your university to say your work was abominable and must be terminated or else they would take drastic measures against the entire university—legal action, a negative publicity campaign, or acts of vandalism? What would you do if pamphlets condemning you as a murderer were passed out to your neighbors? What would you do if tomorrow your laboratory was ransacked and years of research were lost?

Would you be ready?

The above scenarios happen to many researchers every year. Neuroscientists have been, and will continue to be, plagued by activists for the foreseeable future. Researchers, their institutions, and their families have been forced to deal with the many tactics utilized by animal rights activists. An unfortunate few were driven out of their universities and communities because of the intolerable difficulties they faced.

The neuroscience community should be well-equipped to handle attacks ahead of time, instead of trying to cobble together solutions and solicit support at the last minute. Every neuroscientist should know the steps they can take, who they can turn to for support, and what they can say to counter arguments of animal rights activists. The importance of being proactive on this issue, as opposed to being reactive, could mean the difference between successful defense of your research or a prolonged and debilitating battle. The best defense is a good offense.

Please join us in learning about how to be proactive in discussing your research. Learn what steps you should take and who you can talk to within and outside of your institution. Create simple materials about your research that you can distribute to the media. We will provide a packet of materials that will take you step-by-step through the process of preparing to respond to being a target of animal activism. This will include a list of neuroscience achievements that would have been impossible without animal research.

The panel will consist of neuroscientists who can relate the personal experience of coming under attack and those events that determined whether the outcome was positive or negative. No registration is necessary.

The Society’s Committee on the Development of Women's Careers in Neuroscience is pleased to announce that will continue the mentoring program for 2003. Men and women are invited to sign-up. Participants will be assigned a mentor and will meet them at an open bar reception the evening of Sunday, November 9. The committee will also host an exhibit booth throughout the week of the annual meeting which will feature a lounge area so that mentors and mentees can meet to discuss career goals.

Graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, new faculty members and faculty members who have just received tenure, are good candidates to participate in this new program. The committee hopes that these meetings will be the start of valuable and effective relationship that will last well beyond the annual meeting.

Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience:
Business Meeting

Monday, November 10 (NOT Tuesday, as previously advertised)
7:00 - 8:00 AM (Continental Breakfast)
Morial Convention Center
Room 285

An open meeting for the membership and all individuals with an interest in undergraduate neuroscience attending the SFN meeting. Old business, new business, treasurer's report and committee reports are prominent agenda items.

For further information: E. P. Wiertelak, President of Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience. E-mail: wiertelak@macalester.edu .

This workshop will be devoted to a discussion of nonacademic careers in neuroscience and the spectrum of issues that accompany career paths outside academia. Capitalizing on the different perspectives and expertise of our distinguished panelists, we will discuss training and skills required to position new and established neuroscientists for successful careers, and the unique benefits and pressures of working outside the mainstream academic setting. We will also tackle issues surrounding transitions between the academic and the nonacademic job market as well challenges of mid-career re-entry and career change--topics that are critical to academic careers as well. Each speaker will have 20 minutes for presentation, allowing for ample time for Q&A and open discussion which we view as a core component of the program.

Advance registration is not required.
Contact: Judy Illes, illes@stanford.edu

Speakers:

Judy Illes (Chair), Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics and Department of Radiology

Constance Atwell, NINDS/NIH: Dr. Atwell, Associate Director for Extramural Research at NINDS, will speak about career opportunities in the federal arena at NIH. She received her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of California at Los Angeles and was a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Pitzer College and the Claremont Graduate School from 1967-1978. During that time she was also a Lecturer at University College, Nairobi. Since 1978 Dr. Atwell has been in research administration at the National Institutes of Health, serving as a program director at the National Eye Institute until 1992 and then as Associate Director for Extramural Activities and Extramural Research at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. In that latter role she coordinates the research grant and contract programs, scientific review, and policy development for the institute. She has chaired and served on numerous trans-NIH and inter-agency committees to improve the grant and review process at NIH, and co-chaired the Advisory Committee on Women’s Health Research during the establishment of the Office of Research on Women’s Health.

Sarah Caddick, Wadsworth Foundation: Dr. Caddick., Executive Director of the Wadsworth Foundation, will address career opportunities on the giving end of the grant funding enterprise. Dr. Caddick received her Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Southampton, UK, and a B.Sc. in biology from the University of Portsmouth, UK. She held postdoctoral positions at Duke University Medical Center and the Medical College of Virginia, and was supported by the American Epilepsy Society - Milken Family Foundation Award. Her first position out of research was as Director of Award Programs at the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Fund, where she developed the Fund's Clinical Investigator Award program and managed existing grant programs and relationships with the Fund's alumni. In August 2000, she joined the Kirsch Foundation in as Director, Medical and Scientific Programs, where she developed the Foundation's medical and scientific programs and ran the environmental grants program. In February 2003, she became Executive Director of the newly created Wadsworth Foundation in Seattle, a private foundation which focuses its grant-making on neuroscience research.

Kathie Olsen, Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President: Dr. Olsen will talk about science policy-making and career life “on the Hill.” In August 2002, she was confirmed by the US Senate as Associate Director with the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President. As Associate Director she serves as OSTP Director Dr. John Marburger’s deputy for science. She is responsible for overseeing science and education policy, including physical sciences, life sciences, environmental science, and behavioral and social sciences. Prior to her confirmation, she held the position of Chief Scientist at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Acting Associate Administrator for the new Enterprise in Biological and Physical Research. As NASA Chief Scientist, she served as the Administrator’s senior scientific advisor and principal interface with the national and international scientific community, as well as the principal advisor to the Administrator on budget content of the scientific programs. Dr. Olsen earned her Ph.D. in Neuroscience at the University of California, Irvine. She was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Neuroscience at Children’s Hospital of Harvard Medical School. Subsequently at SUNY-Stony Brook she was both a Research Scientist at Long Island Research Institute and Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at the Medical School.

Socialize and exchange ideas with others concerned with undergraduate research and education. Undergraduates will present posters, and FUN Travel Awards will be presented for outstanding undergraduate research. Please register to present undergraduate research posters with Dr. Ronald Bayline by Monday, October 27.

Contact: Dr. Ronald Bayline at rjbayline@washjeff.edu

Sponsored by the Society for Neuroscience

Learn about private foundations/public charities with an interest in neuroscience research, their grantmaking philosophies and policies, the subjects and types of projects they support, as well as how the process for developing and submitting proposals to foundations differs from that used to obtain federal funding. No registration is necessary.

The goal of the session is to have all participants walk away with:

• A list of the most recognized general and disease-specific Foundations in the neuroscience arena and how to find other smaller organizations.
• An overview of how Foundations are often quite different in their requirements and policies and why this is the case.
• An understanding of the responsibilities of holding a Foundation grant (how decisions are made, why reports and meetings are required, etc)
• The opportunities Foundations do (and could) offer beyond the grant (workshops, networking, courses, advisory board membership)
• Feedback and ideas from researchers about what Foundations do, how they can improve, and what they should be doing in the future.

Panel members will include:

Sarah J. Caddick, PhD, Wadsworth Foundation
Susan P. Howley, Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation
Deborah W. Brooks, Michael J Fox Foundation
Martin Ionescu-Pioggia, PhD, Burroughs Wellcome Fund
Roxanne Ford, W.M. Keck Foundation

In addition, Scientific Advisory Board members and grantees from the Foundations will be present to provide their views on Foundation funding.

A reception will be held for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 9:00 PM - midnight. Light hors d'oeuvres will be provided.

Help support FUN Student Travel Awards by volunteering to help out at the FUN Booth and/or purchasing FUN merchandise.

The goal of this symposium is to help shape the careers of undergraduate, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows by providing a forum where minority role models in neuroscience research discuss career issues. Prominent neuroscientists from minority backgrounds will cover issues such as career paths, approaches to improving the pool of minority scientists in neuroscience and funding opportunities for minorities. Our goal is to motivate and encourage young minority scientists to make a commitment to neuroscience research.

Each speaker will have 20 minutes for presentation, allowing time for questions and answers. At the end of the presentations, there will be an open discussion with all the speakers, which will be an important component of this symposium.

Advance registration is not required.

Contact: Gonzalo Torres, PhD, Department of Cell Biology, Duke University
g.torres@cellbio.duke.edu

Speakers:

Joe Martinez, PhD, Department of Biology, University of Texas- San Antonio: Dr. Martinez serves as the director of the American Psychological Association (APA) Minority Fellowship Program in Neuroscience and the Cajal Neuroscience Research Center at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He is also the distinguished Ewing Halsell Professor of Neuroscience and Associate Vice Provost for Research at the University of Texas. Dr. Martinez is an active researcher with more than 160 publications that span across research areas such as gene analysis of long-term potentiation and the neurobiological basis of learning and memory. He will receive the 2003 Association of Neuroscience Departments and Programs Award for his contribution to teaching and mentoring. Dr. Martinez will share his experience and visions as the director of programs designed to increase minorities entering biomedical research.

Nora Volkow, MD, NIDA/NIH: Dr. Volkow was recently appointed the new Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). She formerly was Associate Director for Life Sciences at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Director of Nuclear Medicine at BNL, and Director of the NIDA-DOE Regional Neuroimaging Center at BNL. Dr. Volkow also is a professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the State University of New York (SUNY) Stony Brook, and associate dean for the Medical School. She is known for her work on the dopaminergic system. Her research focuses on the investigation of the mechanisms underlying the reinforcing, addictive and toxic properties of drugs of abuse in the human brain. As a scientist, she has been supported by grants from NIDA, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the Department of Energy. Dr. Volkow's work includes more than 275 peer-reviewed publications, three edited books and more than 50 book chapters and non-peer reviewed manuscripts. A recipient of multiple awards, she was elected to membership in the Institute of Medicine in the National Academy of Sciences and was named "Innovator of the Year" in 2000 by U.S. News and World Report. Dr. Volkow will speak about career issues as well as funding opportunities.

Eric Jarvis, PhD, Duke University: Dr. Jarvis, Assistant Professor of Neurobiology at Duke University, overcame economic disadvantage as a child growing up in New York City's Harlem to become a top young researcher, one of only 52 African American men out of more than 4,300 biologists who received PhDs in 1995. Dr. Jarvis is in charge of the minority recruitment for the PhD program in Neurobiology at Duke University. His laboratory studies the neurobiology of vocal communication, with emphasis on the molecular pathways involved in the perception and production of learned vocalizations. Recently, Dr. Jarvis received the National Science Foundation's Alan T. Waterman Award, NSF's highest honor for a young scientist or engineer. He was chosen for his individual achievements and leadership in studying the brain system of vocal learning birds. Dr. Jarvis will share his journey towards excellence in neuroscience research.

Important deadlines published by the
Society for Neuroscience.