Conference: 16th Annual Rustbelt RNA Meeting to be held October 17-18, 2014 at the Marriott City Center Downtown in Pittsburgh, PA

第 16 届 Rustbelt RNA 年度会议将于 2014 年 10 月 17 日至 18 日在宾夕法尼亚州匹兹堡市中心万豪酒店举行。 该会议是一年一度的区域会议，旨在促进广义 RNA 科学新研究的共享。近年来，RNA 开关和酶的鉴定和表征以及 RNA 折叠和调控的全基因组方法取得了突破。会议的一个主要目标是通过演讲和海报展示为学员的专业发展提供机会；为了实现这一目标，大部分演讲和演示将由学生、博士后研究员和早期职业教师进行。这些演讲是学员与所在领域的高级研究人员和同学互动的关键机制。这些互动通常构成持久的专业关系和合作的基础。诸如此类的会议通过为下一代科学专业人员提供教育和发展机会来履行 NSF 的一项关键使命。今年的会议将吸引美国中西部和中大西洋地区的参与，为学生和 PI 提供学习和分享 RNA 相关研究的机会。会议将涵盖从长非编码RNA到tRNA修饰再到RNA结构功能研究的主题。会议将由 RNA 学会前主席、霍华德休斯医学研究所 (HHMI) 教授 Manuel Ares Jr. 教授（加州大学圣克鲁斯分校）发表主题演讲。 会议的独特之处包括：1) 每场会议上由本科生进行的研究口头报告；2) 突出展示本科生研究人员和 PUI 作品的海报区；3) 为本科生和代表性不足的少数族裔提供旅行奖励；4) 由来自行业和学术研究机构的团队领导为学员举办职业转型研讨会。

The 16th annual Rustbelt RNA Meeting will be held October 17-18, 2014 at the Marriott City Center Downtown in Pittsburgh, PA. The meeting is an annual regional conference that promotes sharing of new research in RNA science, broadly defined. Recent years have witnessed breakthroughs in the identification and characterization of RNA switches and enzymes, as well as genome-wide approaches to RNA folding and regulation. A major goal of the meeting is to provide opportunities for trainee professional development through presentation of talks and posters; to meet that goal the majority of the talks and presentations will be given by students, postdoctoral associates and early-career faculty. These presentations are a key mechanism for trainees to interact with senior researchers and fellow students in their field. These interactions often form the foundation of long-lasting professional relationships and collaborations. Meetings such as this one fulfill a key mission of NSF by providing educational and development opportunities for the next generation of science professionals.This year's meeting will draw regional participation from the Midwestern and Mid-Atlantic United States and provide students and PIs with the chance to learn and share RNA-related research. The meeting will cover topics ranging from long non-coding RNAs to tRNA modification to RNA structure-function studies. The meeting will feature a keynote lecture by Professor Manuel Ares Jr. (University of California, Santa Cruz), former president of the RNA Society and HHMI Professor. Unique features of the meeting will include 1) oral presentations in each session from research conducted by undergraduates, 2) featured poster area highlighting works from undergraduate researchers and PUIs, 3) travel awards for undergraduate and underrepresented minorities, and 4) a workshop on career transition for trainees hosted by group leaders from industry and academic research institutions.