Emerging Roles for the Nucleolus - American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Symposium

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The overarching objective of the project is to facilitate the attendance, education, participation, and integration of the next generation of researchers into nucleolar biology. The conference is organized by the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB). It was held for the first time in 2017 and will be held for the second time in 2019. This conference series fills a gap in biology meetings because it is the only conference devoted to nucleolar biology in the last 10 years. The conference will introduce early career scientists to an array of leaders and perspectives and will allow early career scientists to share their perspectives, helping them to become the leaders of the future. The meeting size and setting fosters scientific discussion and collegiality, with collaborations emerging as one outcome. The nucleolus is a nuclear organelle of interest to a wide array of scientists who do not normally convene, from those studying the biophysical properties to those trying to understand basic functions in model organisms, to those targeting its activity in cancer and rare developmental syndromes. All of these individuals are united under one roof at this meeting to foster communication. For any field to flourish, it is imperative to support diverse perspectives and build the next generation of leaders, which is the main objective of this proposal.This interdisciplinary conference will focus on a range of topics related to nucleolar biology. These include the stability and diversity of ribosomal DNA sequences, the biophysical properties of the nucleolus, new advances in imaging methods, and the function of the nucleolus in health, stress and disease. The program is designed to facilitate interactions and discussions, with a poster session and shared meals, including a "meet the experts" lunch in which senior leaders are seated with a group of early career scientists for informal conversation about science and career related topics. In addition to ten invited speakers, twenty-four abstracts were chosen for platform presentations of which fourteen are from early career scientists, primarily postdocs, and graduate students. Significant efforts have been made by the organizers for inclusion and diversity. The meeting's organizational framework includes a team of both a senior and early career scientist as co-organizers and session chairs. The conference has a roughly equal split between male and female speakers, and all requests for a platform presentation were accommodated. Promoting international discussions, the program includes speakers from nine countries. Speakers will have the option to write a review article for publication in Biochemical Society Transactions. To promote scientific awareness with the public, the 2019 meeting boasts a STEAM initiative, in which artistic images of nucleoli will be assembled into an art page and made into a banner.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.