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1. Building a queer- and trans-inclusive microbiology conference

   https://doi.org/10.1128/msystems.00433-23  

   Gregor, Rachel; Johnston, Juliet; Coe, Lisa_Shu Yang; Evans, Natalya; Forsythe, Desiree; Jones, Robert; Muratore, Daniel; de_Oliveira, Bruno_Francesco Rodrigues; Szabo, Rachel; Wan, Yu; et al (October 2023, mSystems)

   Lynn_Ishaq, Suzanne (Ed.)

   ABSTRACT Microbiology conferences can be powerful places to build collaborations and exchange ideas, but for queer and transgender (trans) scientists, they can also become sources of alienation and isolation. Many conference organizers would like to create welcoming and inclusive events but feel ill-equipped to make this vision a reality, and a historical lack of representation of queer and trans folks in microbiology means we rarely occupy these key leadership roles ourselves. Looking more broadly, queer and trans scientists are systematically marginalized across scientific fields, leading to disparities in career outcomes, professional networks, and opportunities, as well as the loss of unique scientific perspectives at all levels. For queer and trans folks with multiple, intersecting, marginalized identities, these barriers often become even more severe. Here, we draw from our experiences as early-career microbiologists to provide concrete, practical advice to help conference organizers across research communities design inclusive, safe, and welcoming conferences, where queer and trans scientists can flourish. 

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2. Women Leadership in the AGU Chapman Conference Series: Convener Impacts on the Science Program Committee

   https://doi.org/10.1029/2023EA002968  

   Keiling, Andreas; Smith‐Keiling, Beverly L. (September 2023, Earth and Space Science)

   Abstract Science conferences have increasingly come under a spotlight for inclusion and representation of marginalized groups. Here, we report on our analysis of the representation of women in conference leadership with regard to internal structure and dynamics at the Chapman conference series, spanning a period from 2007 to 2019. Chapman conferences are small, focused meetings in the Earth and space sciences, under the umbrella of the American Geophysical Union (AGU). They follow a two‐leveled scientific leadership model, starting at conference inception by the organizing conveners and their selection of an invited science program committee. Our main findings were: (a) The average women proportion was less for the conveners (17%) than for the Science Program Committee (SPC) (24%), which is in line with the AGU demographics of attrition, assuming a different mix of career stages among conveners and SPC. At the individual conference level, the unfavorable case that convener or SPC teams were comprised only of men was nonetheless frequent. (b) On average, mixed convener teams, as opposed to all‐men convener teams, selected a higher women representation among the SPC members (18% vs. 28%). (c) There were fewer all‐men SPC teams when at least one woman was in the convener team (21% vs. 7%). In conclusion, while there was evidence that equitable representation can be achieved in the leadership, it still lagged in a consistent fashion for individual conferences. Targeted efforts for increased representation–especially at the convener level of the two‐leveled conference model–are recommended, as increased women representation at the convener level may improve women representation of the SPC. 

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3. Improving on legacy conferences by moving online

   https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.57892  

   Achakulvisut, Titipat; Ruangrong, Tulakan; Bilgin, Isil; Van Den Bossche, Sofie; Wyble, Brad; Goodman, Dan FM; Kording, Konrad P (April 2020, eLife)

   Scientific conferences and meetings have an important role in research, but they also suffer from a number of disadvantages: in particular, they can have a massive carbon footprint, they are time-consuming, and the high costs involved in attending can exclude many potential participants. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the cancellation of many conferences, forcing the scientific community to explore online alternatives. Here, we report on our experiences of organizing an online neuroscience conference, neuromatch, that attracted some 3000 participants and featured two days of talks, debates, panel discussions, and one-on-one meetings facilitated by a matching algorithm. By offering most of the benefits of traditional conferences, several clear advantages, and with fewer of the downsides, we feel that online conferences have the potential to replace many legacy conferences. 

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4. Conference scheduling undermines diversity efforts

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-020-1276-5  

   Burnett, Nicholas P.; King, Emily E.; Salcedo, Mary K.; Tanner, Richelle L.; Wilsterman, Kathryn (August 2020, Nature Ecology & Evolution)

   Scientific conferences incorporate diversity-focused events into their programming to increase their diversity and inclusivity and to improve the conference experience for scientists from underrepresented groups (URGs). While simply adding diversity-focused events to conferences is positive, maximizing their impact requires that conferences organize and schedule these events to minimize well-acknowledged, problematic patterns such as the minority tax. To our knowledge, the programming of diversity-focused events at conferences has not been systematically reviewed to identify the extent of these shortcomings and how they can be addressed. 

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5. Invited Letter: Undergraduate research as a means to build a creative, resilient, and highly skilled biomanufacturing workforce

   https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8342997  

   Blatti, Jill (January 2023, Journal of advanced technological education)

   As a principal investigator of an undergraduate research group at Pasadena City College (PCC) for the past ten years, I have witnessed the profound impact that the research experience has had on our students. I have observed students as they develop the ability to carry out authentic research projects from the inception to dissemination, design and carry out thoughtful experiments, write meaningful conclusions in light of relevant literature, and present science to peers and at conferences. Undergraduate research gives students the opportunity to work in a laboratory setting early in their career and collaborate with scientists as they learn how to do science themselves. It lays the foundation for future experiences in research; it informs their decision to pursue science; it excites, motivates, and inspires them; it contextualizes what they learn in courses and applies interdisciplinary scientific concepts to emerging technologies. 

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