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Group photo of the Carolinas Regional Node Meeting attendees

Carolinas Regional Node Meeting – April 13, 2024

“Everything about the event was amazing.” This was how students from Agnes Scott College (Dr. Srebrenka Robic, GEP faculty) summarized their experience of the event. Srebrenka said that all of their comments were very positive. All reflected on how welcoming the symposium space felt and how easy it was to talk to and network with others.

The Carolinas Regional Node Meeting held a student-centered symposium on April 13, 2024 at the Clemson University Outdoor Lab. The venue offered a conference space (Kresge Hall) and lodging in cabins in a scenic wooded area. Those who had a long drive came on Friday, April 12, shared a great time together at Smokin’ Pig in Pendleton for dinner and stayed at the cabins. The event was attended by 70 people, 39 of which were undergraduate students (32 from GEP, 7 from Clemson), 11 were graduate students (6 from GEP, 5 from Clemson), 11 were current GEP faculty, and 9 people participating as panelists or keynote speakers.

Keynote Speaker

Robert R.H. Anholt providing an introduction to his keynote talk on "Drosophila models for substance use disorders”Dr. Robert R.H. Anholt, the Provost’s Distinguished Professor of Genetics and Biochemistry in the Clemson University Center for Human Genetics, was our keynote speaker. Dr. Anholt’s research focuses on dissecting the genetic architecture of behavior in Drosophila melanogaster, and developing Drosophila as a genetic model for identifying ensembles of genes that predispose humans to phenotypes including substance use disorders and rare genetic diseases. He gave an extremely interesting and engaging talk titled “Drosophila models for substance use disorders”. He presented and discussed results from genome-wide association analyses that have identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with variation in cocaine preference, as well as results from a gene expression analysis of Drosophila lines reared on ethanol-supplemented medium.

Panels

Left to Right: Panelists Dr. David Clayton, Dr. Heather Flanagan-Steet, Dr. Aaron Masino, and Panel Moderator Dr. Trudy Mackay

Our first panel was moderated by Dr. Trudy Mackay, Professor of Genetics and Biochemistry, Director of the Clemson University Center for Human Genetics, and Self Family Endowed Chair of Human Genetics. Dr. Mackay and Dr. Anholt have a long, productive history of synergistic collaborations and together they lead the Mackay-Anholt Lab. The panel focused on Careers in Genomics and the three panelists represented a breadth of occupations and career stages in the field. Dr. David Clayton is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Genetics and Biochemistry at Clemson University; Dr. Heather Flanagan-Steet is the Director of Functional Studies at the Greenwood Genetic Center’s JC Self Research Institute of Human Genetics; Dr. Aaron Masino is an Associate Professor in the School of Computing at Clemson University and holds the Clemson University Center for Human Genetics Dr. Gary Spitzer Endowed Distinguished Professorship in Genomics.

The panelists shared their career trajectories, offered advice, and answered many students’ questions that ranged from the practical (e.g., do’s and don’ts of approaching potential graduate advisors) to the conceptual (e.g., how does one know if this is right for them?). Students learned a great deal about the multiple options available to them in the field of genomics, from academia to industry, from genetics to computing and bioinformatics, and more.

The second panel was moderated by Dr. Barbara (Barb) Campbell, who is the Dean’s Distinguished Professor and graduate program coordinator in the Department of Biological Sciences at Clemson University. This panel offered the perspective of recent or current graduate students in the field. It was composed of Jeffrey “Spencer” Hartfield, a doctoral student in Genetics in the Department of Genetics and Biochemistry and Clemson University Center for Human Genetics; Dr. Mark Loftus, a Postdoctoral Fellow in the same department; and Dr. Rebecca MacPherson, a variant analyst in the Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory at Greenwood Genetic Center. Panelists were candid and honest in sharing their personal and professional stories, lending an intimate atmosphere to the event. Spencer gave an emotional account of his journey and the power of meeting people who believe in you and offer you unique opportunities. Rebecca shared her personal approach to work-life balance and Mark shared his enthusiasm for research and the realities of looking for a “real” job. 

Both panels were extremely well-received by students, some of which even stayed to talk with panelists after the panel sessions were over.

Student Presentations

The student presentations, however, were the highlight of the event. There were twelve posters and two oral presentations, one of which was a remarkably fascinating story by a group of students from Mercer University. The poster session was lively, interactive, and motivating.

We heard so much positive feedback, both from presenters and those who did not present. For example, Indi Bose’s students from Western Carolina University—having seen others and how comfortable they felt at the venue—wished they would have presented. One of Scott Tanner’s students at the University of South Carolina Upstate, who had only recently agreed to do GEP work with Scott for the summer, came to the meeting knowing relatively little. She came away with so much knowledge and was so appreciative of everyone’s patience with her. She was complimentary of all the students she spoke to, mentioning how they were able to break everything down and provide clear explanations. Srebrenka Robic’s students appreciated the chance to present and get helpful feedback. They loved the career panel and shared some insights from it with the rest of the class. Before the event, John Stanga’s students from Mercer University were worried, but once they bonded with their peers from other institutions, they became comfortable and felt like they belonged. After the event, John asked all the poster presenters the same question: what did you learn about yourself or about research by doing this? He heard many great answers: positive career decisions, the ability to overcome frustration and confusion, greater appreciation for what genetics is and why we should care about it, and feelings of belonging despite a disability, among others.

 

The very last event of the day was a short but interesting tour of the Genomics and Bioinformatics Facility at Clemson University, which was attended by about half of the attendees even though we were late on the schedule, and many had a long drive home.

The location of the symposium, in the western part of South Carolina, provided the added benefit of allowing us to invite colleagues from the Atlanta area in the Southeast Regional Node. This made for a dynamic, vibrant GEP community gathering.

Many thanks are in order. The first and biggest to our own Sally Elgin, without whose help the event would not have been possible. Trudy and Robert, as Sally refers to them, are her friends and colleagues and she reached out to them early, in July 2023. It turns out that they are very efficient and quickly organized a meeting with Sally, Marisol, Dr. David Clayton, and Associate Dean, Dr. Calvin Williams, to see if there would be any interest or capacity for this type of event at Clemson. Sally prepared some slides to introduce the GEP to our Clemson partners and Marisol explained the idea for the event—provide GEP students with the opportunity to visit a cutting-edge research center, meet with professionals, listen to research talks, hear about careers in genomics, and have student presentations. The meeting went well, Drs. Clayton and Williams were on board, and they even saw opportunities for their own students and faculty to participate. Many months and meetings later this came to fruition. Our most heartfelt thanks, Sally. And thanks to the Clemson University Department of Genetics and Biochemistry and Human Genetics Center faculty and students, in particular to Robert and Trudy. Robert was extraordinarily efficient and helpful along the way. In no-time he had booked the location and paid the deposit, putting us in touch with the Outdoor Lab coordinator. He also suggested the names for panelists and sent emails to the faculty at Clemson so they could recruit students for the event. Also, thanks go to Rooksana “Rooksie” Noorai, Assistant Director of Bioinformatics at Clemson University Genomics and Bioinformatics Facility, who stayed late on a Saturday to give us a tour of the facility. 

Thanks, of course, to the members of the Carolinas Node for your efforts in the planning and execution, and especially to Node co-leaders, Marisol Santisteban (UNC Pembroke) and Michele Eller (Southern Wesleyan University). Michele happened to be local and was able to iron out so many kinks and took care of so much stuff in person. Michele is the epitome of efficiency and organization. Thanks also to Indi Bose (Western Carolina University), Jeff French (North Greenville University), Maria Pereira (UNC Pembroke), Scott Tanner (University of South Carolina Upstate), and Vida Mingo (Columbia College) for coming and helping on the ground. And to those who could not make it but still sent their students, like Nicole Velmeshev and Cathy Silver Key (NC Central University) and Christine Richardson (University of North Carolina at Charlotte). And thanks to our Georgian colleagues, Srebrenka Robic (Agnes Scott College), John Stanga (Mercer University), and Pushpa Yadav (Middle Georgia State University) who answered our call and came and brought many student presenters. All those students were amazing helpers putting up and breaking down poster boards and easels in record time.

Our final thanks are to the Regional Node leaders, Mel and Jenny, for their unwavering support and the GEP staff, Sarah and Katie, for taking care of what seemed like thousands of tasks. Katie was recruited to help on the administrative side when Sarah was on maternity leave. Katie also created our beautiful program, provided helpful advice on planning, and joined us in person at the event!

The ability to have the event at an R1 Institution that has a center for Human Genetics and Genomics facilities was a unique treat. Maybe this model of holding Node events at R1 Institutions could be a modality for some Node events that would be cost effective. It is our hope that the symposium was also good for Clemson, in making the school more visible to prospective graduate students. If our Clemson partners were equally happy with the event, it could be a good prototype for encouraging more R1 Universities to host GEP Node events. Additionally, Dr. Clayton expressed interest in learning about the GEP materials and how they might use them in their foundational courses, to set the stage for the students to dive into the deep end of technologies and genetic data analysis. We will be scheduling a meeting soon. 

In closing we must quote Srebrenka Robic again, who—with a wide smile across her face—said before leaving: “When are we having the next one?”

What worked well for your event that might help others plan similar events?

This was a fairly large event with about 70 attendees, securing the appropriate venue was key to success. The conference center was the “right size” for our event, it did not feel crowded but was not ridiculously “empty”. Everything took place in the room, so there was no time “wasted” in changing locations: poster and oral presentations, keynote speaker, and panels. Even food was also served in the same room on a long table, buffet style, which promoted more communication. Posters were arranged around the room facing the center, except for the front, where the podium, projection, and table for panels were set up, and one side where the food was served. 

The conference center was part of the compound known as the Outdoor Lab and extremely affordable lodging facilities were in place. 

Because the event was meant to be a student centered mini-symposium, we wanted to have panels of experts in the field of Genetics/Genomics and a keynote speaker that would suit the most important members of our audience: the undergraduate students. We were fortunate to have the contributions of many professors and affiliates of the Clemson University’s Department of Genetics and Biochemistry and Clemson University Center for Human Genetics, including two persons that currently work at a nonprofit institute for medical genetics, the Greenwood Genetic Center, as well as a graduate student and postdoc who brought a student perspective to the field. This was made possible through a personal and professional connection of our own Sally Elgin to Trudy F. C. Mackay, PhD, FRS, Self Family Endowed Chair and director of the Clemson University Center for Human Genetics and Robert R. H. Anholt, PHD, Provost’s Distinguished Professor of Genetics and Biochemistry, Clemson University Center for Human Genetics. 

The ability to have the event at an R1 Institution that has a center for Human Genetics and Genomics facilities was a unique treat. Maybe this model of holding Node events at R1 Institutions could be a modality for some Node events that would be cost effective. 

Finally, having to plan for this event gave cohesiveness to the Node (at least a fraction of the constituents) and a core group of people came together for several planning meetings.

What would your Node do differently based on your experiences?

We would have liked to work harder on inviting faculty from neighboring community colleges, or even high schools. That was within our plans, but we got consumed with the logistics and this went to the back burner and out the window. One member of the Node could just work on this effort.

We did not have much attrition but there was some. This was from undergraduate students, some presenting, some not. If we had to do this again, maybe we should include something in the registration that gives some sense of the commitment and the seriousness of registering to make sure that students know that last minute cancellations or no shows are really looked down upon and create much disturbance.

Trainer Indi Bose provides an introduction to the Pathways Project on via projector

Carolinas New Member Training December 2022

PEMBROKE, NC, DECEMBER 14-17, 2022.

The Carolinas Regional Node held a New Member Training event hosted by Dr. Maria “Marisol” S. Santisteban at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Pembroke.

Trainers for the Carolinas Node’s first ever in-person (cheers!) New Member Training were GEP veterans Marisol Santisteban (UNC-Pembroke), Indi Bose (Western Carolina University), and Vida Mingo (Columbia College). The eight trainees were from Richmond Community College, Gardner-Webb University (2), Campbell University, North Carolina State University, UNC-Chapel Hill, and UNC-Pembroke (2). Having some of the trainees attend in pairs from the same institution provided natural partners that worked very efficiently during practice time and also helped one another during the training. They even started to solidify detailed plans for implementations during the training. Actually, all trainees planned to get something starting either in the Spring or Fall 2023 semester; many will start with one or a few independent research students to get the ball rolling and then implement in the classroom.

Group photo of trainers and trainees
Back Row Left to Right: Seth O’Conner, Tim Anderson, Quentin Locklear, Carly Sjogren
Middle Row Left to Right: Vida Mingo, Susan Manahan, Meredith Rowe, Maria J. Pereira
Front Row Left to Right: Marisol Santisteban, Stephanie Mathews, Indi Bose

 

The training followed closely the tried-and-true schedule and format of the 2.5-day training in St. Louis. Arriving on a Wednesday night, trainees enjoyed a superb dinner buffet in the elegant Chancellor’s dining room and started to get acquainted with one another. Then, they listened to a presentation to introduce the GEP. The next two and a half days they were hard at work in two different locations on campus, only five minutes from the hotel where they stayed. On Saturday morning after the distribution of credentials, post-event survey, and some more discussion on implementations, Indi gave a presentation on two of the projects her students had worked on that semester (it was not possible for us to have the student attend because the training happened at the beginning of winter break) and had very interesting findings that really grabbed the interest of the trainees. In the afternoon they left to go back home.

Trainees discussing while working through activity on computers
Trainer assisting trainee while both looking at computer
Trainer pointing to computer screen of trainee
Trainee Stephanie Mathews works on computer activity
The real highlight of the event was the interactions that occurred during training and while in breaks. The exchanges were fluid, the questions were promptly addressed, and there was input from trainees and trainers and reactions in real time, smooth and natural. Even when the days were long, it felt like we were making progress together effortlessly. Because we have a very well thought out training that has been refined through the years with the work input and feedback of many people, and the leadership of our director of training. It went well because the GEP machine is well oiled, and the leadership and the staff work tirelessly, and all of us contribute in small and big ways to grow it. Thanks to all who made this training possible!!!
Carolinas Regional Node Meeting April 22, 2022

Carolinas Regional Node Meeting – April 22, 2022

The Carolinas Regional Node Meeting was held virtually on Friday, April 22, 2022, 9:00am-12:15pm (ET). The meeting kicked off with brief welcome remarks by Jeff French, a Node member from North Greenville University, SC, who also introduced our keynote speaker. Nate Mortimer from Illinois State University, who leads the Parasitoid Wasps Project in the GEP, gave an inspiring talk on “Invasion of the Body Snatchers: Parasitoid Wasps of Drosophila.” We had a break between 9:50-10am to allow for preparation for students’ presentations. Right before diving on these, Marisol Santisteban from UNC at Pembroke, current Carolinas Node leader, gave a brief introduction to the GEP and acquainted attendees with the organization: membership, different modes of participation, and the projects that are currently pursued. 

Engaging presentations by five students from South Wesleyan University (Michelle Eller, advisor) and Appalachian State University (Clare Scott Chialvo, advisor) took us into the intricacies of their projects in the Insulin Signaling Pathways Project and in an emerging new project on detoxification genes, and the challenges of manual annotation of species closely related to D. melanogaster, such as D. immigrants. After a break from 11-11:15, the last hour of the day was a professional development event geared towards students. The “Careers in Genomics” panel hosted 5 experts from different Genomics fields, with different levels of education (not all PhDs), and not all from academia. All panelists were female and from diverse backgrounds. Four of the five panelists also work in North Carolina which shows our Carolinas students that there is a future for them in this field that’s also close to home. Sabrina Powell, Education Program Director of the Precision Medicine in Health Care in the Department of Genetics at UNC Chapel Hill School of Medicine generously helped assemble this extraordinary array of experts and prepared a fictional but realistic scenario about a 3-year-old boy diagnosed with autism, who is referred to the UNC Genetics Clinic for further testing. The testing reveals two specific variants in Mateo’s exome, one which is known to cause a specific subtype of autism and another which is associated with a high risk of adult-onset dementia. There was a role for professionals at each of our panelists’ positions:

  • Kate Foreman, CGC, Genetic Counselor (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill);
  • Meghan Halley, PhD, MPH, Senior Research Scholar (Center for Biomedical Ethics, Stanford University);
  • Julie Horvath, PhD, Head of Genomics & Microbiology Research Lab (NC Museum of Natural Sciences) and Research Associate Professor, Biological and Biomedical Sciences (NC Central University);
  • Halina Krzystek, Bioinformaticist, Bioinformatics Data Services, Q-Squared Solutions; and
  • Janae Simons, Bioinformatics Software Developer (Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill).


The meeting was attended by 34  people, of which 8 were undergraduate students, and three Community College instructors, two if which had expressed interest in knowing more about GEP and had been invited to New Member Trainings.

Zoom Meeting Room screenshot of participants

What worked well for your event that might help others plan similar events?

Using the opportunity that came with the “online” format we were able to host an outstanding keynote speaker (our very own Nate Mortimer from Illinois State University) and panel of experts in different fields of genomics for our “Careers in Genomics” panel; many were in North Carolina, but we had a person from Stanford. It would not have been possible to assemble this array of experts if it had been an in-person event. I would recommend some “professional development” event for students, like the “Careers in Genomics” panel that we had. We hosted individuals in different fields, with different education degrees (not all PhDs), and not all from academia. I believe the students really found this session interesting and useful. Making a program and emailing it to all participants was a plus and we also emailed certificates to the student presenters which is a nice touch of appreciation.

What lessons were learned from challenges in the planning or execution of the event that might be helpful to others?

It is hard to come up with the “perfect” date. We considered weekday vs. weekend, all day vs. half a day, mid semester vs. late in the semester. We finally settled on a Friday because they tend to be lighter days for students, and only half a day (morning). We did it towards the end of the semester, so students would have made enough progress in their projects to present. Considering that Node meetings will be in-person in the future, I would recommend a weekend, maybe start on Friday evening with posters and maybe the keynote speaker and then talks on Saturday morning and some professional development event. Some people may choose to attend only one day but they won’t be a full day. Or maybe make it a whole day event on Saturday. Keeping some form of hybrid might be useful, especially for the keynote speaker or panels, because that allows inviting speakers that are not geographically close to the Node. 
As far as the execution, it is still hard to keep everyone engaged and have them turn on their cameras and ask questions. So as much as possible, I would recommend holding the student presentations in-person and if online, encourage folks to have their cameras on, and incentivize asking question with some form of reward. We provided a short bio of the panelist in the program that was emailed to the registrants the night before. If possible, do that earlier, so people may think of some questions to ask ahead, and openly ask them to try to do so.


Some students reported not receiving a link for the meeting, but they registered only minutes before the start of the meeting. If you plan to leave the registration open till the very start of the meeting, make sure someone in the Node does a last sweep. Ask the GEP staff to give access to registration to someone in the Node.

Keep the GEP staff in the loop for everything planning, they are incredible resourceful, helpful and efficient!

Expert Panel on Improving the Undergraduate Experience in STEM

Dr. Maria “Marisol” Santisteban, a GEP Member since 2012, recently participated in the STEM for All Multiplex’s “August Expert Panel: Improving the Undergraduate Experience.”

Programs across the country are interested in researching and understanding best practices to recruit, support, and retain underrepresented students in STEM and computing fields. This panel included four projects that provide students with exposure to career paths, research experiences, faculty mentoring, and other initiatives preparing them for graduate school and the STEM and computing workforce.

Carolinas New Member Training December 2020

“This could not have been more than what I needed” was the comment of Jeffrey French from North Greenville University in South Carolina on the last day of the workshop. Dr. French was one of nine trainees that completed the New Member Training Workshop of the Carolinas Regional Node and his comment could not have been more perfect to encapsulate the feeling that this was a successful workshop. Everyone walked away feeling empowered and with plans to implement. Who was everyone?

  • Dr. Eric Goff, Midlands Technical College
  • Dr. Jeffrey French, North Greenville University
  • Dr. Karen L. Baracskay, Tri-County Technical College
  • Dr. Kristen Delaney Nguyen, Fayetteville State University
  • Dr. Mara Robu, Furman University
  • Dr. Maria Fadri, Wake Technical Community College
  • Dr. Mark Dugo, Johnson C. Smith University
  • Dr. Robert K. Reid, Meredith College
  • Dr. Taek H. You, Campbell University

We were thrilled to have three of our trainees coming from community colleges, contributing to one of the goals of our IPERT grant. One of the institutions is a HBCU and another one an all-women’s college.

This was the inaugural event for the Carolinas Regional Node after the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the one we had planned for Spring 2020. We debated the dates and format and finally settled for the tried-and-true 15 hours over two weeks online training that Drs. Catherine Reinke and Jenny Mierisch perfected over the summer. They both were very helpful providing resources and advice, and Catherine met with us as we were in the planning stages and she also attended some of the training.

We had the privilege of having Dr. Laura Reed do the “Introduction to GEP” on the second day and Katie Sandlin gave the tour of the new GEP website that she and Wilson Leung developed on day seven. Katie also developed a terrific webpage for the training to keep everything organized and accessible at the click of a link. In the colors of the GEP, the training website had the same professional look of our new GEP website. Chinmay Rele created an awesome video for us to use for recruiting new members for the workshop.

The participants were really appreciative of the resources and support, and they bonded together. On our last day, Taek reflecting on the working days together, said: “do you realize that we were strangers just last week and now we are part of this group, supporting each other?” Mark shared a bioinformatics exercise he developed around SARS-CoV-2; we discussed having a symposium-like event next year at the end of the summer with our students; and Kristen also suggested a hackathon type of event for our students. Everyone was feeling energized and we, the trainers, were happy.

Our thanks go to everyone who helped with planning, developing, and executing. Laura, Katie, Wilson, Chinmay, Catherine, and Jenny. We could not have done it without you!


The Carolinas crew: Me (Marisol Santisteban), Indi Bose, Michelle Eller, Cathy Silver Key, Vida Mingo, Scott Tanner, and Catherine Ward.