Education

• 2003 APS/NIDDK Minority Travel Fellows Attend Conferences in San Diego, Banff, and Augusta

• Women in Physiology and Pharmacology Committees Mentoring Symposium: “Life After the PhD: Finding a Postdoctoral Fellowship”

• Career Opportunities in Physiology Symposium: “Planning a Successful Postdoctoral Experience: A Proactive Approach”

• APS Archive of Teaching Resources

• APS Presents Awards at ABRCMS Conference in San Diego, CA

2003 APS/NIDDK Minority Travel Fellows Attend Conferences in San Diego, Banff, and Augusta
    The APS regularly awards Travel Fellowships for underrepresented minority scientists and students to attend APS scientific meetings with funds provided by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). These Fellowships provide funds for transportation, meals, and lodging for travel to a meeting location, as well as complimentary meeting registration. Forty-nine Fellows attended the APS annual EB meeting, in San Diego, CA from April 11-15, 2003. Two Fellows attended “Aldosterone and ENaC: From Genetics to Physiology” from September 10-14, 2003 in Banff, Alberta, Canada and eight Fellows attended “Physiological Genomics: Understanding Renal and Cardiovascular Function Through Physiological Genomics” from October 1-4, 2003 in Augusta, GA.
    Fellows in the NIDDK Minority Travel program not only received financial support to attend these meetings, but were also provided professional guidance through pairings with APS members who served as mentors to the Fellows for the duration of the conference. Thanks to the time and expertise offered by mentor volunteers, Fellows were able to maximize their time and more fully experience the many aspects of each conference.
    The travel awards are open to graduate students, postdoctoral students, and advanced undergraduate students from minority groups underrepresented in science (i.e., African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, and Pacific Islanders). Students must be US citizens or permanent residents. The specific intent of this award is to increase participation of pre- and postdoctoral minority students in the physiological sciences. For more information, contact Brooke Bruthers in the APS Education Office at 301-634-7132 or bbruthers@the-aps.org, or visit http://www.theaps.org/education/minority_prog/index.htm on the APS website.

Women in Physiology and Pharmacology Committees Mentoring Symposium: “Life After the PhD: Finding a Postdoctoral Fellowship”

Experimental Biology 2004
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
8:00 - 10:00 am
Room 145A Convention Center

    The workshop is targeted to young scientists of both genders interested in learning skills for their future careers. The workshop will present information for guiding young trainees on looking for and selecting a postdoctoral fellowship. One goal of the workshop is to define what a postdoctoral fellow is and to identify various types of postdoctoral positions that are available. The format of the workshop is to present four topics in 10- to 15-minute talks followed by a breakout session. Panelists will include, but not be limited to, APS and ASPET women who have positions in academia and industry/government in order to create an awareness of successful role models in various scientific/research settings. The topics discussed will include “What is a Postdoc,” “Resources for Finding a Postdoctoral Position,” “Interview and Follow-up,” and “What Types of Postdoctoral Positions are Available.” The breakout session is planned to promote active participation of the audience and young scientists in best practices for each topic. The workshop offers a venue for networking between junior and more senior scientists.

Career Opportunities in Physiology Symposium: “Planning a Successful Postdoctoral Experience: A Proactive Approach”

Experimental Biology 2004
Monday, April 19, 2004
5:45-7:45 pm
Room 145A Convention Center

    A positive and successful postdoctoral experience is an essential component of the career development path taken by most physiologists. However, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows often fail to take a proactive role to obtain necessary skills and experiences required to prepare them for a successful career in industry, academics, government or other setting. The purpose of this symposium is to advise graduate students and current postdoctoral fellows as to:

1) how to work with their mentor to design an individual development plan for their training period;
2) what skills should be developed during postdoctoral training and how to tailor their training to best prepare them to attain their individualized career goals;
3) how to obtain training in teaching, since such experience is generally difficult to obtain as a postdoctoral fellow, yet is expected by individuals and committees hiring for academic positions and is viewed very favorably by other prospective employers as well; and
4) how to get involved in the newly organized National Postdoctoral Association.

    The issues addressed are currently of great interest to graduate students, postdoctoral fellow and mentors, and it is anticipated that the expert speakers will provide valuable advice on each of the above topics.

APS Archive of Teaching Resources

    The APS Archive of Teaching Resources (http://www.apsarchive.org) continues to grow with the recruitment of a variety of new learning objects from educators all over the country. To date, there are about 280 items catalogued in the Archive from various sources.
However, more material is still needed. Please consider submitting material that you have developed to use to make your teaching more effective. These can be

• lecture or course outlines or PowerPoint slides from a lecture that is particularly effective with your students

• problems or cases you’ve written for your classes

• diagram(s) that you’ve created to illustrate a specific pathway or process that seems to clarify it for your students

• simulations or videos you have developed

• web sites you have discovered that have valuable information for your teaching

• teaching tools/materials that you are developing that would benefit from feedback from your colleagues

• anything educational related to physiology, pathophysiology, or clinical physiology

    By submitting learning objects that you have developed, you can help your colleagues in their efforts to find the best tools for introducing their students to the exciting discipline of physiology.
    Here are some new items in the Archive. Take a moment and check out those that are most relevant to your teaching. Don’t forget that you can comment on any of these items through the comment section attached to each item, which can be found on its Fact Sheet.
Web Anatomy (Web site)
  Murray Jensen
Peristalsis in Esophageal Function (analogy)
  Barbara Goodman
Microcirculatory Flow (Web movies)
  James Norton

APS Presents Awards at ABRCMS Conference in San Diego, CA

    The APS was an exhibitor and major conference sponsor at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) at the Town & Country Resort & Convention Center in San Diego, CA from October 15-18, 2003. Over 2,500 minority undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, faculty and program directors attended this meeting. At the exhibit booth the APS Education Office highlighted the following awards, programs and resources for minority groups underrepresented in science:
  APS/NIDDK Minority Travel Fellowship, which provides travel support for 50-70 students annually. This fellowship provides funds to attend Experimental Biology and the fall APS conferences. Awardees also are paired with a mentor, an APS member, in their area of research. The intent of this program is to increase participation of pre- and postdoctoral minority students in the physiological sciences.
  Undergraduate Summer Research Fellowship, which supports up to 12 fellowships each year. Fellowships support full-time undergraduate students to work in the laboratory of an APS member. The goal of this program is to excite and encourage students to pursue a career as a basic research scientist.
  Porter Physiology Fellowship Program, supporting minority students pursuing full-time studies toward a PhD in the physiological sciences.
    The new Career brochure and updated Career web site, the Archive of Teaching Resources, free membership for students, and Experimental Biology 2004 also were promoted.
    The APS, represented by Education Office staff member, Brooke Bruthers, was also pleased to present four $250 awards for the best poster and oral presentations during the conference. Twenty-five judges, including APS members, Cary Cooper, Latanya Hammonds-Odie, Barbara Horwitz and Marian Walters, selected the following winners:
    Best Poster Presentation by a Sophomore: Poincyane Assis, Barry University, Miami Shores: Abstract Title: “Molecular Expression and Electrochemical Analysis of Phenylalnine-Tyrosine Transporter from Anopheles gambiae larvae”;
    Best Poster Presentation by a Junior: Kimberly Wiggins, Fayetteville State University: Abstract Title: “Analysis of the Putative Epididymal Anti-Microbial Protein Beta Defensin 28”;
    Best Poster Presentation by a Senior: Courtney Fields, Morgan State University: Abstract Title: “Polychlorinated-Biphenyls can Induce Isolated neural Crest Cells to Release a Factor that Regulates Macrophage Activity”;
    Best Oral Presentation: Marc Doombay, University of Iowa: Abstract Title: “Superoxide Dismutase Mimetic, Tempol, Improves Cardiac Performance by Inhibiting the Induction of MMP-9 Following MI in Mice.”
    The APS congratulates the students on a job well done and wishes them the best in their academic pursuits. The ABRCMS meeting is sponsored by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences Division of Minority Opportunities in Research and is coordinated by the American Society for Microbiology. For more information see http://www.abrcms.org.
    For more information regarding the awards, programs and fellowships administered by the APS Education Office, please visit http://www.the-aps.org/education/index.htm or contact the office at education@the-aps.org or 301-634-7132.

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