Recipients of GSA poster awards announced at 20th International C. elegans Meeting

The Genetics Society of America (GSA) and the C. elegans research community are pleased to announce the recipients of the GSA poster awards at the 20th International C. elegans Meeting, which took place at the University of California, Los Angeles, June 24-28, 2015. The awards were made to undergraduate and graduate students in recognition of the research they presented at the conference. The meeting encourages communication and collaboration between researchers interested in physiology, neurobiology, development, evolution, behavior, aging, ecology, gene regulation and genomics, all using the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans as a model system.

"It's exciting to see so many early career researchers share their research during the 'worm' meeting," said Adam P. Fagen, PhD, GSA's Executive Director. "These are talented scientists who are already making substantive contributions to our field."

More than 1,700 researchers attended the meeting, and the poster awards were selected by a panel of leading researchers.

The awardees and honorable mentions of the 20th International C. elegans Meeting GSA Poster Awards are:

GRADUATE STUDENTS

Cell Biology

Awardee

Katherine Lawrence, University of California, Davis, USA
Poster title: "SUN protein UNC-84 functions in DNA repair choice in the C. elegans germ line. "
Advisor: JoAnne Engebrecht

Honorable Mention

Dayana R. D'Amora, York University, Canada
Poster Title: "BRAP-2 (BRca1 Associated binding Protein 2) promotes germline apoptosis."
Advisor: Terrance J. Kubiseski

Honorable Mention

Gunar Fabig, Dresden University of Technology, Germany
Poster Title: "Chromosome segregation during male meiosis in C. elegans."
Advisor: Thomas Müller-Reichert

Development and Evolution

Awardee

Jie Chen, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, USA
Poster Title: "Ras/ERK pathway and retinoblastoma associated protein RbAp46 regulate synaptonemal complex dynamics during prophase I of meiosis."
Advisor: Swathi Arur

Honorable Mention

Sophie P. R. Gilbert, University of Oxford, England, UK
Poster Title: "pal-1 regulates polarized apical junction remodeling and cell movement during the development of the C. elegans epidermis."
Advisor: Alison Woollard

Honorable Mention

Kimberly Haupt, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA
Poster Title: "LST-1 and SYGL-1, key regulators of germline stem cell fate."
Advisor: Judith Kimble

Honorable Mention

Olga Skorobogata, McGill University, Canada
Poster Title: "An AGEF-1/Arf GTPase/AP-1 ensemble antagonizes LET-23 EGFR basolateral localization and signalling in the VPCs."
Advisor: Christian Rocheleau

Gene Regulation and Genomics

Awardee

June Tan, University of Toronto, Canada
Poster Title: "Genomic approaches to study the roles of various splicing factors in regulating alternative splicing events in C. elegans."
Advisor: Andrew Fraser

Honorable Mention

Patricia Abete-Luzi, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, USA
Poster Title: "Investigating the regulation of temporal co-expression of cuticle collagen genes in C. elegans."
Advisor: David M. Eisenmann

Honorable Mention

Stephen Michael Blazie, Arizona State University, USA
Poster Title: "An integrative analysis of alternative polyadenylation and miRNA regulation in C. elegans."
Advisor: Marco Mangone

Neurobiology

Awardee

Hiu E. Lau, University of California, San Diego/Salk Institute, USA
Poster Title: "Acute food deprivation activates neuropeptide signaling in diverse tissues to modify avoidance behavior."
Advisor: Sreekanth Chalasani

Honorable Mention

Emily A. Bayer, Columbia University, USA
Poster Title: "Investigating the genetic basis of neuronal dimorphisms in C. elegans."
Advisor: Oliver Hobart

Honorable Mention

Andrew Hill, California State University, Northridge, USA
Poster Title: "ADAM17/TACE homolog ADM-4 mediates stress-induced quiescence in C. elegans."
Advisor: Cheryl Van Buskirk

Honorable Mention

Eyal Itskovits, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
Poster Title: "A new multi-worm tracker reveals unprecedented insights on worm chemotaxis."
Advisor: Alon Zaslaver

Honorable Mention

Sean A. Merrill, University of Utah, USA
Poster Title: "A new multi-worm tracker reveals unprecedented insights on worm chemotaxis."
Advisor: Erik Jorgensen

Physiology

Awardee

Matthew Churgin, University of Pennsylvania, USA
Poster Title: "Analysis of quiescence during aging in insulin/insulin-like signaling mutants using a microfabricated WorMotel multi-well device."
Advisor: Christopher Fang-Yen

Honorable Mention

Salvador E. Peña, University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry, USA
Poster Title: "Hypoxia and the Mitochondrial Unfolded Protein Response."
Advisor: Keith Nehrke

Honorable Mention

Jessica Sowa, Baylor College of Medicine, USA
Poster Title: "Olfactory Regulation of C. elegans Reproductive Aging."
Advisor: Meng Wang

Honorable Mention

Surojit Sural, University of Michigan, USA
Poster Title: "Inhibition of HSB-1 induces an altered HSF-1 transactivation profile to promote longevity."
Advisor: Ao-Lin Hsu

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

Awardee

Karen Jiang, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
Poster Title: "Sensorimotor signal transmission through AIY interneuron in Caenorhabditis elegans during isothermal tracking."
Advisor: Katsushi Arisaka

Honorable Mention

Raven Symone Conyers, Washington State University, USA
Poster Title: "The effect of FUdR on fatty acid composition and aging in C. elegans."
Advisor: Jennifer Watts

Honorable Mention

Jenna Johnson, Luther College, USA
Poster Title: "Histone modifications are required for the persistence of hydrogen sulfide memory in C. elegans."
Advisor: Dana Miller, University of Washington

Honorable Mention

Caitlin Morris, Lewis and Clark College, USA
Poster Title: "Identification and characterization of genes controlling gut granule size."
Advisor: Greg Hermann

Each poster awardee receives a cash prize and both awardees and honorable mentions receive a complimentary extension to their GSA membership. The Society typically awards such prizes several times a year at each of their conferences on genetic research focused on a variety of model organisms.

Raven Symone Conyers and Jenna Johnson were also recipients of the GSA Undergraduate Travel Award, which provided support for them to present their research at the meeting.

Source: Genetics Society of America