Applications Now Open for Four MAC Programs

More information is available at ascb.org/community-committee/minorities-affairs. All four applications close on March 1, 2017.

Faculty Research and Education Development (FRED) Mentoring Program
The FRED Program is a structured mentorship program designed to promote grant funding success for junior faculty at minority-serving institutions and other institutions with a strong commitment to recruiting students from backgrounds underrepresented in STEM to the field of cell biology. Each early-career scientist will work with a senior faculty research mentor with a strong track record of grant funding, with the goal of preparing a strong research or educational grant proposal for submission to the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, or comparable funding agency. The program is structured to facilitate regular communication between the mentors and mentees, as well as to provide several opportunities for more intensive collaboration on proposal development. Highlights of the year-long program include funding for attendance at a three-day Career Development Workshop for Junior Faculty and Mentors, a mock grant review panel at the ASCB Annual Meeting, and exchange visits between the mentor’s and mentee’s institutions. Junior faculty applicants should find an appropriate program mentor before applying. Both junior faculty and mentors must apply individually, and both must become ASCB members if accepted in the program.

Postdoc/Junior Faculty Career Development Workshop
This workshop (in Seattle, WA, July 15–17, 2017) offers extensive networking opportunities and training to navigate tricky areas of your career path. The workshop is open to junior faculty and postdoctoral fellows who are interested in academic careers at research-intensive or teaching institutions. Travel awards for full travel support are available for members of underrepresented groups in the sciences, members of disadvantaged populations, faculty (regardless of ethnicity) at minority-serving institutions, and individuals with interest and experience in expanding access and educational opportunities to underrepresented students. The travel awards will cover travel expenses, meals, and accommodations.

Visiting Professors Program
The Visiting Professors Program targets junior or mid-level faculty members from primarily undergraduate institutions who are seeking to begin and/or sustain collaborative professional development experiences with a more established senior and accomplished cell biologist and ASCB member. This program is designed for an 8- to 10-week summer experience in which faculty members visit the accomplished scientist’s institution to achieve specific professional development goals (e.g., expanding a research collaboration). Each professorship provides per diem support of $12,500, plus $700 for travel expenses. Up to an additional $4,000 will provided to the Visiting Professor’s home institution for either continuing the developmental activities or for implementation of course-embedded research modules in courses taught during the academic year. The program will also cover costs for attendance at a scientific meeting.

Linkage Fellows Program
The Linkage Fellows Program is open to faculty from minority-serving institutions to support outreach and activities that promote cell biology at their home institutions. The activities should align with the missions of the Minorities Affairs Committee (MAC) and ASCB, and either 1) expose participants (undergraduate, and/or graduate students) to cell biology as a science and/or to the techniques used in cell biology research; or 2) foster a better understanding of cell biology research and its benefit to society among student participants and/or the public.
Applications for Mentoring Academy travel awards (open to postdocs) and MAC travel awards (open to undergraduates, graduate students, postdocs, and faculty) to attend the
ASCB | EMBO Meeting in Philadelphia December 2–6 will open on May 1 and close on August 31.

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