Virtual CANCAS Undergraduate Research Workshop, Sat January 16th, 2021

This workshop will provide opportunities to learn about various graduate programs, resume preparation, preparation of oral and poster presentations, job and graduate program application preparation, and ethics in science.  

Workshop attendance is included in the CANCAS membership.  

To become a member of CANCAS follow the link to JoinIT:  https://www.joinit.org/o/north-carolina-academy-of-science. 

Individual membership has been discounted this year, to $5 and faculty club advisors may sign up all individual students as a CANCAS Group for $50. 

Once CANCAS membership is complete, students can register for the CANCAS Workshop using the link below.  The promotional code will be the student’s email, which will allow you to register for the event for no additional cost. 

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cancas-undergraduate-research-workshop-2021-registration-131612256803

Send any questions to Laura Reichenberg laura.reichenberg@pfeiffer.edu

Apply for the BIT SURE summer research experience at NC State!

Please encourage your undergraduate students to apply to the NSF BIT SURE Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Summer 2021. Hosted by North Carolina State University, this 10-week program focuses on advanced sequencing tools that are transforming the way biologists conduct research and inclusive science. Participants learn about sequencing techniques and participate in professional development opportunities and virtual site visits. A series of workshops and learning opportunities promote diversity in science and learning.

BIT SURE participants receive a stipend.


The application is available on our website: go.ncsu.edu/BITSURE

Share the attached flyer with potential applicants.

The deadline is February 14th, 2021.

Implement a genomics research experience and active learning in your undergraduate classes!

The Carolinas Regional Node of the Genomics Education Partnership will hold a virtual New Member Training session on Dec 7-11 and 14-18, at 12-1:30 EST. Specially welcomed: faculty from Community Colleges, MSIs, & PUIs teaching courses in genetics, genomics, bioinformatics, molecular biology, evolution, or intro biology. For more information, click the QR code on the attached flyer.

NCAS Journal now on Meridian web platform!

We’re pleased to announce that the Journal of the North Carolina Academy of Science has moved to a new, advanced web platform called Meridian, hosted by Silverchair.

The new Meridian platform comes with a host of new features to enhance your reading experience, including:

  • Mobile responsive website design

  • Optional split-screen reading experience

  • Suggested articles based on browser history

  • Saved searches, alerts and notifications

To access the site, please follow the instructions below.

  1. Using the email address associated with your account, reset your password at https://meridian.allenpress.com/my-account/reset-password

  2. Once your password has been reset, go to the journal homepage at https://meridian.allenpress.com/jncas

  3. Select the Sign In button in the right-hand corner and sign in with your email and new password

After following these instructions, you will now have access to journal content. Please note that previous data on saved searches, alerts and notifications from the old journal site will not be migrated to the new site. For instructions on how to save searches and sign up for alerts, please visit https://meridian.allenpress.com/pages/how-to.

Please contact meridiansupport@allenpress.com with any questions you may have.

Yarbrough Grant Deadline Extended

Important information concerning the Yarbrough Grant:

Submissions to the 2020 – 2021 Yarbrough Grant are still being accepted. The deadline for receipt of all materials has been extended to April 30th. Awards will be announced by May 29th. Recipients must indicate their acceptance of the award by June 8th.

All 2019-2020 awardees are invited to present at the 2021 NCA Annual meeting, however the requirement to present research has been waived for 2020 only.

For more about how to apply and information for current awardees, click here.

Don't miss out! NCAS Abstract & Registration deadlines extended!

The deadline for early registration and for submitting an abstract for the 2020 NCAS Annual Meeting has been extended to 5pm on March 11! Submit your abstract now!

For more information about the meeting, see the meeting website: NCAS 2020 Annual Meeting (Note: Due to a glitch, the website may not have posted the extended date yet, but it is confirmed. We expect that posting to be corrected shortly.)

To register, a link on the Lenoir-Rhyne meeting site will redirect you to some additional information before you enter the Eventbrite portal. The dates have been corrected in the Eventbrite system.

BTW: Be sure not to miss the deadline time of 5pm on 3/11.

ECU researchers use sweeteners to preserve donated blood

We are a touch late to this news, but wanted to share this awesome and potentially life saving contribution to science from members of NCAS! A trio of East Carolina University researchers has discovered a novel way to improve the storage and preservation of blood. Jean-Luc Scemama, , Anthony Kennedy and Jitka Virag are using a sweetener most commonly found in Splenda to keep blood fresher for longer! Check it out on ECU’s official blog page.

Volunteer with NCAS at Astronomy Days at the Museum of Natural Sciences, Jan 25-26

NCAS needs volunteers to help with a booth at Astronomy Days, a festival held at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences on January 25th and 26th. You don’t need to be an NCAS member to volunteer, and it’s a great opportunity for high school and college students interested in science outreach. You can participate a little, or a lot, leaving lots of time to visit other booths and events. No prior training is needed. Interested? See contact information and more on this flyer.

The NCAS 2020 Annual Meeting Keynote Speaker Dr. David Hu

It was such a joy to talk to Dr. David Hu about how he became engaged in science and his passion for science communication (see the latest issue of our newsletter). During our conversation, Dr. Hu described how he manages his lab of 5 graduate students and 20 undergraduates. “I manage it a bit like a farm,” he said. He sees himself as the main farmer, and has trained his undergrads to build the fences that mainly contain his undergraduates and their projects, but otherwise lets the undergrads be creative, within the bounds of these fences. “Some of our most creative projects were started by undergrads,” said Dr. Hu. He believes that the relatively open structure in the lab leads to this creativity.

To learn more about the projects in Dr. Hu’s lab, check out the Hu Lab for Biolocomotion at Georgia Tech.

CANCAS Fall Workshop! Coming up on Saturday October 26

Learn about professional school admission, using social media in your profession, and professional ethics. Network with undergraduate students from other institutions. Develop a great resume! All in one event!

Follow this link for membership. Follow this link for registration (requires membership, but you may be a group member through your institution).

Questions? Contact Dr. Laura Reichenberg:
laura.reichenberg@pfeiffer.edu

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Congratulations to our 2019-2020 Yarbrough Award Winners!


Here’s a list of our grant winners for this year - all will receive funds to support their research, and we look forward to hearing about their progress at next year’s Annual Meeting!

 Jeremy Brown for the submission “Efficacy of combined ultrasonic/antibiotic treatment for removal of complex biofilms from medical implant plastics” with faculty advisor Melanie Lee-Brown at Guilford College. 

Austin Snide for the submission “Eggshell organizing factor 1 protein in Psorophora Ferox mosquitos” with faculty advisor Carmony Hartwig at Catawba College. 

Jeremy Walker for the submission “Development of pedagogical substitution laboratories for organic chemistry” with faculty advisor Sarah Goforth at Campbell University. 

Jasmine Wiitala for the submission “Investigating the antimicrobial properties of local versus non-local honey on human microbiota” with faculty advisor Steven Coggin at Catawba College.