Next generation sequencing techniques are becoming mainstream in life sciences research, providing new avenues for addressing novel and important questions. Only now, however, are the ramifications of these technological advances being seen for botanical science. This award will provide partial support of a symposium entitled "Growing the Next Generation in Plant Genomics", which will be held as part of the Botany 2012 Meeting at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio, 7-11 July, 2012. This annual conference is spearheaded by the Botanical Society of America but also includes participation by a number of other societies including the American Bryological and Lichenological Society, the American Fern Society, the American Society of Plant Taxonomists, and the Canadian Botanical Association/L'Association Canadienne de Botanique. This symposium will bring together leading scientists to share research in which they have employed next generation sequencing methods and discuss how these techniques have opened up their research to new ideas and trajectories. The symposium will provide attendees with examples of how next generation sequencing methods can be used to address questions in plant biology. As such, the meeting will provide opportunities for students and young investigators to interact with leading scientists in the field, see how next generation sequencing methods can be applied to botanical questions, and establish collaborations to further learning and research development. NSF funding will be used to broaden participation of young scientists, particularly women and under-represented minorities, as speakers in the symposium.
Intellectual Merit: This award was to help support a symposium entitled "Growing the Next Generation in Plant Genomics" held as part of the Botany Annual Meeting 2012 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio 7-11 July, 2012. This annual conference is spearheaded by the Botanical Society of America (BSA) but also usually includes participation by a number of other societies. Societal participants for the 2012 meeting include the American Bryological and Lichenological Society (ABLS), the American Fern Society (AFS), the American Society of Plant Taxonomists (ASPT), the Canadian Botanical Association/L’Association Canadienne de Botanique (CBA/ABC), and BSA. The symposium brought together scientists from across the country who are conducting leading edge research in plant genomics across various disciplines including phylogenomics, population genomics, functional genomics, landscape genomics, and comparative genomics. The purpose of the symposium was to showcase how next gen methods are being used to explore important biological questions across the breadth of botanical science such as genetic impacts of climate change, plant adaptations in a genomic context, or comparative genomics of seed plants. Funds were used to help support the costs of symposium speakers with the aim of broadening participation of women and minority scientists. As such, this symposium was poised to provide an educational experience for attendees and participants with a brief introduction to genomics methodologies and scope, speaker presentations, as well as a discussion section at the end where attendees and speakers had the opportunity to discuss ideas and applications. Broader Impacts: A major aim of the symposium was the education and development of young and future scientists in the methodology and application of genomics methods in plant sciences. The program drew participants and attendees from multiple countries ranging across all career stages, including undergraduate and graduate students, postdocs, and early career to senior researchers and academicians. Over 200 attendees participated over the course of the symposium. In terms of participants, this symposium broadened the participation of groups underrepresented in science. Three of the six speakers were women, one a postdoc (Dr. Shannon Straub), one a young investigator (Dr. Ashley N. Egan), and one an established researcher (Dr. Sarah Mathews). The symposium line up also helps broaden participation across career stages, from postdoc (Straub) to young investigator (Egan, Holliday) to established researchers (Mathews, Wendel, Doyle). Symposium abstract and organization as well as speaker abstracts and titles can be found at http://2012.botanyconference.org/engine/search/?func=program&program=368.
