In-Person Workshops and Special Events
The Deadline to apply to host a workshop or special event for the in-person conference was January 15, 2024.
Please contact evolution.meetings@gmail.com if you have questions about the possibility of a late addition event for the virtual or in-person conference. Any member of the four societies can host a pre-meeting workshop at the 2024 Evolution meetings with pre-approval from one of the societies (contact your society for approval before contacting meeting organizers). The meeting rooms are open 8:30 AM - 5 PM on July 26.
In addition to events mentioned below, there are a wide variety of mixers and social events being planned.
Please contact evolution.meetings@gmail.com if you have questions about the possibility of a late addition event for the virtual or in-person conference. Any member of the four societies can host a pre-meeting workshop at the 2024 Evolution meetings with pre-approval from one of the societies (contact your society for approval before contacting meeting organizers). The meeting rooms are open 8:30 AM - 5 PM on July 26.
In addition to events mentioned below, there are a wide variety of mixers and social events being planned.
July 26, 2024 Workshops (Morning)
Workshop: How to get a postdoc in Evolution
9 am - Noon
Cost: 5 USD
Description:
Senior doctoral students deserve the opportunity to make an informed decision on their future in academia, especially those from programs that do not provide adequate mentorship in this area. This includes understanding the common issues for postdocs such as the pressure to move and the associated financial burdens, demanding work hours, and the opportunity costs of continuing in academia, among many others. The self-perceived prospects for post-doctoral researchers are up from a nadir in 2020 but still grim (Nordling, 2023). Current demands on postdocs weed out promising researchers who can’t follow the road to tenure due to poor mentorship or family, health, or financial constraints.
This workshop is focused on supporting advanced doctoral students and recent graduates. It is sponsored by SSE GSAC (Graduate Student Advisory Council) and will focus on how to acquire a postdoctoral position including: identifying research interests, searching for positions, leveraging networks, independent funding, and negotiating with future employers. Based on recommendations from the GSAC committee, we will facilitate these discussions including a moderated formal information session and a panel and Q&A. Speakers will be recruited with diverse career paths and funding to highlight the multitude of opportunities available. To support these efforts and broaden their impacts, we will produce materials covering the topics that will be available virtually to all. Following the workshop, we will survey participants to gauge effectiveness and improve materials for future sessions.
Nordling, L. (2023). Postdoc career optimism rebounds after COVID in global Nature survey. Nature, 622(7982), 419-422.
Cost: 5 USD
Description:
Senior doctoral students deserve the opportunity to make an informed decision on their future in academia, especially those from programs that do not provide adequate mentorship in this area. This includes understanding the common issues for postdocs such as the pressure to move and the associated financial burdens, demanding work hours, and the opportunity costs of continuing in academia, among many others. The self-perceived prospects for post-doctoral researchers are up from a nadir in 2020 but still grim (Nordling, 2023). Current demands on postdocs weed out promising researchers who can’t follow the road to tenure due to poor mentorship or family, health, or financial constraints.
This workshop is focused on supporting advanced doctoral students and recent graduates. It is sponsored by SSE GSAC (Graduate Student Advisory Council) and will focus on how to acquire a postdoctoral position including: identifying research interests, searching for positions, leveraging networks, independent funding, and negotiating with future employers. Based on recommendations from the GSAC committee, we will facilitate these discussions including a moderated formal information session and a panel and Q&A. Speakers will be recruited with diverse career paths and funding to highlight the multitude of opportunities available. To support these efforts and broaden their impacts, we will produce materials covering the topics that will be available virtually to all. Following the workshop, we will survey participants to gauge effectiveness and improve materials for future sessions.
Nordling, L. (2023). Postdoc career optimism rebounds after COVID in global Nature survey. Nature, 622(7982), 419-422.
Workshop: UNDERGRADUATE DIVERSITY AT EVOLUTION (UDE) CAREER DEVELOPMENT
8:30 am - 12:30 pm
Cost: Free, but registration is required
Description:
Topics include navigating and networking at the conference and applying to graduate school. This workshop is part of the Undergraduate Diversity at Evolution program and primarily attended by UDE participants, however a few spots are open to any additional undergraduates who wish to participate (there is a cap of 35 attendees total).
Cost: Free, but registration is required
Description:
Topics include navigating and networking at the conference and applying to graduate school. This workshop is part of the Undergraduate Diversity at Evolution program and primarily attended by UDE participants, however a few spots are open to any additional undergraduates who wish to participate (there is a cap of 35 attendees total).
July 26, 2024 Workshops (Afternoon)
WORKSHOP: NSF Proposal Writing
1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Cost: 5 USD, pre-registration required
Description:
What makes a good, potentially-fundable grant proposal? In this two-part workshop, attendees will participate in a mock review panel. This is a hands-on workshop, where you will learn how proposals are evaluated and what makes successful ones successful. Participants will be provided with two proposals to review, along with instructions, ahead of the workshop. In the second part of the workshop, NSF Program officers will answer questions about what to do and what to avoid, and comment on common problems with grant proposals. (Limited to Postdocs/30 attendees).
Cost: 5 USD, pre-registration required
Description:
What makes a good, potentially-fundable grant proposal? In this two-part workshop, attendees will participate in a mock review panel. This is a hands-on workshop, where you will learn how proposals are evaluated and what makes successful ones successful. Participants will be provided with two proposals to review, along with instructions, ahead of the workshop. In the second part of the workshop, NSF Program officers will answer questions about what to do and what to avoid, and comment on common problems with grant proposals. (Limited to Postdocs/30 attendees).
Workshop: DIVERSE CAREERS WORKSHOP - Leveraging your phd for careers outside of academia
1:00 - 5:00 pm
Cost: 5 USD, pre-registration required
Description:
This active and participatory workshop will guide graduate students and postdocs in exploring and planning their careers after graduate school or postdoctoral training. Through presentations and small group activities, you will learn about the many potential career avenues open to those trained in evolutionary biology and ecology. You’ll also learn the basics of building a professional network, how to identify the transferable skills you developed during your training, and have the opportunity to ask questions of biology PhDs who hold non-tenure-track jobs. Join us after the workshop for an informal networking event!
Cost: 5 USD, pre-registration required
Description:
This active and participatory workshop will guide graduate students and postdocs in exploring and planning their careers after graduate school or postdoctoral training. Through presentations and small group activities, you will learn about the many potential career avenues open to those trained in evolutionary biology and ecology. You’ll also learn the basics of building a professional network, how to identify the transferable skills you developed during your training, and have the opportunity to ask questions of biology PhDs who hold non-tenure-track jobs. Join us after the workshop for an informal networking event!
Workshop: Navigating scientific publishing - early career focus
1:00 - 5:00 pm
Cost: 10 USD
Organizers: Michael Dawson, Liz Alter, Bryan Carstens
Description: Current changes in scientific publishing are among the most radical in >350 years and the range of publishing options expanding. Publisher-owned journals often dominate and increasing Article Processing Charges and surging Open Access threaten to leave authors and institutions with few affordable options. These changes particularly penalize early career researchers who are more dependent on high profile – typically more expensive – journals for establishing careers. This in-person workshop will discuss strategies for navigating the increasingly complicated publishing landscape, and for being successful. Activities will seek opportunities for input on these and other options from participating early career researchers about their concerns and how they would like scientific publishing to evolve to better support them in the future.
Open to Students and Post-docs
Cost: 10 USD
Organizers: Michael Dawson, Liz Alter, Bryan Carstens
Description: Current changes in scientific publishing are among the most radical in >350 years and the range of publishing options expanding. Publisher-owned journals often dominate and increasing Article Processing Charges and surging Open Access threaten to leave authors and institutions with few affordable options. These changes particularly penalize early career researchers who are more dependent on high profile – typically more expensive – journals for establishing careers. This in-person workshop will discuss strategies for navigating the increasingly complicated publishing landscape, and for being successful. Activities will seek opportunities for input on these and other options from participating early career researchers about their concerns and how they would like scientific publishing to evolve to better support them in the future.
Open to Students and Post-docs
July 26, 2024 Full-Day Workshops
Workshop: SlicerMorph
Time: 9am -12pm & 1pm-5pm (lunch not included)
Cost: 30 USD
Description: SlicerMorph aims to enhance the open-source, and extensible 3D Slicer platform with cutting-edge tools to assist biologists, anthropologists, and morphologists in collecting and analyzing 3D data from biological specimens. SlicerMorph streamlines digital morphology-oriented research by enabling easy data import, visualization, measurement, annotation, and geometric morphometric analysis on 3D data, from both volumetric scans (e.g., CTs and MRs) and 3D surface scans, all within the 3D Slicer application. It provides modules to query and import data from 3D specimen repository MorphoSource, a general-purpose to process imagestacks that allow downsampling ofdata on-the-fly, various tools to directly import data from specific microCT vendors (Bruker, and GE), collect anatomical and semi-landmarks, generate dense point clouds of pseudolandmarks from a 3D template and transfer those new specimens automatically. Additionally, SlicerMorph offers tools that allow researchers to construct and explore morphospaces interactively and import SlicerMorph results into R to conduct domain-specific inferential statistics on landmark coordinates. Our ultimate goal is to foster a collaborative community within the 3D Slicer ecosystem to facilitate seamless data exchange and promote the advancement of open science for natural history.
The full day workshop covers all aspects of digital morphology workflow from data import to visualization to segmentation to 3D model generation, morphometric data collection and GPA analysis and getting data into R for statistical inference.
In the first half of the workshop participants will learn basics of processing 3D digital morphology data with 3D Slicer and SlicerMorph, data management strategies, computing environment requirements and receive hands-on demonstration of how to use NSF funded public cloud resources to process large datasets. We will also cover demonstrations of available deep-learning frameworks within 3D Slicer to develop ML models of custom segmentation tasks.
The second half of the workshop is focused on collecting, processing and visualizing geometric morphometric data within SlicerMorph and how to import them into R/geomorph package for further statistical inference. We will also discuss other non-landmark based statistical shape analysis techniques with Slicer ecosystem and compare approaches. Both sessions are continuous in nature, so participants are expected to attend both. Participants will learn how to self-support themselves after the workshop to further their knowledge and seek guidance and help from the community.
We welcome everyone, but the contents are particularly useful for graduate students and early-career scientists who are interested in incorporating ever-increasing amounts of publicly available 3D specimen data into their research and teaching programs. It is also useful for researchers who are already familiar with 3D morphometrics and digital morphology but looking for an open-source alternative.
If you are a graduate student or a post-doc who qualifies as a URM in STEM fields, please reach out to Dr. Murat Maga (maga@uw.edu) for a waiver.
Cost: 30 USD
Description: SlicerMorph aims to enhance the open-source, and extensible 3D Slicer platform with cutting-edge tools to assist biologists, anthropologists, and morphologists in collecting and analyzing 3D data from biological specimens. SlicerMorph streamlines digital morphology-oriented research by enabling easy data import, visualization, measurement, annotation, and geometric morphometric analysis on 3D data, from both volumetric scans (e.g., CTs and MRs) and 3D surface scans, all within the 3D Slicer application. It provides modules to query and import data from 3D specimen repository MorphoSource, a general-purpose to process imagestacks that allow downsampling ofdata on-the-fly, various tools to directly import data from specific microCT vendors (Bruker, and GE), collect anatomical and semi-landmarks, generate dense point clouds of pseudolandmarks from a 3D template and transfer those new specimens automatically. Additionally, SlicerMorph offers tools that allow researchers to construct and explore morphospaces interactively and import SlicerMorph results into R to conduct domain-specific inferential statistics on landmark coordinates. Our ultimate goal is to foster a collaborative community within the 3D Slicer ecosystem to facilitate seamless data exchange and promote the advancement of open science for natural history.
The full day workshop covers all aspects of digital morphology workflow from data import to visualization to segmentation to 3D model generation, morphometric data collection and GPA analysis and getting data into R for statistical inference.
In the first half of the workshop participants will learn basics of processing 3D digital morphology data with 3D Slicer and SlicerMorph, data management strategies, computing environment requirements and receive hands-on demonstration of how to use NSF funded public cloud resources to process large datasets. We will also cover demonstrations of available deep-learning frameworks within 3D Slicer to develop ML models of custom segmentation tasks.
The second half of the workshop is focused on collecting, processing and visualizing geometric morphometric data within SlicerMorph and how to import them into R/geomorph package for further statistical inference. We will also discuss other non-landmark based statistical shape analysis techniques with Slicer ecosystem and compare approaches. Both sessions are continuous in nature, so participants are expected to attend both. Participants will learn how to self-support themselves after the workshop to further their knowledge and seek guidance and help from the community.
We welcome everyone, but the contents are particularly useful for graduate students and early-career scientists who are interested in incorporating ever-increasing amounts of publicly available 3D specimen data into their research and teaching programs. It is also useful for researchers who are already familiar with 3D morphometrics and digital morphology but looking for an open-source alternative.
If you are a graduate student or a post-doc who qualifies as a URM in STEM fields, please reach out to Dr. Murat Maga (maga@uw.edu) for a waiver.
July 29, 2024 Workshops (Lunchtime)
Workshop: Professional (R)evolution: Quest to integrate your personal and professional goals
12:40 - 2:15 pm
Cost: 30 USD (includes lunch)
Description:
We often enter science with innate curiosity and an adventurous spirit. But academia can drain our intrinsic motivation and make us feel like we are living by someone else’s rules. This workshop will help you integrate your personal and professional goals and give you new tools for your quest. Bree Rosenblum (Professor at UC Berkeley) will share strategies developed over the last 20+ years for putting yourself back in the center of your story. Open to all career stages.
About Bree: I am a Professor and Distinguished Chair for Innovative Teaching and Research at UC Berkeley. I’ve been active in the Evolution community my entire career (first Evolution Meetings in 1995). Over the last 10 years, I’ve increasingly channeled my energy into transforming higher education and have held leadership roles focused on promoting institutional and cultural change in academia. I weave together many modalities in my facilitation work and enjoy providing holistic support to our community to increase professional fulfillment and sense of belonging.
Cost: 30 USD (includes lunch)
Description:
We often enter science with innate curiosity and an adventurous spirit. But academia can drain our intrinsic motivation and make us feel like we are living by someone else’s rules. This workshop will help you integrate your personal and professional goals and give you new tools for your quest. Bree Rosenblum (Professor at UC Berkeley) will share strategies developed over the last 20+ years for putting yourself back in the center of your story. Open to all career stages.
About Bree: I am a Professor and Distinguished Chair for Innovative Teaching and Research at UC Berkeley. I’ve been active in the Evolution community my entire career (first Evolution Meetings in 1995). Over the last 10 years, I’ve increasingly channeled my energy into transforming higher education and have held leadership roles focused on promoting institutional and cultural change in academia. I weave together many modalities in my facilitation work and enjoy providing holistic support to our community to increase professional fulfillment and sense of belonging.
Editorial, Council, and Business Meetings (Tentative Schedule)
council & Committee meetings
Society Councils
Open to council members only.
Joint Council (ASN/SSB/SSE)
Open to Joint council members only.
Open to council members only.
- ASN entrance meeting - July 26, 2024 (afternoon)
- ASN exit meeting - July 30, 2024 (lunchtime)
- SSB entrance meeting - July 26, 2024 (afternoon)
- SSB exit meeting - July 30, 2024 (lunchtime)
- SSE entrance meeting - July 26, 2024 (afternoon)
- SSE exit meeting - July 30, 2024 (lunchtime)
- ESEB entrance meeting - July 26, 2024 (afternoon)
- ESEB exit meeting - July 30, 024 (lunchtime)
Joint Council (ASN/SSB/SSE)
Open to Joint council members only.
- Entrance meeting - July 26, 2024 (morning)
- Exit meeting - July 29, 2024 (lunchtime)
Society member meetings/forums
Open to all members of the respective societies. Lunch is not provided (you can bring your own). No registration required.
- SSE Members Open Forum - July 27, 2024 (1:30 - 2:25 pm)
- ASN Members Open Forum - July 27, 2024 (1:30 - 2:25 pm)
- SSB Members Open Forum - July 27, 2024 (1:30 - 2:25 pm)
- ESEB Members Open Forum - July 27, 2024 (1:30 - 2:25 pm)
editorial board meetings
Evolution - July 28, 72024 (12:30 - 1:30 pm)
Evolution Letters - July 27, 2024 (12:30 - 1:30 pm)
Systematic Biology - July 27, 2024 (12:30 - 1:30 pm)
Evolution Letters - July 27, 2024 (12:30 - 1:30 pm)
Systematic Biology - July 27, 2024 (12:30 - 1:30 pm)
Virtual Workshops and Special Events (June 26)
Workshops for the Virtual Conference are free for registered in-person and virtual attendees unless otherwise noted. Timing and additional workshops coming in March.
WORKSHOP: PREPARING YOUR PAPER FOR PUBLICATION IN SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS
Timing TBD
Description: This workshop is designed to equip participants with the necessary skills to prepare papers for publication in scientific journals. The workshop is led by editors of the journals Genome and Canadian Journal of Zoology, and will discuss examples from these journals, but principles covered are transferable to similar journals.
Upon completion of the workshop, attendees will achieve the following objectives:
Description: This workshop is designed to equip participants with the necessary skills to prepare papers for publication in scientific journals. The workshop is led by editors of the journals Genome and Canadian Journal of Zoology, and will discuss examples from these journals, but principles covered are transferable to similar journals.
Upon completion of the workshop, attendees will achieve the following objectives:
- Understand the key criteria the Editors of typical health-science journals seek in successful journal articles.
- Gain insights into the peer review process and how editorial decisions are made.
- Learn best practices and pitfalls to avoid when preparing submissions for submission.
- Explore the concept of Open Access and its potential impact on the visibility of your research.
- Learn about some of the hidden services journals can provide for authors, including factors that journals may not explicitly advertise but can be crucial in helping you select the right journal to publish with.
- What the difference is between not-for-profit publishers vs. commercial publishers.
Workshop: Navigating Scientific Publishing – Global Edition
Offered at 8 am and 6 pm to enable international participation
Cost: Free.
Organizers: Michael Dawson
Description: Current changes in scientific publishing are among the most radical in >350 years and the range of publishing options expanding. Publisher-owned journals often dominate and increasing Article Processing Charges and surging Open Access threaten to leave authors and institutions with few affordable options. These changes increase inequity – among more- versus less-wealthy researchers, institutions, and countries. This virtual workshop will discuss strategies for navigating the increasingly complicated publishing landscape, and for being successful. Activities will seek opportunities for input on these and other options from (particularly international) participants about their concerns and how they would like scientific publishing to evolve to better support them in the future.
Cost: Free.
Organizers: Michael Dawson
Description: Current changes in scientific publishing are among the most radical in >350 years and the range of publishing options expanding. Publisher-owned journals often dominate and increasing Article Processing Charges and surging Open Access threaten to leave authors and institutions with few affordable options. These changes increase inequity – among more- versus less-wealthy researchers, institutions, and countries. This virtual workshop will discuss strategies for navigating the increasingly complicated publishing landscape, and for being successful. Activities will seek opportunities for input on these and other options from (particularly international) participants about their concerns and how they would like scientific publishing to evolve to better support them in the future.
Workshop: MorphoBank
Cost: Free
Capacity: 30 people
Summary
MorphoBank is an open access, open science online resource for evolutionary research and phylogenetic studies that hosts peer reviewed scientific data in the form of over 1,000 morphological character matrices and over 150,000 scientific images. MorphoBank has been serving the research community for over 20 years as a platform where scientists around the globe can collaborate together to build, publish, curate and permanently host morphological phylogenetic matrices.
This workshop will introduce up to 30 participants to the data repository and collaborative work environment of MorphoBank. During the first half of this 3-hour workshop, participants will learn how to create a new project by adding a matrix or uploading images. In the second half, participants will choose (or will be assigned) published datasets to curate or create projects from their own unpublished data for future use. The second half of the workshop is optional, but participants are encouraged to stay the full 3 hours so that MorphoBank staff can provide guidance, troubleshooting, and answer questions.
Schedule (3 hours)
Attendees will need a computer and access to an internet connection for both Zoom and to access MorphoBank. Sign up will open in April via an email link sent to attendees.
Capacity: 30 people
Summary
MorphoBank is an open access, open science online resource for evolutionary research and phylogenetic studies that hosts peer reviewed scientific data in the form of over 1,000 morphological character matrices and over 150,000 scientific images. MorphoBank has been serving the research community for over 20 years as a platform where scientists around the globe can collaborate together to build, publish, curate and permanently host morphological phylogenetic matrices.
This workshop will introduce up to 30 participants to the data repository and collaborative work environment of MorphoBank. During the first half of this 3-hour workshop, participants will learn how to create a new project by adding a matrix or uploading images. In the second half, participants will choose (or will be assigned) published datasets to curate or create projects from their own unpublished data for future use. The second half of the workshop is optional, but participants are encouraged to stay the full 3 hours so that MorphoBank staff can provide guidance, troubleshooting, and answer questions.
Schedule (3 hours)
- Introduction ... 10 min
- MorphoBank Overview ... 30 min
- Searching for and exploring a Project ... 10 min
- Break ... 10 min
- Creating a new project by uploading media or a matrix ... 30 min
- Independent Curation Practice ... 90 min
Attendees will need a computer and access to an internet connection for both Zoom and to access MorphoBank. Sign up will open in April via an email link sent to attendees.
External events
If you are hosting an event in Montréal that is related to the conference, but not officially connected, you can ask for it to be listed here (e.g. a workshop happening in town before or after the conference). Contact evolution.meetings@gmail.com with any questions.