Award Abstract # 1239731
Meeting: 6th International Conference on Legume Genetics and Genomics (ICLGG) to be held October 2-7 2012 in Hyderabad, India

NSF Org: IOS
Division Of Integrative Organismal Systems
Recipient: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS
Initial Amendment Date: May 30, 2012
Latest Amendment Date: May 30, 2012
Award Number: 1239731
Award Instrument: Standard Grant
Program Manager: Diane Jofuku Okamuro
dokamuro@nsf.gov
 (703)292-4508
IOS
 Division Of Integrative Organismal Systems
BIO
 Directorate for Biological Sciences
Start Date: June 1, 2012
End Date: May 31, 2013 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount: $22,000.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date: $22,000.00
Funds Obligated to Date: FY 2012 = $22,000.00
History of Investigator:
  • Douglas Cook (Principal Investigator)
    drcook@ucdavis.edu
Recipient Sponsored Research Office: University of California-Davis
1850 RESEARCH PARK DR STE 300
DAVIS
CA  US  95618-6153
(530)754-7700
Sponsor Congressional District: 04
Primary Place of Performance: University of California-Davis
One Shields Ave
Davis
CA  US  95616-8680
Primary Place of Performance
Congressional District:
04
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): TX2DAGQPENZ5
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s): Plant Genome Research Project
Primary Program Source: 01001213DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
Program Reference Code(s): 9109, BIOT, 9179, 9178, 1228
Program Element Code(s): 132900
Award Agency Code: 4900
Fund Agency Code: 4900
Assistance Listing Number(s): 47.074

ABSTRACT

The 6th International Conference on Legume Genetics and Genomics (ICLGG) will convene in Hyderabad, India from October 2-7 2012. The ICLGG provides a common meeting to increase interaction among researchers working on various legume species, both as crops and as model organisms. Legumes occupy a unique position in both agricultural and natural systems. In particular, they are well known as a primary source of reduced nitrogen and phosphorus in farming systems, due to their root nodule and mycorrhizal symbioses. These same properties underlie the high protein nitrogen content in legume seed, making them an important source of nutritional nitrogen in the human diet. In both basic and applied research for legumes, there remain large gaps between theoretical and actual yields for many legume crops under many agronomic situations. Understanding the fundamental genetics, genomics, and biochemistry of traits that underlie natural fitness and agronomic performance is a major challenge for plant biology, worldwide, and has profound implications for improving human nutrition and increasing agricultural sustainability. The ICLGG meeting will bring together a diverse group of international scholars for dialogue on the most current topics of legume genomics, genetics, and biology, with strong focus on the translation of basic research in model systems to applied outcomes in crop legumes.

The resources derived from this proposal will be used to broaden participation and provide provide novel opportunities by defraying the costs of participation for US graduate students, postdocs and junior faculty, with specific emphasis on women and members of underrepresented groups who might not otherwise have the financial means to attend and participate in the ICLGG.

PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT

Disclaimer

This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.

This grant supported travel and related costs to attend the VIth International Congress on Legume Genetics and Genomics. The ICLGG meeting is held every other year at rotating international venues. The 2012 meeting was held October 2-6, 2012, in Hyderabad, India. NSF funds were used to broaden the participation of young scientists, including graduate students, postdocs and junior faculty.

 

Three factors were considered in making travel awards: (1) priority was given to qualified individuals from under represented groups (i.e., considering both gender and ethnicity), (2) travel awards gave preference to students, postdocs and junior faculty from laboratories without current support from the NSF Plant Genome Research Program, and (3) all awards were made on a competitive basis, based on the scientific content of submitted abstracts.

 

All individuals receiving travel awards presented their work either as a poster or via oral presentation in the plenary session. In conjunction with meeting organizers, we organized a session on Young Scientists, featuring 8 speakers selected from submitted abstracts. Four of these speakers were NSF awardees and four were young scientists from other countries. This session proved to be an excellent mechanism to promote young scientists, giving them an unusual opportunity to present their work in plenary session. All speakers did an excellent job.

 

In total, this NSF grant supported the travel of 18 scientists, including 6 students, 3 postdocs, 6 junior faculty and 2 junior research professionals. The award also supported the travel of one senior female faculty member.

 

During the meeting, these young scientists had an opportunity to meet a wide diversity of international scientists working on a range of legume genomes. They experienced a part of the world that many had only read about in books, and importantly they gained a fuller appreciation for importance of international science in plant biology and agriculture.

 

The motivation behind this grant was professional development. In addition to participating in an outstanding scientific program, these young scientists had opportunities throughout the meeting to network with one-another, to meet new colleagues, and to become acquainted with key researchers in their fields. The meeting was highly interactive and feedback from NSF awardees was uniformly enthusiastic.


Last Modified: 08/12/2013
Modified by: Douglas R Cook

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