Last year we sponsored four pre-tenure authors, who are behind some of eLife’s most promising published research, to present at a scientific meeting hosted by one of our prestigious founders -- the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), Max Planck Society, or the Wellcome Trust.
The editors at eLife know the pressure involved in launching a career in science and are committed to improving the visibility of early-career researchers however we can. We hope that this initiative -- the “eLife-sponsored presentation” series-- will create for these authors the type of valuable exposure and connections they need to take their work and careers ahead.
Two of last year’s sposorship recipients have now attended and presented posters at scientific meetings at HHMI’s Janelia Farm Research Campus. A third award recipient, Wenhui Li, is scheduled to present his work on the human hepatitis virus at the Wellcome Trust next week.
Jesse Bloom, co-author of work investigating the evolution of influenza proteins, thought being given the chance to attend an HHMI meeting was great. He said, “getting to interact with so many outstanding scientists, hear their talks, and get their feedback on my work was a great opportunity. The meeting was a great forum to present my research, and I made some good connections for future collaborations. It was also great to just hear about the work of so many great scientists."
Rosie Alegado presented her work on the morphology ofSalpingoeca rosetta, a colony-forming choanoflagellate which feeds on bacteria, at HHMI last month. She added, “eLife provided me with the opportunity to engage in discussion as well as providing a venue to share my work with the very best in the field of biology.”
Jesse, Rosie and Wenhui will be taking part in a Google Hangout On Air on the 21st May, when they will discuss their work and their participation in these prestigious scientific meetings. We’ll also be announcing the authors of five new papers to be showcased in the 2014-15 eLife-sponsored presentation series.
