About our conferences and workshops
Janelia conferences and workshops are small, highly specialized meetings that foster conversation, collaboration and inspiration within our vibrant research environment.
Conference applicants must submit a brief research abstract relevant to the meeting topic. The conference organizers select participants based on evaluation of abstract submissions. Attendees are expected to be active members of the research field. They should plan to present their work in a talk or poster format and attend for the full duration of the meeting.
Janelia conferences are small and selective by design, with up to 70 participants. Depending on level of interest, we may not be able to accommodate all applicants and/or may not be able to accept more than one person per group. We strive for a diverse representation of labs across the field.
Our Junior Scientist Workshops are intense, specialized meetings specifically for students and postdocs. Participants are selected based on evaluation of application materials, including CVs, research abstracts, answers to thought questions and reference letters. Janelia covers the cost of travel, meals and accommodation for all successful applicants.
The Janelia conference experience
Janelia hosts the annual Leading Edge Symposium. Leading Edge is an initiative pioneered by Kara McKinley, an assistant professor at Harvard University and one of the Freeman Hrabowski Scholars of HHMI. The goal of Leading Edge is to improve gender diversity of life science faculty in the United States by creating career development opportunities, mentoring networks, and a community for gender minority post-docs and assistant professors. We had a chance to talk to Leading Edge conference participants about their Janelia conference experience. We were also able to interview Leading Edge alumni and current Leading Edge fellows who emphasized the importance of a community in improving science as a whole.
Testimonials
"Best conference ever. I felt very welcome and respected. The conference was also very diverse and inclusive." -Chemical Tools for Complex Biological Systems III
"I met so many scientists who will be my academic peers for the rest of my career." -Junior Scientist Workshop on Theoretical Neuroscience
"A fantastic mix between a fully hands-on summer school and a scientific conference" -Junior Scientist Workshop on Mechanistic Cognitive Neuroscience
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