News Items

The RNA Society is pleased to announce that for the first time we will be offering a lifetime membership level.  This is a great way to show your commitment to the Society and avoid the hassle of annual renewals.  For a fee of $2000, you will receive lifetime membership with all of its associated benefits, including meeting and publication discounts, and online access to the RNA journal, plus you will be protected from any future membership cost increases. Payments can be made at once or in three annual installments. We hope that many of our long-time members will consider lifetime membership as a way to show their support for the RNA Society.  If you have already renewed your membership for 2012, you can apply your paid dues towards a lifetime membership.  For questions or more details, please use the form on our Contact Us page and select Membership for the subject.

The RNA Society’s Spring 2012 Newsletter is now available for download. Hear from President Doug Black, learn more about RNA 2012, and read updates of other RNA Society activities.

Download: Spring 2012 Newsletter (PDF)

Dear Colleagues:

As in past years, the RNA Society has funds available to provide travel fellowships in support of researchers who otherwise would not be able to attend the meeting for financial reasons. This year we have budgeted $30,000 for this purpose, but we are also soliciting additional support from corporate sponsors, so more funds may be available later. In most cases the fellowships will be made in the form of reduced or waived registration fees, although it is possible that some contribution toward travel costs could be made in addition to the fee waiver. Travel reimbursement, if awarded, will be presented in the form of a check from the RNA Society either during or after the close of the conference (keep your travel receipts; they will be required to receive reimbursement!).

Please note:

• Previous awardees are not eligible to receive a fellowship.
• No more than one fellowship per research group will be granted.
• Fellowships are restricted to RNA Society members. Click here to become a member or to renew your membership.
• Abstracts submitted with this travel fellowship application will NOT be entered into the conference registration system. You will need to make a separate conference registration, followed by a separate abstract submission once you have registered for the conference.

The application deadline for travel fellowships is February 29^th. The conference organizers will review your request, and decisions will be communicated by email no later than March 7^th. Registration and abstracts must then be submitted by March 11^th to be considered for an oral presentation, or by March 31^st to meet the poster-only early registration deadline.

Click here to access the application form (Requires your RNA Society member login). Questions can be addressed to travel@rnasociety.org.

The RNA Society Scaringe Award is now taking applications! Don’t delay! Deadline: March 1st.

The RNA Society/Scaringe Young Scientist Award was established to recognize the achievement of young scientists engaged in RNA research and to encourage them to pursue a career in the field of RNA. The award is open to all junior scientists (graduate students or postdoctoral fellows) from all regions of the world who have made a significant contribution to the broad area of RNA. The award is not restricted to authors who have published in the RNA Journal, although it is restricted to active RNA Society members (click here to join). The prize will recognize one outstanding graduate student and one postdoctoral fellow based on their research accomplishments to date, a 1000-word essay describing their scientific contributions to RNA research, and a 500-word abstract for a review in their field of RNA research.

Apply here (you must be logged in to apply).

Judging Procedures:
All applications are evaluated by the RNA Society Awards Committee. The applicants will be divided into one of two groups: graduate students or postdoctoral fellows. Applications will be judged on the quality of the research and the entrant’s ability to articulate his or her research contributions to the field of RNA. This committee will choose one graduate student and one postdoctoral fellow winner prior to the abstract deadline for the annual meeting.

Prizes:
The winners’ names will appear in the abstract book and their expenses associated with attending the meeting will be reimbursed. The winners will receive a cash prize and a one-year membership to the RNA Society that includes a subscription to the journal RNA. By accepting the prize, the winner agrees to write a minireview or review for RNA. The review can be written solely by the winner or in collaboration with their advisor.

We are pleased to share the Fall 2011 RNA Society Newsletter. In this issue, we showcase our award winners and provide highlights of our very exciting and successful RNA 2011 meeting.

Sincerely,
Manny Ares & Jim McSwiggen