Workshop Coordinators and Presenters (from left): Dr. Jose Garcia (Investigator at UPRC), Dr. Karilys González Nieves (Investigator at UPRC), Dr. Luis Cubano (Co-Project Director, UPRC Title V), Dr. Reyda González-Nieves (MCB Acting Operations Manager), Dr. Larry Halverson (SSB Program Director), Ms. Raquel Marti (Project Director, UPRC Title V), Dr. Linda Hyman (MCB Division Director), Dr. Wilson Francisco (MB Program Director), Dr. Jose Alvarez (Faculty Development, UPRC Title V), Dr. Moisés Orengo Avilés (UPRC Chancellor), Dr. Awilda Nueñez (Academic Dean at UPRC), and Dr. Jose Santiago (Investigator at UPRC)

MCB Program Directors and Division leadership regularly attend scientific meetings and workshops to garner input from the scientific community, spread the word about funding opportunities, recruit panelists, and otherwise provide information to encourage the submission of grant proposals. In September, Dr. Linda Hyman (MCB Division Director), Dr. Wilson Francisco (MCB Program Director for Molecular Biophysics (MB)), Dr. Larry Halverson (MCB Program Director for Systems and Synthetic Biology (SSB)), and Dr. Reyda González-Nieves (MCB Acting Operations Manager) traveled to Puerto Rico to support the “How to Write an Excellent Proposal” workshop hosted by the University of Puerto Rico at Carolina (UPRC).

This workshop provided an overview of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and MCB, discussed best practices in NSF grant writing and submission, and highlighted funding opportunities in MCB and across NSF. Prior to the start of the workshop, Drs. Hyman, Francisco, and Halverson met with workshop coordinators at the University of Puerto Rico at Carolina to strategize how best to conduct personalized outreach during the workshop given the larger than expected number of registrants. The workshop was attended by over 60 participants from eight different institutions throughout the island of Puerto Rico. During the morning session of the workshop, MCB representatives gave three presentations: “Overview of NSF and the Directorate for Biological Sciences,” “Cluster Overviews and Opportunities between MCB and other Divisions/Directorates,” and “How to Write an Excellent Proposal.”

MCB Workshop Presenters: (top) Dr. Linda Hyman; (bottom left) Dr. Wilson Francisco; and (bottom right) Dr. Larry Halverson

These presentations were followed by individual meetings between MCB representatives and PIs, faculty, and graduate students from the University of Puerto Rico at Carolina to discuss project ideas and their fit for funding opportunities within MCB and NSF. These personalized sessions provided attendees the opportunity to have their questions answered by MCB experts, and to get to know MCB Division Leadership, Program Directors, and staff. In post-workshop feedback, attendees rated their experience “excellent.”

Drs. Hyman, Francisco, Halverson, and González-Nieves felt this workshop was a unique opportunity to encourage new collaborations, cultivate new ideas, discuss funding opportunities, and keep inspiring new and undiscovered talent in the scientific community. The Division of MCB would like to thank the University of Puerto Rico at Carolina for hosting MCB at Your Meeting. To find out about our future travel plans, visit the “MCB at Your Meeting” page on the MCB Blog.