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Date of below Letter: March 6th, 2003 To: Interested Faculty, Postdocs and Students Benefits of a Local Chapter: In addition to providing a platform for furthering research and training, there are several perks from the national organization. These include the opportunity to compete for graduate student and postdoctoral travel awards to the national meeting and for a visiting Grass Foundation lecturer. In addition the SFN is considering ways to increase the role of local chapters in its governance and leadership. Randy Blakely (member, Chapters Committee, NFS); Steven Fredman (previous President of local chapter) and I meet to discuss how to go about reviving the local chapter. The results of this meeting are summarized below. I have agreed to take a leadership role for the rest of the year as we re-establish the chapter. I am sending this out to all available mailing lists so you may get it more than once. For that I apologize but I want to get the widest broadcast possible. I have requested a list of members in this locale from the SFN office and when that arrives you may get this again. Please pass the information on to your postdocs and students, since the mailing lists for these groups are the least accurate. We are planning a kick-off scientific/social event on Friday, April 18, 2003- a mini-symposium followed by a reception and trainee poster session. Priority will be given to students, although postdoctorals will be allowed to put up a poster if there is room. The symposium (2-5pm), "From Sensation to Cognition: Large-scale Approaches to Understanding the Brain," is sponsored by the Vanderbilt Brain Institute. It features Marsel Mesulam from Northwestern University, and Jon Kaas and John Gore from Vanderbilt. This will be followed by a reception and Chapter poster session from 5-7pm. All of these events will take place in the Medical Research Building III on the Vanderbilt campus. We need to establish a Council. The SFN suggests a Council consisting of President, President-Elect, Past President, Secretary/Treasurer, Secretary/Treasurer-Elect, and student representative. We will start this year with an election for President, Secretary/Treasurer and Student Representative. I will serve as Past-President next year and the cycle will continue. Vanderbilt Brain Institute staff will handle clerical matters for this year and in subsequent years if the future officers need assistance. Steven Fredman, Randy Blakely and I will serve as the nominating committee this time around. We will prepare a slate of candidates based on interest expressed by individuals who are full members of the national society. If you are willing to be nominated please let one of us know. Annual dues (faculty/postdocs - $20; students - $10) will cover meeting expenses and the remainder will be applied to establishment of a matching student travel grant. Time line for Chapter Revival: I welcome your input. Elaine
Sanders-Bush, Ph.D. To join the Middle Tennessee Chapter of Society for Neuroscience (MTNCSfN), click HERE. |