Research Mentor News - January 2016

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

  • CSULB-USC BUILD Faculty Mixer
  • Call for Student Research Competition Judges
  • NSF Day at Pasadena City College
  • Internal CSULB Funding Opportunities
  • BUILD Research Colloquium: Trends in Injection Drug Use
  • Awards for Graduate Students, Postdocs and Early Career Faculty
  • Call for Abstracts: Faculty Research Symposium
  • Save the Dates: Multicultural Workshops Coming Soon

CSULB-USC BUILD Faculty Mixer

Nine USC faculty members, including those interested in becoming BUILD Research Mentors, visited CSULB on November 18, 2015. They met to learn about potential faculty collaboration opportunities through BUILD, and with 11 CSULB faculty members to share research interests and network for potential research collaborations. In addition, they had lunch with 13 BUILD Scholars who described their research activities, resulting in an invitation to submit abstracts for upcoming symposium at USC.

Students and Faculty at the Mixer

Call for Student Research Competition Judges

Each year, CSULB students present impressive research and creative activities undertaken through the mentorship of CSULB faculty. The 27th Annual CSULB Student Research Competition will take place Friday, Feb. 19, 2016. Graduate and undergraduate researchers and artists will compete for honors and cash prizes in nine disciplinary categories. Ten of these competitors will go on to represent our campus at the system-wide event, held this year at California State University, San Bernardino, on May 1 and May 2, 2016.

The event is looking for judges, especially in Health, Nutrition and Clinical Sciences, and Behavioral and Social Sciences, to help select the student who will represent CSULB. If you are interested in volunteering for this role, contact Michelle Terry, Academic Planning and Graduate Studies, Michelle.Terry@csulb.edu, by Friday, Jan. 22, 2016.

NSF Day at Pasadena City College

Improve your competitiveness for National Science Foundation (NSF) funding for science, engineering and education research at a day-long workshop sponsored by the NSF and Pasadena City College (PCC). The workshop will provide background on the Foundation, its mission, priorities, and budget, as well as provide an overview on proposal writing, NSF's merit review process and funding opportunities that fall within NSF’s seven scientific and engineering directorates, as well as those that cross disciplinary boundaries. NSF representatives will be on hand to answer questions and to host discipline and community college-specific breakout sessions to personally engage in discussions with attendees. The workshop is aimed at early career and tenure track faculty and will be held Friday, Jan. 22, 2016 to be held on the PCC campus in Pasadena, California. The registration fee is only $25. Learn more here.

Internal CSULB Funding Opportunities

The Division of Academic Affairs has announced the availability of funds to support Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity (RSCA) for 2016-17. Support is available in Reassigned Time (AT), Small Faculty Grants (SFG), Mini Grants and Summer Stipends (MGSS). All proposals are to be submitted to your college office by Friday, Jan. 22 by 5 pm. For more information, click here.

BUILD Research Colloquium: Trends in Injection Drug Use

The next BUILD Research Colloquium presentation, on Friday, Jan. 29 from 2-3pm in HSCI 103, will feature Ricky N. Bluthenthal, Ph.D., from USC. He’ll discuss how opioid prescription drug misuse has reshaped injection drug use epidemiology, as well as share implications for drug user health and options for arresting the observed changes in injection drug use. For more information contact Laura D’Anna, CSULB BUILD Behavioral Health Sciences Research & Training Coordinator, laura.danna@csulb.edu.

Awards for Graduate Students, Postdocs and Early Career Faculty

The Keystone Symposia’s Diversity in the Life Science Programs offers three opportunities that are recommended for those involved with the BUILD program: the Fellows program, the Early Career Investigator Travel Award (ECITA) program, and the Underrepresented Trainee Scholars program.

  • The Underrepresented Trainee Scholars program provides scholarships to graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in the life sciences from underrepresented backgrounds. The funds are to help defray the expenses associated with conference attendance. For more information, click here.
     
  • The Fellows program provides an advanced postdoctoral researcher or early career faculty member with a mentor from the Keystone Symposia Scientific Advisory Board or Board of Directors. Fellows are matched with a mentor and become part of the Keystone Symposia community. Application forms for the 2017 Fellows program will be available in early February 2016. For more information, click here.
     
  • The ECITA program allows early career faculty to present their research at a Keystone Symposia meeting where they will have the opportunity to meet senior scientists and other early career researchers. There are still spots for meetings scheduled in February, but you need to submit your abstract quickly. For more information, click here.

Call for Abstracts: Faculty Research Symposium

Attention all College of Natural Science and Math (CNSM) faculty: You are invited to the 8th Annual CNSM Faculty Research Symposium taking place on March 11, 2016 from 12:30 to 5:30 pm in the CSULB University Student Union Ballroom. If you would like to have your work featured during the Symposium, submit your abstracts by Friday, Feb. 12, 2016. For abstract guidelines, click here. (PDF)

Save the Dates: Multicultural Workshops Coming Soon

The following workshops for BUILD Research Mentors Faculty Center for Professional Development Conference Room (Library Room 507):

  • Effective Mentoring in a Multicultural Setting: Cultivate awareness of cross-cultural communication patterns and expectations as faculty mentors of students of diverse social, linguistic, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds.
    Explore verbal and nonverbal communication patterns and expectations involving people of different cultures or sub-cultures with the goal of creating better understanding and acceptance of different communication styles exhibited by different social, linguistic, ethnic, and racial groups. Two times to choose from: Tuesday, Feb. 23, from 10am to noon or Friday, Feb. 26, from 1 to 3pm.
     
  • Empowering Underrepresented Students in a Diverse Classroom: Develop effective communication skills used to foster relationships with underrepresented students and empower them to achieve academic and professional success in STEM and related disciplines.
    Uncover the myths and assumptions about language and ethnic minority students and possible effects on academic preparedness and success. Choose from two times: Friday March 18, from 1 to 3pm or Tuesday, March 22, from 10am to noon.