It is our great pleasure to announce the inaugural Rutgers Conference for Rising Stars in Graduate Research 2024 taking place on March 7 (Thursday), 2024 between 9am-4pm at the Busch Campus Student Center.

This conference is designed to provide an accessible and authentic scientific presentation platform for PhD students in research-based fields who have no or minimal prior conference experience. Moreover, the conference will equip attendees with presentation and networking skills, as well as expectations and guidelines to prepare them for subsequent conferences outside of Rutgers. The schedule will include plenary talks, poster sessions, and platform talks from selected applicants. The two plenary speakers, Dr. Martin J. Blaser (Director: Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, Henry Rutgers Chair and Professor – RWJMS), and Adam Ligeralde (Chromatography Specialist: Cytiva, Marketing and Public Speaking Coach), will present topics including how to communicate a scientific presentation and how to market yourself for success. This conference will include a vendor show, industry partners, and robust networking opportunities.

Key benefits:

• Authentic and accessible conference experience
• Personal and professional development
• Résumé boost
• Robust networking opportunities
• Diverse speakers and research

Who should apply:

• We expect graduate students across research-based fields to register (e.g., life and natural sciences, psychology and sociology among others). Attending and presenting at the conference will be free of charge for Rutgers graduate students. We will provide lunch, refreshments, and travel grants to accommodate hosting graduate students across different Rutgers campuses.

How to apply:

• Those interested in attending the conference and/or presenting a poster or short talk should fill out the application form: https://forms.office.com/r/Bn2VR5W7xV. The call for abstracts will end on February 5th and selected posters and talks will be announced on February 19th.
  • We welcome and encourage faculty, postdoc, and senior graduate student participation to contribute as judges, participate in networking, and visit our array of vendors and lab suppliers! Email: rising_stars@cabm.rutgers.edu or Shawn Rumrill (srr131@rutgers.edu) and Liisa Veerus (lv273@cabm.rutgers.edu).

To assist in preparing your abstracts, click here for general instructions and tips on how to write an effective abstract.

Questions should be directed to rising_stars@cabm.rutgers.edu, and the Organizing Committee Co-Chairs (Shawn Rumrill: srr131@rutgers.edu; Liisa Veerus: lv273@rutgers.edu).

Please forward this information to interested/relevant parties!

This conference is supported in part by an IDEA Innovation Grant from Rutgers Health (RBHS), with additional support from the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine (CABM), Graduate Student Association (GSA), and industry/vendor partners (Cytiva, VWR, Avantor, and more).