Biophysical Society Bulletin | January 2018

Public Affairs

Be a Better Communicator: Become of a Friend of Joe’s Big Idea

Want to get involved? The Biophysical Society encourages members who are inter- ested in improving their communication skills to join FJOBIs. The community is open to anyone actively engaged in science, no matter their training level. To join, email msofia@npr.org. Meet Joe Palca and Madeline Sofia and learn how to tell your scientific story on Saturday February 17, 2018, at the BPS Annual Meeting. See page 10 for information on the session. The Federal Budget and Taxes At press time, Congress was simultaneously considering its options for funding the government through a short-term continuing resolution past December 22, 2017, and trying to pass a major tax overhaul that could potentially include changes that adversely affect graduate students who receive tuition waivers. While the outcome was not clear at that time, it was clear that something would be decided by the time you read this. Please visit the Biophysical Society website for the latest information on the budget and the tax bill.

Joe Palca and Madeline Sofia. Credit: Meredith Rizzo/NPR.

Individuals who have chosen science as a career understand the scientific process, the need for research, the potential that comes from gaining an understanding of how things work, and the very long time span needed to realize that potential. But what about people who aren’t scientists? And politicians who want to see the returns on their investments in science? How does the scientific community help others understand? Communication. Most scientific training programs do not include training on how to be a good communicator and share scientific findings with a general audience. With the growth of social media, Wikipedia, and blogs, there are more opportunities than ever for scientists to share their work firsthand with a wide audience, and fortunately, this has been accompanied by an increased interest from scientists in learning how to do that better. National Public Radio’s science correspondent Joe Palca has seen this firsthand. During his travels, Palca has met many young scientists who have expressed their desire to be better communicators. In response, Palca started the group Friends of Joe’s Big Idea (FOJBIs). Friends of Joe’s Big Idea, (pronounced foe-JOE-bee) is a com- munity of young scientists that includes undergrads, gradu- ate students, postdocs, and faculty interested in improving their science communication skills. There are currently around 500 FOJBIs across the United States. Palca and Madeline Sofia , assistant producer of the NPR science desk, work with FJOBIs to become better communicators. Members of the group are given opportunities to practice pitching stories and to receive feedback on writing and editing. They also can participate in both online and local in-person networking and career development activities.

Special issue Reconstituting cell biology Guest edited by Manuel Théry (HôpitalStLouis,ParisandCEA,Grenoble) Submission deadline: 15th February 2018 Call for papers Journal of Cell Science is pleased to welcome submissions for this upcoming special issue. We encourage submissions of Research Articles, Short Reports and Tools & Resources papers. This special issue is intended to have a broad scope, so we are open to articles froma wide spectrumof areas. All special issue papers will be published shortly after acceptance, and collected together in a special issue scheduled for release in early 2019.

Find out more at: http://jcs.biologists.org/content/call-papers-reconstituting-cell-biology

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