i5K Coordinating Group

March 15, 2023

11:00-12:00 EDT [Note change to EDT in the U.S.]

Based on progress re-visioning i5K, we will attempt to come to consensus on a way forward.

We are all very busy:

How can me make i5K fun, yet worthwhile?

Attending: Josh Benoit, Monica Poelchau, Chris Childers, Meg Allen, Sue Brown, Kristen Panfilio, Marc Halfon, Duane McKenna, Sarthok Rahman, Brad Coates, Jay Evans, Anna Childers

  • Meetings [brief updates, if any]
    • Arthropod Genomics Symposium 2023 (Josh)
      • Per poll results, will likely do online symposium in August
      • 2024 may be in Kenya
      • Will likely create a longer-term (5- or 6-year) location plan. Reaching out to new locations and organizers. This may help make the meeting more affordable to other groups.
      • Will future symposia by hybrid? (there is a strong interest in this, many in ARS have restricted travel budgets, and prohibits international attendees with teaching requirements in June. Hybrid attendees may be willing and able to pay a registration fee). By Hybrid, do we mean recording the presentations and distributing them, or also including a networking component (noting that virtual networking is challenging)? The ability to simultaneously interact is useful.
      • Sue mentions the importance of defining a business plan to finance the meetings, similar to what AGC had defined before. Plan in sustainability.
      • Should also contact groups in South America
    • Arthropod Genomics Symposium X (AGSx) Virtual Spring Symposium 2023 (Brad)
      • http://i5k.github.io/agsx2023
      • Session 1 (feed and field) was successful, more registrations than attendees
      • Session 2 on April 11 (insect genome biology and evolution)
    • International Congress in Entomology Symposium proposal (Brad)
      • June 16 - due date for call for symposia. Is anyone interested? Would be worth coordinating with others who have organized in the past, to avoid collisions of genomics sessions (topical and schedule-wise - could spread over an entire day)
      • https://ice2024.org/scientific-sections/
      • In Kyoto, Japan
  • Publications [brief updates, if needed]
    • Squash bee genome as part of a much bigger research paper is coming out in PNAS. It was a small part of the bigger story that was developed.
    • What are good publications to publish genome papers in? GBE has genome reports (~2500 words). DToL has a Wellcome open research journal. Scientific Data.
  • EBP Update (Anna)
    • No updates - last meeting was canceled.
  • Visioning 2023 (Monica, Brad, Sue)
    • Last two months from laundry list of goals, reorganize in clear rubrics by Monica, Brad, Kristen –> as of yesterday review, we’re in good shape wrt overall categories featured in visual schematic lady bird diagram, which now has Google Doc hyperlinks.
    • Vision vs. mission : where we want to be in 5 years vs. how to get there, respectively
      • Btw, as Kevin says, this should be fun!
      • Coordination component is significant in workload and frequent requests from community – do we want to commit to delivering this?
      • … so do we need a (new) vision/ need to discuss, or just the mission? … or maybe we’ve been so mission-focused the vision (incl. fun) is anyway missing?! Or, why do we show up at these steering committee meetings each month/ what’s our inspiration/ goals?
      • Josh: delegating topics to specific people, and getting junior scientists involved, would be helpful/worthwhile to improve activity levels and scope of engagement (kinda mission-becomes-vision?)
      • Meg: vision wrt power of FlyBase – state of the art in “information/data access” (already in Google Doc), but limits in terms of funding and scope of i5K alone
      • … some tweaks wrt exact vision wording during the call!
      • Currently need people (OTHER THAN Monica, Brad, Kristen) to review whether the working groups, as drafted, make sense and are deliverable: read and report back next month. Also, feel free to nominate yourself to take over some of the several roles nominally assigned to Monica at present. Signing up for the group: Marc, Duane, Sue, Monica, Michael Branstetter, Kristen, Brad, Meg

NEXT MEETING: April 29, 2023

11:00-12:00 EDT