Hello Jay,

Thanks for stopping by our poster. Great question. 

To my knowledge, though folks have inquired about replicating our efforts this has not yet been fully realized. However, this may be influenced by the manner in which we organize around the topic "Biological Sciences". Given the intersecting or overlapping aspect with other disciplines we intentionally incorporate exploration and exposure to adjacent fields to Biology such as Paleontology, Bioinformatics, Anthropology, Archaeology, Librarianship (Science librarians) etc. This is strategically designed to expose students to varying career options. As a result inquiries usually result in partnering to help us accomplish or goals and missions, (particularly trying to reach our target audience) instead of replicating. 

However, we are currently working on plans to expand iDiGTRIO to various locations within the US. We would be happy to chat about this if you are interested.

I hope this answers your question.

See responses in italices

Congrats on what appears to be incredible success with your conference. I was especially interested in learning more about how you found that the three efforts coalesced well. In other words, what did each individual initiative contribute and how were those made stronger together. 

Hello Justice, Thank you. I believe you are asking about the three efforts in regard to the founders, Molly Dekendrick and myself. iDIgBio an NSF funded project to digitize natural history collections of which Molly is the Education, Outreach, Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator. In her role Molly seeks to broaden representation in STEM using collections. Dekendrick on the other hand as the TRIO director and staff member of the office of academic support worked closely with students who were marginalized in STEM, thus Dekendrick had connections to the audience Molly sought to engage. As a Black female graduate student and iDigBio research assistant while working in museums obtaining my masters degree realized the importance of experiences for these students in aiding gatekeeping in academia. Particularly from occupying spaces where I do not see myself represented . Thus, using the model of a course I created added the mentorship and shadowing component, which allows students to chat with various types of scientist about everything from their journeys to tips and tricks navigating certain careers to actually shadowing them in the field or lab to get hands on experience of the day to day components. 

 

Also, I wondered if you had data on the demographic of attendee that has engaged with your program—does it match the groups you sought out to engage and has that shifted. As I learned more about the collaborations you are looking to forge to grow what seems to be an outstanding initiative, I thought I'd point you to a community bio initiative held at MIT: https://www.biosummit.org/. This organization is global and engages with open science, citizen bio and synthetic biology (i.e., DIY bio, biomaking, biodesign, etc.).  This seems like a good complement or extension to the programs.  

I hope to learn more about your efforts and how you designed them to work so well!

As far as demographics, we do have data that does match the audiences we are trying to engage, However the attendees have varied with the type of conference we host, whether virtual, hybrid or in person. Thus, we are continuously working on engaging folks who are most marginalized in STEM by building relationships with the communities around us. One component that helps us engage our attendees and helps spread the word is that the presenters and workshop host match the audience we hope to engage (Black, Indigenopus and other people of color, as well as other aspects such as, First-Generation, Limited Income and Students with a Documented Disability). Thus the Bio initiative at MIT is an appreciated suggestion. Congrats on your work.Check out our past presenters (idigtrio.org, https://www.idigtrio.org/2022-speakers, https://www.idigtrio.org/2021-speakers-facilitators)

 

I hope this answers your question, my colleagues can provide more insight. We look forward to connecting with you.

All I have to add is that we would LOVE to connect with you Justice and learn more BioSummit and see how we could promote this in our work, or possibly collaborate!