January Phytogen, GPC e-bulletin

31 January 2022

Hello ASPS members,

Welcome to 2022.

2022 ASPS awards are open. See details HERE.

The January edition of Phytogen can be accessed HERE.

The January GPC e-bulletin can be accessed HERE.

You can watch Prof Ros Gleadow presenting the first of the Plante Academic Odyssey series HERE.

ASPS 2022 awards open and December Phytogen

10 December 2021

Hello ASPS members,

The December edition of Phytogen has been published and can be viewed HERE!

The ASPS awards are now open.

The Peter Goldacre Award applications close 28th March 2022. Details HERE.

The Jan Anderson Award applications close 28th March 2022. Details HERE.

The RN Robertson Travelling award applications close 25 March 2022. Details HERE.

The ASPS Student conference travel awards applications close 28 June 2022. Details HERE.

 

ASPS 2021 AGM agenda and Zoom link

22 November 2021

Dear ASPS members,

 

We are all looking forward to our annual meeting this Thursday to be held simultaneously across the country. We have over 350 people registered and we look forward to coming together for the joint awards session.

 

Please also join us for the AGM. To be held at 12noon (AEST) this Friday, 26th of November.

 

Zoom details for this meeting

https://anu.zoom.us/j/82478887105?pwd=cFRsckVibXMwTGJ0KzhaV0R2cWJtdz09

Meeting ID: 824 7888 7105

Password: 405423

 

2021 reports and 2020 AGM minutes can be accessed through the ASPS web site HERE.

GPC November e-bulletin

21 November 2021

Hello ASPS members,

We are looking forward to meeting later this week at our ASPS 2021 meetings.

The 2021 ASPS Annual General Meeting agenda and Zoom link will be sent through in coming days.

 

The November 2021 Global Plant Council e-bulletin can be downloaded HERE.

 

ASPS 2021, Phytogen and GPC e-bulletin

18 October 2021

Hello ASPS members,

Reminding you the extended early bird registration and abstracts for ASPS 2021 close this Friday at 5 pm EST. Register or submit an abstract HERE.

The ASPS AGM is virtual again for 2021 held on Friday 26th November at 12 noon EST.

Our October issue of Phytogen is out now and can be accessed HERE.

The October Global Plant Council e-Bulletin can be downloaded HERE. 

See you at ASPS 2021.

18 October 2021

Hello ASPS members,

Reminding you the extended early bird registration and abstracts for ASPS 2021 close this Friday at 5 pm EST. Register or submit an abstract HERE.

The ASPS AGM is virtual again for 2021 held on Friday 26th November at 12 noon EST.

Our October issue of Phytogen is out now and can be accessed HERE.

The October Global Plant Council e-Bulletin can be downloaded HERE. 

See you at ASPS 2021.

2021 ASPS award winners announced!

26 September 2021

The Australian Society of Plant Scientists is pleased to announce its awards for 2021.

 

R.N. Roberston Lecture – Professor Christine Beverage (University of Queensland)

Peter Goldacre Award – Dr Joanna Melonek (University of Western Australia)

Jan Anderson Award – Dr Kim Johnson (La Trobe University)

Education and Outreach Award – Dr Kim Johnson and Dr Monika Doblin (La Trobe University)

R.N. Roberston Travelling Fellowship – Xiaoyang Wei (University of Newcastle)

Best FPB paper award – Dr Ximeng Li (Western Sydney University)

 

You can hear these award winners speak about their research during the national ASPS hybrid conference on 25 November 2021. To register (https://www.asps.org.au/asps-2021-registration).

 

A description of these awards and the eligibility criteria to nominate for the 2022 awards are available at the ASPS website (www.asps.org.au).

____________________________________

Dr Peter R Ryan

President, Australian Society of Plant Scientists

Honorary Fellow, CSIRO Agriculture and Food

PO Box 1700

Canberra ACT 2601, Australia

 

Email: Peter.Ryan@csiro.au

Mob: 0468671565

ASPS needs you, September Phytogen, GPC e-Bulletin and ASPS 2021.

20 September 2021

Hello ASPS members,

We need your feedback on our ASPS Diversity and Inclusion policy. Details are in the current Phytogen issue including the policy document.

You can then add you feedback HERE. Use this code 23190235

 

 The September issue of Phytogen can be accessed HERE.

 

 The September Global Plant Council E-Bulletin is available HERE.

 

You can register for ASPS2021 HERE.

 

 

An open letter from the Australian Society of Plant Scientists to the ARC

26 August 2021
Dear ASPS members,
Please consider adding your name to this letter from the ASPS executive to the ARC asking for reconsideration of reference to pre-prints within grant applications.

You can add you name to the form at then end of the letter at this link  https://forms.gle/oxqhWLiKZaKiPSBE9

The text of the letter is also included below.
Thank you for your consideration, ASPS executive team.
Dear Professor Thomas

We are writing to you to register our very grave concern regarding the ARC’s implementation of an apparently new policy within the current Discovery Scheme round on the reference to pre-prints within grant applications. We are concerned that this will have serious negative consequences on the funding of high quality research within Australia. We understand this has impacted the recently announced DECRA and Future Fellowships, and hope prompt action can be taken ahead of finalising Discovery Projects for funding in 2022.

The pre-print policy is ambiguous

A very subtle change was made in the Instructions to Applicants in ROPE – Research Outputs which changed the sentence ‘Do not include pre-prints in your research output listing’ to ‘Do not include or refer to pre-prints in your application’. By contrast, the Instructions state that research outputs that are accessible to the research community can be referenced in the Project Description. Given that there was no mention of the change either in the Discovery Scheme Grant Guideline Changes or FAQ documents, it is reasonable for applicants to interpret that pre-prints only need to be excluded from the Research Outputs listing, and that they can be referred to elsewhere. Our understanding is that highly-ranked fellowship applications were ruled ineligible because they referenced a pre-print, but did not list it as an output.

The timing of the eligibility check is inefficient and distressing

The eligibility check with respect to this policy is apparently being conducted specifically for the highly ranked applications after assessments have been completed. This is an unnecessary and avoidable waste of the research community’s efforts invested in the process of assessments and rejoinders. Furthermore, it has undoubtably caused extreme distress to unsuccessful applicants who will have had good reason to feel optimistic about their chances. This is particularly concerning for fellowship applicants, many of whom are already in precarious career situations.

The pre-print policy is inconsistent with international standards

Major funding agencies around the world permit and encourage the reference to pre-prints within grant applications. These include the NIH, UKRI, ERC, Wellcome Trust, HFSP, EMBO and others. The ARC currently accepts various non-peer reviewed research outputs , such as Book Chapters or Editorials, to be listed in grant applications. So we would support inclusion of a pre-print section within the Research Outputs. We are confident the ARC’s assessors are capable of assigning appropriate weight to pre-prints when considering applicants’ track records.

We ask the ARC to immediately reconsider the implementation of this policy to ensure it does not negatively influence the outcomes of the current Discovery Project round for funding commencing in 2022 and prevent the ARC from funding the most promising Australian research. We also encourage the ARC to revisit the current pre-print policy for inclusion as research outputs for funding commencing in 2023 and beyond, so that it is in line with international research funders.

Kind regards,
The ASPS executive

 

Link – https://forms.gle/oxqhWLiKZaKiPSBE9

ASPS 2021 conference and August GPC E-bulletin

23 August 2021

Dear members,

In 2021, the ASPS will run a hybrid conference held concurrently across Australia on the 25th of November. This will involve face-2-face local meetings in most states and include a joint virtual session to celebrate our ASPS award winners. See details in the flyer attached.

In sending this email, we are fully aware that with many states and territories in Australia under lockdown, uncertainty remains. While we are pushing ahead with an optimistic outlook, in the event that F2F meetings cannot be held, online options will be explored. Refunds/registration fee reductions would be available.

Kind regards,

Simon

ASPS Honorary Secretary

The Global Plant Council August E-bulletin can be accessed HERE.

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