Boot Camp January 2023

10th Annual Interdisciplinary Quantitative Biology Winter Boot Camp

Science Communication in Biology and Medicine

Sponsors: Rutgers Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine and RCSB Protein Data Bank (PDB)

Format: Online; Dates: January 9-13, 2023

Articles published from this course: Histone Deacetylases, ATM and ATR Kinases, c-Abl Protein Kinase and Imatinib, and Anaphase-Promoting Complex / Cyclosome 

Invited Speakers​

  • Maria Voigt - Graphic Designer/Software Developer, RCSB Protein Data Bank (Scientific Illustrator/Communicator)

Application/Acceptance:

Send an email to iqb-bootcamp@rcsb.org by November 6, 2023 that includes:

  • a brief statement of interest (100 words)
  • resume
  • an unofficial transcript
  • science writing sample (pdf from your coursework or a published paper that exemplifies your work)

Accepted participants will be notified no later than November 30th and provided with a Special Permission Number for registration purposes.

Scholarships are available; please request a tuition fee waiver as part of your application

Schedule of Events Monday 9th- Friday 13th 2023

2023 IQB Winter Boot Camp Flyer

Monday

Morning Session -- Basic Principles of Scientific Communication (Main ZOOM Room)
9:30 Orientation
9:45 Lecture: Choosing and Researching Topics for the Molecule of the Month (MotM)
10:00 Lecture: Writing a Molecule of the Month Article
10:30 Break
11:00 Lecture: Basics of Scientific Writing and Visualization
11:30 Lecture: Introducing Boot Camp Topics
11:45 Choice of research topic
12:00 Lunch

Afternoon Session -- Forming Your Team and Getting Started! (Main ZOOM Room)
1:00 Lecture: Being Successful in a Collaborative Team
1:20 Teams, research topics, and Mentor designations announced
1:30 Teamwork: Teams meet in ZOOM Breakout Room to choose team name and mascot *
1:45 Teamwork: Teams meet in ZOOM Breakout Room to do initial review of research topic *
2:00 Main Zoom Room Report Back
2:15 Break
2:30 Teamwork: Read articles for your work assignment *
3:30 Teamwork: Begin discussion of the story in Team ZOOM Breakout Rooms *
* During all Teamwork sessions, consult with your designated Mentor in the Mentor ZOOM Breakout Rooms pro re nata (prn)
4:15 Group check-in (Main ZOOM Room)
4:30 Break for the day

Tuesday

In the morning, we’ll learn how to use the tools for finding and visualizing biomolecular structures, and in the afternoon, teams will create an outline of what they want to present in their articles.

Morning Session -- Tools Training (Main ZOOM Room)
9:30 Tutorial: Tools for finding structures in PDB: RCSB
10:00 Tutorial: Tools for visualizing structures in PDB: MolStar (aka Mol*)
10:30 Break
11:00 Tutorial: Tools for illustrating structures: Illustrator and Jmol
12:00 Lunch

Afternoon Session -- Developing Your Story
1:00 Plan and deliverables for the afternoon (Main ZOOM Room)
1:05
  • Teamwork: Explore structures that will motivate your story *
  • Teamwork: Additional literature searching to expand topic if needed *
  • Teamwork: Draft outline of major concepts in each section *
3:00 Break
3:15 Team Progress Check: Pitch Your Story (Main Zoom Room)
  • Format: short elevator pitch of your ideas for the story
  • Deliverable: slides or Word document with bullet points for each MotM section
  • Timing: 6’ for pitch plus 4’ for Q/A from other Teams
4:30 Break for the day

Wednesday

We’ll start with a short presentation by a SciComm visual arts professional, and then we’ll spend the day working on our articles. By the end of the day, each team should have drafts of the images that will be included in the article, and an outline for the concepts that will be included in the article.

Morning Session -- Create Your Images
9:30 Plan for the day (Main ZOOM Room)
9:35 SciComm Professional: Maria Voigt “Best Practices in Visual Communication”
10:20 Deliverables and process for today’s work session
10:30 Break
10:45
  • Teamwork: Finalize PDB structures motivating your story and sketch ideas for figures *
  • Teamwork: Design images in consultation with David Goodsell *
12:00 Lunch

Afternoon Session -- Create Your Images (cont.)
1:00
  • Teamwork: Continue designing and refining images with David Goodsell *
  • Teamwork: Finalize story idea and integration with figures and begin outlining your article *
3:00 Break
3:15 Team Progress Check: Pitch Your Structures/Figures -- Main ZOOM room
  • Format: short elevator pitch of your ideas for figures
  • Deliverable: slides or Word document with draft figures for each MotM section
  • Timing: 6’ for pitch plus 4’ for Q/A from other Teams
4:30 Break for the day

Thursday

We’ll spend most of the day writing the text for the articles and finalizing the figures. We’ll take a break from writing after lunch to hear from a professional scientific writer and journal editor. By the end of the day, each team should have a full draft of the text to share in the “Progress Check” session.

Morning Session -- Write Your First Draft
9:30 Plan and deliverables for the day (Main ZOOM Room)
9:35 SciComm Professional: Molly Campbell “Writing about Science to Engage and Educate” (Main ZOOM Room)
10:15 Deliverables and process for today’s work session
10:30 Break
10:45
  • Teamwork: Writing and revision of first draft *
    • Exchange of drafts w. team members
  • Teamwork: Finalize figures *
12:00 Lunch

Afternoon Session -- Write Your First Draft (cont.)
1:00 Teamwork: Writing and revision of a draft of the entire article *
3:00 Break
3:15 Team Progress Check: (3 breakout rooms)
Teams exchange full draft with another team for critique
  • 30’ to read drafts
  • 15’ discussion of one draft
  • 15’ discussion of other draft
  • 15’ review of learnings by both teams
4:30 Break for the day

Friday

On the final day of the Boot Camp, we’ll finish the articles and get them ready for review and publication. The article should be finished by lunch time, so that we can share them with the other teams in the afternoon.

Morning Session -- Pull Everything Together!
9:30 Plan for the Day (Main ZOOM Room)
9:35 Teamwork: Consolidate edits to produce your final draft of the MotM article *
10:30 Break
10:45 Teamwork: Consolidate edits to produce your final draft of the MotM article *
12:00 Lunch

Afternoon Session -- Team Presentation of Molecule of the Month Articles!  (Main ZOOM Room)
1:00 Team Presentations: Formal presentation and critique for each MotM article
  • Format: Team members read aloud MotM sections
  • Deliverable: Full article with embedded figures in Word document
  • Timing: 10’ per team plus 10’ Q/A
3:00 Break
3:15 Debrief: Provide feedback to Mentors and complete Boot Camp survey
3:45 Plans for Peer Review/Final Round of Edits/Publication of MotM Articles
4:00 Close, Congratulations, Presentation of Certifications of Excellence!